Xero Shoes entered 2020 with a slew of brand-new models for every day, casual wear. In expanding their lineup, they achieved their best leisure design to date! Xero Shoes sent me a pair of their new Denver boot to test and review. What I found—and you'll read on to learn—is that the Denver is a great chukka for all seasons and has a number of novel features to differentiate it from boots in the minimalist everyday category. Click through to see my thoughts on the Xero Shoes Denver winter boot! Full story ..read more

SoftStar Shoes expands upon their PRIMAL line with a new Chukka Lifestyle Shoe. With the widest toebox of any leisure boot, the Sawyer aims to be the most splay-happy casual shoe for urban adventures. Click through to read my review of the Soft Star Primal Sawyer! Full story ..read more

Carets returns with a new Wingtip based on the FER with a classy and intricate design, brogue details, and some smart upgrades from last year’s FER! Carets sent over a pair of these FALCON Wingtips to review. Read on after the jump! Full story ..read more

Shamma Sandal’s Chargers have been one of my favorite sandals of the last few years. Now in 2019, Shamma has made tons of new updates and design changes to this best-selling sandal. And since I'm such a fan of Shamma's take on huaraches/minimalist sandals, Josh sent me the current model of Chargers to put to the test—which I did by running around in Iceland! Read through to see my thoughts on the new iteration of the Shamma Sandals Ultragrip Chargers! Full story ..read more

Where has the time gone? Where has my hair gone? I still have the VFFs in this photo. It's been on my mind recently—a big anniversary of sorts coming up. Only, as these things go, I thought about it and forgot it. What's the big deal? Well, yesterday marked the 10 year anniversary of BirthdayShoes.com. I launched BirthdayShoes on April 17, 2009. Here is a look back at the lead-up — something I sent to my siblings as I deliberated on what domain to register and just what angle to take: As I think I've mentioned to you guys, I'm hellbent on creating a site dedicated to vibram five fi ..read more

My favorite winter boot of all time is back for its fifth generation! The Feelmax Kuuva 5 aims to improve upon its long legacy of being the lightest waterproof boot in the world with a softer leather, a new waterproofing design, tougher brass hardware and other materials. Alongside the Kuuva 5, Feelmax has also released a new water-resistant Kuuva Trek hiking shoe. Shorter than its winter boot counterpart, the Kuuva features the more flexible and shorter collar of previous Kuuva boots and a very flexible sole. Kuuva provided both of these shoes to review for BirthdayShoes readers, so without ..read more

The Prime Trotters Wingtop Oxford The Prime Trotters' Wingtop Oxford is a beautiful, handmade, zero drop, dress shoe for minimalist wearers looking to take their barefoot benefits to the office, ball, or urban adventures! Prime Trotters sent me a pair to test and review and what you'll soon see is how they are worthy of a look if you're looking for a handmade, barefoot-friendly dress shoe. Read on for my full review. Full story ..read more

Sockwa is known for their ultra-minimalist approach to barefoot shoes. Sockwa, not surprisingly, takes a "sock-like" approach to their designs—their shoes take a sock-like design and add a simple, thin, flexible sole for durability. Sockwa sent over a pair of the Sockwa X8 to review. How'd they turn out? Read on! Full story ..read more

It is 2019, and 2019 marks the 10th year of BirthdayShoes' existence. Hard to believe, I know. Where does the time go? Long-time readers may have lamented BirthdayShoes isn't as fresh as it used to be (Perhaps never was! I'm no designer.). The site could use an update in look and a steady(ier) supply of reviews, content, news, and more. I'm interested in making that happen. And some of the above is already in progress: a new design has been created and in short order, we'll be moving the platform from the very-outdated, old school blogging platform it's on (called b2evolution, which has been ..read more

The Vibram FiveFingers V-Aqua is the company’s flagship product for water sports and water activities. Utilizing the same base sole from the V-Alpha, the V-Aqua adds drainage holes to clear out the interior of the shoe to maintain a smoother experience as you leave the water. Using a familiar velcro strap design that many legacy Vibram fans will immediately recognize, the V-Aqua aims to keep you dry and flexible for all your water activities! Recently, Vibram sent me a pair of V-Aqua to review so over the summer I put them to the test. Click through to read my review of the Vibram V-Aqua ..read more