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Free Your Feet: Swiss Barefoot Company’s Minimalist Footwear Raises Over $300K On Kickstarter

Free Your Feet

For those who find the freedom of bare feet preferable to the confines of common footwear, the Swiss Barefoot Company’s new minimalist footwear concept known as Free Your Feet, or “FYF” for short, just might be the compromise you didn’t know you were looking for.

The new hi-tech footwear concept — which has already raised over $300,000 of its original $10,000 goal on Kickstarter — aims to reconnect people with the ground beneath their feet while still managing to maintain a certain level of protection.

At a glance, Free Your Feet might appear to be nothing more than ordinary socks designed to encompass individual toes, but the reality is that they’re pretty far from common socks. Take the otherwise ordinary looking cloth they’re constructed from for instance.  This ordinary looking cloth is actually made of 46.5 percent Dyneema, which is the strongest fiber in the world.

To put Dyneema’s tensile strength into perspective, it’s literally 15 times stronger than steel. But while the material is undoubtedly tough, it’s also lightweight, soft, chemically inert and highly thermal conductive. Not to mention its low coefficient of friction which in this case, allows feet to slide right in. But don’t mistake this lack of friction for a lack of traction underneath, as FYF harness the traction power of a widespread array of grip dots which, according to the Swiss Barefoot Company, allow for “phenomenal grip.”

It’s worth noting that while this new hi-tech footwear product does offer a certain level of protection, they’re not impenetrable. In fact, the creators of FYF clearly state on their campaign fundraising page that they can be punctured by needle-like structures such as sea urchins.

If you’re wondering where the laces are, there aren’t any. Instead of laces, FYF’s creators opted for elastic seams for a nice snug fit without the hassles of laces.While it might seem like a stretch, Swiss Barefoot’s new sock-like shoes are actually designed with sports in mind. From rock climbing to kickboxing, kitesurfing to shark diving, Free Your Feet has got you covered.

Free Your Feet Kiteboarding

Free Your Feet takes to the water for some kiteboarding action. (Image Credit: Swiss Barefoot Company)

Presently, pledges of $50 are rewarded with one pair of FYFs but come retail, the price is set to jump up to $80.

FYFs currently have an estimated delivery date of October 2015. To learn more or to pledge your contribution, visit the Free Your Feet fundraiser on Kickstarter.

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