The Vivobarefoot Primus Trail II FG is a water-resistant minimalist trail shoe that does a very good job at keeping your feet warm and dry when splashing through puddles, mud, snow and slush in cool conditions, and whether you go fast or slow, this beastly shoe is ready for heavy duty, high mileage run, hikes and walks!
What’s the Vivobarefoot Primus Trail II FG Good for?
The Primus Trail II FG is built for high mileage runs, hikes and walks on any terrain, especially rocky routes since the sole has added push-through protection from pointy items. The Primus Trail II FG also makes an excellent water shoe and biking shoe, especially for mountain biking!
The Primus Trail II FG is also stylish enough for causal apparel, and you should take every advantage of wearing these shoes casually because the unrestrictive fit forces the feet to function independently which gets them more strong and powerful on their own!
Sole Specifications
The Vivobarefoot Primus Trail II FG sits on a zero-drop, thin, more durable rubber sole that’s fantastically protective on rough terrain. At the same time, the sole still welcomes generous amounts of ground-feel to be a corrective tool for improving your forefoot running form!
Despite being exceptionally durable, the sole is incredibly light, flexible and traction-oriented which really makes you feel fast and stable on technical terrain. Even better, the robust sole helps smooth out the roughness feeling of harsh, beat up, cracked roads, and you can barely feel any rocks you trek over.
The sole is fully studded with mega-grip lugs that supplies solid grip in snowy, slushy, sloppy conditions. The shoe also comes with a removable insole that not only supplies more smoothing of the road, it also, somehow, gives the sole even better grip!
Upper Specifications
The Vivobarefoot Primus Trail II GF’s upper has robust overlays which is made of recycled high performance materials that keep your feet warm and dry when splashing through puddles, mud and snow. The upper’s mesh is also highly breathable and quick drying.
Additionally, the entire upper is super flexible which allows your feet to freely function almost as if they were barefoot!
Better yet, the upper does a fine job at keeping out the elements while providing excellent protection from the elements, thanks to having more protection points, such as the sole wrapping up along the side walls to guard against any rocks or sticks.
For an enhanced fit, the toe-box is very wide which gives your toes plenty of room to fully spread, extend, bend and relax during all phases of running and walking. This also improves the shape of your feet in ways that the traditional running shoe could never do because the toe box is too narrow and stiff.
Last but not least, the lacing actually makes it easier to slip on the shoe and secures it nicely at the ankle to stop slipping and blisters.
Final Thoughts
For a trail-specific shoe, the Vivobarefoot Primus Trail II FG really bridges the gap between barefoot-feel and lasting protective comfort. This is why these shoes are definitely for those who like to feel the ground under their feet, but don’t want to feel every sharp object pushing through their underfoot. The Primus Trail II FG thin sliver of cushioning really goes a long way in offering additional comfort that doesn’t detract from a natural, balanced connection with the ground.
What is more, the Primus Trail II FG is built to last, a true minimalist breakthrough as the shoe has excellent durability quality, making it a solid shoe for high-mileage.
If you’ve enjoyed this review, you’ll love my reviews on the top-rated barefoot shoes here! You should also check out my YouTube channel (here!) where I discuss why forefoot running is safer and overall better than heel strike running!
Bretta Riches
BSc Neurobiology; MSc Biomechanics candidate, ultra minimalist runner & founder of RunForefoot. I was a heel striker, always injured. I was inspired by the great Tirunesh Dibaba to try forefoot running. Now, I'm injury free. This is why I launched Run Forefoot, to advocate the health & performance benefits of forefoot running and to raise awareness on the dangers of heel striking, because the world needs to know.
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