Hi, my name’s Andrew, and these are the Saltic Vintero’s, the toughest barefoot boots for work, trek, and anywhere else your bare feet need some extra backup.

1. Fit

Last fall I got interested in Saltic while doing some research for my shoe site, barefootwear.org, so I asked them to send me two styles to test: the Vintero and Vintero Easy, which came in these rad vintage-inspired boxes.

Both styles have a wide, foot-shaped toebox and run true-to-size, although the Vintero Easy’s toe guard felt a little flat, so I stuffed a sock inside for a few days to reshape it.

Stylistically, the Vintero’s come in a smooth suede upper and a classic leather upper, but Saltic has a bunch of other design variations, as well, that are all 100% handmade.

2. Uses

In terms of performance, the Vintero has a thin 3.5mm rubber sole with a crosshatch tread that’s great for muddy trails, while the Easy has a 3.7mm Vibram sole that can take a heavy beating on rocky paths.

Both boots are water-resistant with a thermal liner that’s textured for better airflow, but the Easy has a wraparound rubber toe guard for trekking in extreme conditions, which is so strong it could work as a lightweight alternative to a steel-toed boot.

Outro

Overall the Vintero and Easy are two of the toughest barefoot boots I’ve tested, but there’s always a tradeoff between protection and flexibility, so it comes down to what you need most.

For reference, the Vintero is thicker than the Wildling Flying Fox, but thinner than the VivoBarefoot Primus FG, while the Easy is more firm than all three, but still much more flexible than a traditional hiking boot.

Apart from that, if you want to check out the Vintero’s, I’ve put links down below, and if you have a question about them, let me know in the comments.