Three pairs - no smell. Black leather, worn every day at work for a year, slight wear on the ball of the sole. Grey trainers, worn most days for walking the dogs, slight wear on the ball of the sole. Brown sandals, worn every day during the summer and as house slippers, much less wear across and central on the ball.

The laces are original. There are no signs of wear on any of the shoes.

My only gripe it the trainers cannot go in the washing machine although I have washed the insoles.

I have a pair of the bright blue MBTS that I've worn almost daily for over a year. I also have a pair of the black sandals. I never want to wear anything else.

The people commenting on problems with blisters etc., make me wonder if their shoes were not fitted properly? The person who sold me mine was very knowledgeable and patient, and spent a lot of time making sure I had the right fit. In fact rather than sell me a pair that would have been off by 1/3 of a size, he ordered the right size so I had to wait a couple of weeks for them.

Now I have just taken up running, and I want to buy a pair for running in. I wish they weren't so expensive, but they have changed my life - eliminated lower back pain I lived with for nearly 20 years (starting in my early 20s).

To be honest i'd try Chung Shi shoes, as they look so much more normal! I do hear that they aren't great for running in tho. Quick look at google
shows Fashionshop and
Fitness Footwear selling them. They are also available in John Lewis, i did see someone trying MBT's and Chung Shi's the other day. Chung Shi seem to be a lot lighter too. Again, MBT's better for running in!
Carla

There have been no comments about slimming results of the MBT's. Ads claim after 3 wks the customer lost "at least an inch around each thigh". Could I start with the athletic 2" heel versus buying sport 1 1/2" to avoid buying 2 pairs for same desired results?

please can anyone tell me where these can be bought in Yorkshire??

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It is very important that you are fitted correctly with the MBT.

Ideally you want some room for your toes since the construction of the shoe is exaggerating your toe-off movement. At the same time you want both of your feet to be securely locked into your shoes.

Since the function of the MBT is to enhance your entire foot-strike activity, this causes more movement (and need for precise fitting) than in most regular shoes.

If you are interested in trying MBTs, the first challenge is to get an accurate measurement of your feet in "European Size" and always use this as your standard for fitting MBTs.

So how can you get you the correct fit if you are not able to visit a store? Very simple -- follow the steps outlined on this site:
www.FeetFirstFitness.com

If you are looking to buy MBT shoes on-line it is important that you are not influenced by all the hype regarding the "Sport High" versus the "Sport".

As a result of the higher mid-sole due to the more angled heel sensor: your muscles are slightly more activated when using the Sport High than when using any of the other MBT models. Some people just feel more comfortable being a little higher off the ground. If you prefer this type of MBT: there is absolutely no need to have to buy the regular-height soled MBTs before you are "ready" for this one.

www.FeetFirstFitness.com has excellent information available regarding how to fit your MBTs even if you are doing this on-line.

I don't live near any store that has more than 5 styles of the MBT so ordered my MBT Hiking Boots (Kilima) on-line at www.FeetFirstFitness.com... It was the only site I could find that has no-nonsense fitting information and other information. The advice and service is great; normally I am a US size 11/ European 45, but when I faxed in an outline of my foot to their customer service they suggested I get a US 11.5/ European which fits perfectly!

I just got my MBT's for father's day and I am amazed. I broke my back approximately 4 1/2 months ago. i have had constant lower back pain and arch of foot pain. since i have been wearing these my lower back pain has virtually vanished and my arch pain is getting better all the time. I think it is because the shoe gets my posture a lot more upright! I love em

I bought my MBT's online at www.feetfirstfitness.com and I really thank you for the trade!! I thought I will never find a fitting MBT, but with the help of www.feetfirstfitness.com I found my MBT! And they have sandals as well, perfect for the summer.

Inspired by the way the Masai of Kenya walk, MBT stands for Masai Barefoot Technology, the revolutionary technology used in the shoes that enables the body to stand and walk in the way intended by nature. MBT Physiological Footwear offers proven stress relief to the knee and hip joints, and strengthens and tones leg, abdominal and buttocks muscles using proprietary technology that mimics the effect of walking barefoot on uneven terrain. MBT is the first physiological footwear. Masai Barefoot Technology is patented worldwide.

The MBT line, the seminal brand and product of Swiss Masai US, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Masai Group International, Ltd, is now available in 21 countries around the world.

If you decide to buy a pair look at www.feetfirstfitness.com!

If you are looking for excellent information on MBT Shoes & Sandals, the best no nonsense place to go for this is www.FeetFirstFitness.com

www.FeetFirstFitness.com includes all of the following important elements in your optimal MBT experience and STEPPING INTO A BETTER BODY:

FIT MBT ONLINE

BUY MBT ONLINE

ORDERING MBT ONLINE

MBT TRAINING INFORMATION

MBT RESOLING INFORMATION

MBT PRODUCT ASSORTMENT

EXCELLENT MBT CUSTOMER SERVICE

We look forward to your visit and wish you a rocking day!

www.FeetFirstFitness.com

Have just bought MBT's and its too early to say how they will be. I also read about them not lasting/being all hype etc so bought a pair of EARTH shoes first. In my experience nasty narrow heal cup and each footstep seemed to pound through me. Despite persistence I have given up on them.

I have two pairs of Chung Shi's and they are fantastic for me, I can walk miles without any foot pain which I couldn't do in normal boots/trainers etc. Has anyone else got Chung shi' s as well as MBT's I want to know if there is any difference or anymore benefit from MBT's

heyho all
i am 42 with joints and neuro probs which suggest a body going 80 sigh ... all sports injuries. i take a chemist load of medication to manage arthritis etc but nothing could ease the shin pain which was really agonising ... to the extent of preventing walking on bad days. along came mtbs about 3 years ago. i had the red squared toed granny boot variety, and have never looked back. i now have the pale blue, the funky black and red, the plain black, the grey sports, the walking boots, and sandals. santa is bringing me a pair of the funky whitey-grey walkers for christmas. i have been wearing mbts every day since my first pair arrived, and as i have a pair for all occassions no other foot wear is required. my shins? massive improvement. lumbar spine denervation, way less acerbic. they are wonderful, and i swear by them. i tried the negative heel shoes of a competitor ... awful. the pressure put on my knee joints was unmanageable. i have recommended mtbs to friends with sports injuries, and an overweight friend whose leg pain on activity was making it difficult to get to the gym. all that's changed. cynics ... open your mind. these simple shoes have changed my life. i can work longer hours, and keep up with friends on a night out. i cannot praise mbts highly enough.

can my shoes be washed in a machine?

I have had my MBT's on my feet for about a year now. I wear them every day and any other shoe feels strange on my feet. I run in them in the winter because it is too cold for me to bike outside. The sides of my shoes closest to the heel have eroded so much I almost bought a new pair. I decided to squirt some silicone glue/gel in where the erosion was. They dried and are as good as new. For $250 I would have thought they be indistructable. I have worn other shoes for longer amounts of time and they have still held up. MBT should research this problem. I googled the issue and found many people have the same problem but MBT states somewhere you should only be wearing the shoes for 4 hours a day. I did not see that written anywhere before I bought them and purchased them with the intent to wear all day. I will continue to wear them though. It's too bad MBT goes to great length to ignore consumers thoughts about this problem. They rarely respond and when they do they simply state you should only wera them for 4 hours a day. I would love for them to find a material to replace where the shoe erodes.

Last year our personal friend and inventor of the MBT, Karl Mueller, departed from his MBT kingdom in order to pursue other inventions and creations. At first we felt that this would not at all have an impact on the MBT product, which seemed to be at such a high quality and outstanding level. Nor did we feel it would impact the company's business units as Karl had partnered his brand with many excellent people worldwide.

On the business side we were wrong: immediately MBT's US subsidiary in Idaho (our direct business partner for the brand) was completely reorganized and new managers were hired, most of whom had made their previous careers in the low end and discount shoe businesses.

Their first move was to completely change the MBT product line: out with the old and in with the new. And as a consequence at the end of 2007 we ran an amazing sale on the dropped MBTs and we thank many of our customers for their enthusiastic participation and business in this sale of our existing inventory.

Even more significantly, on the product side we were unfortunately also wrong: having recommended, fitted and sold over 5,000 pairs of the entire MBT product line since 2004 from both our brick & mortar and our online virtual stores, it quickly became apparent to ourselves and to our customers that most of the MBTs produced after Karl's departure were not even close to what we had become accustom to...

In particular, starting in November 2007 we began receiving a plethora of complaints from customers that their MBTs were wearing out -- of the outsoles and collapsing Masai sensors -- already after only three weeks of usage (attached is a picture study of the outsole of the MBT Sport comparing the older and the newer product executions).

Since then we have also wear-tested many of the new Spring 2008 MBTs and, also unfortunately, the results have been extremely poor: POOR FIT, COLLAPSING MASAI SENSOR, PREMATURE & COMPLETE OUTSOLE WEAR, LACK OF STABILITY, EXTREMELY HEAVY... And as a result somewhat reluctantly, we have now decided to no longer sell the MBT in our store until (hopefully) the former quality of this once-great-product has one day been completely restored.

Just as we had been so enthusiastic in communicating and promoting the MBT brand when it was in its prime, we hope you understand our decision that we can not support any of our former efforts, convictions and recommendations based on the poor product quality issues present in almost all of the current MBT products. Quite frankly, there is no way we could recommend & sell the MBT in its current execution FOR OVER US$ 200!!! and expect our customers at all to continue to take our advice and recommendation seriously.

To conclude, it appears that even more significantly than driving the MBT creation and innovation, Karl Mueller, during his time at the company, was successful in maintaining the MBT shoe's high execution standard of quality production. With him no longer involved, we are convinced that the MBT is no longer what it once was... and that anyone who has been as involved with the MBT as closely, as thoroughly and as long as ourselves is similarly in complete agreement with our position.

for all the people complaining about their MBT's wearing out, they can be resoled for @ 34 pounds including posting back to your home.
Your local MBT supplier will have the details

I heard from a friend that there are imitation MBT shoes flooding the market. I just bought a pair of black leather MBT ladies shoes called Amali, made in Indonesia. Have I bought genuine MBT shoews or not?

Can you help me, please? I bought them in a sports shop in Newcastle upon Tyne called "Start Football"

Thank you. Josepha Blay

Have been wearing MBT shoes and sandals for 3 years- don't like to wear any other sort of footwear- really allowed me to start serious walking again after developing a sore heel.They look strange but I think they are great-BUT
have worn through the soles on both shoes and sandals and now need to get them resoled- it seems to be very expensive- have been quoted £59 per pair and another quote £45- need some help here- and quickly- don't want to be without them for a long time- and a new pair is soooooo expensive.
Bought the ladies walking boots in the winter but found it difficult to get used to them- have put them away in box now for summer but would like to feel more confident about the boots??
Mary

I purchased a pair of the MBT trainers named the MBT Changa. When I received them, I was a bit thrown back on how weird they looked. They looked clunky and huge. I put them on and was instantly feeling weird. They rock back and forth, due to the curved sole. But after a few minutes of wearing these MBT's, I became use to the weird motion and began to walk around. They actually felt really good. Walking felt better from some reason. As you walk, the shoe actually propels you in a correct motion. When standing still, you feel more upright and my back felt more straight. Love them.

I found a few interesting articles about MBT Footwear

Those information above is extremely interesting！By the way,http://www.newbalancemall.com/ is a good place to purchase New Balnce shoes. Come to take a look.

Mark,It's not Google's fault that there's not a proper app. ,

The best thing about MBT shoes is that they're insanely comfortable. I bought them because I was having lower back pain and they do help to take some of the strain off, though I won't say all of it all the time. The claim that they help you lose weight or to "tone up" I think is a bit of a stretch... I understand the theory behind the whole instability of the soles causing you to supposedly use neglected muscles which promotes weight loss but for me it just hasn't been substantial enough to notice a difference.

Even though these shoes are expensive, they're worth it for the comfort factor though. You can read more here why I don't feel that MBT shoes are good for weight loss but may help with back pain.

MBT's are the silliest, silliest silliest piece of promotional nonsense in the whole history of slap-headedly stupid consumerism.

Barefoot shoes! I despair. Take your freaking shoes off people -you got the whole barefoot experience right there -and believe me, as a fulltime barefooter of years of experience it is nothing, repeat NOTHING like walking around with a pair of rocking chairs tied to your feet!

Wear silly shoes and mouth pseudoscientific gibberish about proprioception if you like. Just don't call it barefoot!

Have been wearing MBT shoes and sandals for 3 years- don't like to wear any other sort of footwear- really allowed me to start serious walking again after developing a sore heel.They look strange but I think they are great-BUT
have worn through the soles on both shoes and sandals and now need to get them resoled- it seems to be very expensive- have been quoted £59 per pair and another quote £45- need some help here- and quickly- don't want to be without them for a long time- and a new pair is soooooo expensive. I am also wearing Kawasaki Shoes who are great!
Bought the ladies walking boots in the winter but found it difficult to get used to them- have put them away in box now for summer but would like to feel more confident about the boots??
Lea

You do two things. You make sure your heels are at the back of the show and the toes are free. Then you make sure they are laced tight. The other thing is contact your supplier; they will make sure you wear them properly.
Regards, Tim.

A MBT shoe is very special and that's why I wear them. It has a positive on the entire body, not just the feet. They actives your muscles instead of undermining them. It is unstable, not stable. The sole is not flat, it's curved. In other words: It is the antithesis of a shoe. I will not miss them.

I have been wearing MBT's since being told I have heel spurs & plantafaciatus in 2002. After suffering a multitude of steroid injections in my heels I was giving up & as surgery was not an option as I would have ended up in a wheel chair. My husband found an article in a sunday paper so I went for a fitting, bought a pair straight away & yes you are only meant to where them for a limited time. I have in 12yrs very rarely sufferd again with chronic pain. I still wear my original pair but have 2 sandles, 2 baby blue trainers, 1 white trainer. My original black pair the sole came loose within a few weeks but MBT repaired them & I had them back within 3 weeks. I would only buy from a respectable retailer. Frome a very satisfied customer