Jim Green African Ranger Barefoot Boots

[Jimbee]

I ordered a custom pair of safety toe barefoot
boots from Jim Green. Anyone have any experience with typical production times? They stated 28 days somewhere on their website but I'm hoping they get here before November.

 

[PBBananaHammock]

Have about 9 months of near daily wear. Just ordered some replacement soles from Jim Green, going to attempt to replace them myself.

Im in the process of figuring out my size in these. The toe box in the Jim Greens compared to most barefoot style shoes I’m accustomed to is narrow.

How much did the leather stretch on these in regards to width and toe splay?

I just received a pair that’s a half size up from my usual so I could get a wider fit, but they’re a little long. Im considering going a half size down but really don’t want to lose the width.

 

[Shadow14]

I just got a notification today that my barefoot African Troopers delivered. Cant wait to get home and try them out. Ill post pics and a review soon

 

[nobody]

I ordered a custom pair of safety toe barefoot
boots from Jim Green. Anyone have any experience with typical production times? They stated 28 days somewhere on their website but I'm hoping they get here before November.

I know you asked this a month ago, but mine came dead on at 28 days from the time I placed my order. Although they never sent me a shipping notification

 

[BBob]

How much did the leather stretch on these in regards to width and toe splay?

I'm going to say near none. Might have loosened up a little but not much to count on. I did size up a little knowing that I was pretty sure I'd add an insole which I did. That said mby I have enough extra room up front to where they didn't stretch much? I didn't worry about extra length at all and it's fine by me as is.

 

[Jimbee]

I know you asked this a month ago, but mine came dead on at 28 days from the time I placed my order. Although they never sent me a shipping notification

I made an order, haven't heard anything. Hoping they just show up soon.

 

[PBBananaHammock]

I'm going to say near none. Might have loosened up a little but not much to count on. I did size up a little knowing that I was pretty sure I'd add an insole which I did. That said mby I have enough extra room up front to where they didn't stretch much? I didn't worry about extra length at all and it's fine by me as is.

Thank you for the response.

It’s a bit of a strange shoe to size for since the actual leather of the shoe itself does not extend to the edge of the sole to account for the stitching.

I may just stick with the half size up. I don’t believe the foot box is a true barefoot style. More of a traditional type of boot stitched to a barefoot style sole IMO… still a high quality product that I will be keeping.

The biggest con of barefoot shoes is getting so use to the toe room that anything else can feel constricting.

 

[PBBananaHammock]

@BBob

100% total lifestyle change. I’ve just tried to slowly phase things out, but traditional shoes are torture devices now. Anything thats not zero drop feels like I need some lip stick to go with my high heels.

 

[Lawnboi]

We really need too push for jim green to develop a more suitable sole for steep terrain.

These would be no brainer if they had a good sole on them. The rose anvil didn’t cut it for me.

Really like mine as an all around shoe. They take some break in.

 

[dailyherold]

Given construction, I wonder what cobbler cost would be to put a higher traction sole on the barefoot models?

 

[doc holiday13]

Given construction, I wonder what cobbler cost would be to put a higher traction sole on the barefoot models?

I think I pay $100 for resoles. Most every cobbler i've gone to uses vibram outsoles so probably anything on vibram product line

 

[BBob]

I like the soles that are on them. I’m not in a hurry to change them out at all. When they’re toast I’ll likely go right back to the original. Down here in the rocks and loose sand gravel they’re great. Nice and quiet They’ve done fine higher up in the forest too.

 

[BBob]

Well, another desert sheep hunt down. The Jim Green’s again did great in the rocks. Lots of traction. Soles are wearing just fine. No chunking or anything bad. In the rocks the soles have far better traction than the Vivo ESC. For my purposes so far I have no desire or need to find a different sole. They just work as is unlike the Vivo’s. They are very flexible with near zero support so if your feet aren’t used to it clambering around in these rocks is going to make your feet sore. Even though there’s a toe cap they aren’t impervious to prickly pear spines. Don’t go kicking prickly pears like you would get away with in a pair of Scarpa’s or similar. Even though they have quite a bit of room I do miss the extra big toe volume in the Vivo’s. They are still better than a traditional boot but I do at times notice the less room. I might consider another half size up if I ever need another pair. All in all so far they’ve been a great desert boot for me.

 

[id_jon]

Gave it a go at removing the sole, decided to take it to a cobbler instead. He has Vibram outsoles in stock that will work with the zero drop, going to have him put them on my Troopers once they get here.

 

[RepeatPete]

Gave it a go at removing the sole, decided to take it to a cobbler instead. He has Vibram outsoles in stock that will work with the zero drop, going to have him put them on my Troopers once they get here.

How’d it go with the resole? Any pictures?

 

[id_jon]

How’d it go with the resole? Any pictures?

I still need to pick them up, should be able to do that tomorrow.

 

[Forestryguy]

How have these functioned under a pack, topical weight for a 5-7 day hunt? I have a pair of the ones the bare foot are based on (name is slipping me). I wear them for everything and are the most comfortable footwear I have owned.

 

[Lawnboi]

How have these functioned under a pack, topical weight for a 5-7 day hunt? I have a pair of the ones the bare foot are based on (name is slipping me). I wear them for everything and are the most comfortable footwear I have owned.

These would be about the perfect boot imo if they came with a slightly beefier sole.

I’d bet if we all emailed, they would provide the option, considering they seem to be able to adjust so much.

The sole they come with is decent for dry ground but any snow or mud and they are terrible imo.

 

[Jimbee]

These would be about the perfect boot imo if they came with a slightly beefier sole.

I’d bet if we all emailed, they would provide the option, considering they seem to be able to adjust so much.

The sole they come with is decent for dry ground but any snow or mud and they are terrible imo.

I agree, I bought a custom pair and love them so far. They seem to be very well made.

 

[gostovp]

Cliff Gray posted his Gifts for Hunters video and he has these boots listed in his gear list, which actually surprised me. In his video he talks about guiding in them, but does make a caveat about them maybe no being the best for wearing a heavy pack (sounds like he used them for mostly day hunts with a light pack).

I too am wondering how these boots would work in your typical backcountry public land type hunt scenario (steep and deep and generally pretty rugged)...like many people I've moved to an overall less stiff boot (Schnees Kestrel) but even that boot is a lot more structured than this Jim Green boot...