I have been wearing these tabi for many years. I just received a new pair. Went down a size from last time to allow for stretching. The price has come down a great deal since I purchased my first pair. They are very good value for the price and I highly recommend them
The leather is much thinner than what I'm used to from shoes. It almost feels like glove leather - which leads to it feeling like a glove (nice!) but also worries that it might not be durable (not nice). It does smell nice though, and the color is magnificient.
The sole is super flexible - as I was hoping - and thin. Yet the stitches where the sole and the upper material come together don't look as refined as I would expect from a shoe in this price range.
I will see how durable this shoe is - especially the thin leather.
Although pretty these shoes are too heavy and stiff to qualify as barefoot. They are padded inside and have a thick chunky sole, there is no "ground feel" as I'm used to with barefoot shoes. Movement in them does not feel free and light. The left shoe arrived creased as if already worn and feels tight even though I bought a wide fitting which is usually sufficient. I am however lucky to have any shoes at all given that my order was "missed" and my email "lost" and no response from the seller until I contacted PayPal. I did then receive an apology but no compensation. Very disappointed but will keep the shoes for dress up rather than the every day shoe as I'd hoped. I can imagine returns would be an impossible nightmare anyway.
Tracking number saying the item is delivered but still nothing about exchange or return, and they just ignore me
Thank you for your feedback, which is important to us.
We responded to your request for a return within 48 hours. We apologise if there was a delay in processing the return once received as swiftly as we would like.
We are a team of two and at busy times short delays can occur. We are in the process of expanding our logistics and customer service team to maintain the outstanding customer service we strive to offer.
We have communicated in full regarding your exchange request and are in the process of fulfilling this. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us directly if you need anything further and we hope that you enjoy your new shoes.
Very disappointed with the service. No response to emails or rectified a request. I will no doubt need to pay for extra shipping.
Thank you for your message. We are very sorry this is your impression.
We have tried to call you but have not been able to reach you. We did receive an email from you and have emailed you back within 1 business day requesting further information, which was not provided in the initial email, to action your request. We have not heard back from you yet. Please do reach out to us directly via info@gauchoninja.com or call us on 07702 647397 so we can help. We hope to hear from you.
My feet measure: 26cm long//10cm wide//medium volume feet
First impressions: I have been using barefoot shoes exclusively for both training and everyday for five years now and this was the last thing missing. They do feel a bit stiff and heavy, but thats nothing compared to the "normal" work boots. They will need some breaking in - some pain with chafing on my left heel, but that is to be expected with this type of shoe. To me it feels like a lot of room around the toes (also above), but the shoes still stay in place perfectly when laced properly all the way up. The build is out of this world, and such a nice quality for apporximately the same price i would have had to pay for "normal" work boots.
I see some reviews being negative, but I wonder if that has to do with them not being used to barefoot and have a gate that does not work well with this type of boot yet. It does take some getting used to, and the right muscles in the feet need to be trained.
However, it would have been nice with better size guidance. I.e. info on the width and length of the insole for each size as well as how they are expected to fit on low, medium and high volume feet. I got lucky with the size, but from other reviews I can see that other people weren´t.
To summarize: I am very happy and will most likely be using and mending these shoes as long as I can.
Just got the Hattori Hanzo Tabis. they are amazing quality, craftsmanship and beauty!
Immediately became my favorite shoes.
The delivery was super fast (got them 3 days after placing order....
Thanks so much for such a great product! keep it up!!
Love the quality of the welted safety boots, but for shoes that claim to "feel like barefoot shoes", there's far too little room in the toe box. The width feels okay, but there's basically no extra vertical room for my toes.
I went to a cobbler (who, btw, took note of the nice quality of the shoes) to ask if he could take out the glued in 1cm thick anti perforation sole and replace it with something thinner. Of course this will impair safety, but I hope I will be able to wear the shoes comfortably at least.
Costumer support has been non existent. I informed about the delay on the delivery, no response. I informed about the lack of toe room and the anti perforation sole, no response.
The idea is great, but I would hold off on buying this shoe for a while.
Thank you for your feedback on both the product you received and your customer service experience. We have emailed you directly and reached out to you regarding the specifics of your order and questions and hope that you have had the opportunity to receive this reply. Please refer to this and let us know if there is anything further, we can help you with.
In summary, yes, the anti-puncture layer can be removed but it will no longer comply with our certification or warranty.
Our Goodyear welted barefoot Carpenter Safety Shoe 2.0 offers additional extra height in the toe cap to our previous version and is the widest toe cap available in a safety shoe.
We sincerely apologize that you did not receive the reassurances you required in a more timely way, we are in the process of expanding our logistics and customer service team to maintain the outstanding customer service we strive to offer and thank all our customers for their patience at this time.
I was very excited for these work boots. I opened my box, pulled out the boot. I placed my foot inside the boot and began lacing. With the first pull of the lace, a lace hook flew off the boot. This was very surprising. If the boots fall apart upon lacing, they will not survive the work day. Even worse, I immediately emailed Gaucho Ninja, within minutes of this happening. Pictures included. I have yet to receive a response. I am running out of time to return these per their return policy. This was a terrible purchase.
Construction is solid. A few stitches are a bit wonky but for the most part tidy and definitely sturdy. The goodyear welt means they should last me years, but ultra ground feel lovers be aware that these prioritize durability over ground feel. Leather is thick and smooth.
Aesthetically good enough for slacks, which many barefoot "dress" shoes claim to be, but most don't really pass as dress shoe in my opinion. I will say, I think the derby or boots (non brogue) are probably the most polished options, but I opted for these loafers as I don't need ultra dressy, and wanted the convenience of slip on. I may get the black Chelseas in the future in.
Wide toe box. I almost wish it sacrificed a tiny bit of splay for aesthetics, but I can wear these all day. Higher volume than I expected. So thin socks or barefoot my foot slides around a smidge. Wool socks is a snug fit. Might look into getting a tongue pad for a more snug fit. I got 45 EU; I am 46 (12.5) in Lems, Whitin, and Be Lenka for reference. Length and width is good, just a little higher volume than expected.
Received the wrong size, sent 2 emails with no reply. I would avoid based on customer service
Thank you for your message. We are very sorry that you have a negative impression of our customer service.
We are concerned that you may not have received our email responses to you, we have emailed, processed your initial request and requested more information so we can finalise your request and as yet have not heard back from you.
Please could you contact customer service on info@gauchoninja.com or call us directly on + 44 7702 647 397 so that we can help you fully and resolve your order issue, thank you.
Update: i was finally contacted by customer service. A satisfactory resolution has been presented but not fulfilled as of yet. Will further amend review if and when the resolution has been honored.
I placed my order prior to the end of may deadline. Last update email was on 7/10 saying we would get a notification the following week. I have now sent 4 emails, sent messages on WhatsApp, called 2 times, trying to get an update, with absolutely zero communication. And this is spanning the last 12 days. DO NOT ORDER. NO boots no communication just a lighter wallet.
Thank you for your feedback which is important to us. We will not discuss the details of our communication as this is private. We are very sorry that there was a delay in processing your order and in our customer service communication. We are in the process of expanding our customer service team, to maintain the outstanding customer service we strive to offer.
We acknowledge that occasionally mistakes occur, and when this happens, we do our utmost to reach a positive and fair resolution for our customers.
We did offer and process a full refund, which you have received and offered you compensation as a gesture of sincere apology for the initial error.
We feel we did our very best to respond positively to the initial error and offered a fair and generous resolution. We do not feel your review reflects this effort and resolution and hope that upon reflection you agree.
Love these Gaucho Ninja’s
Super comfy and breaking them in just fine.
Also, i live that it passes my daily ESD necessities
These shoes are amazing. A little rough to break in the heal but it’s amazing to have a well designed dress shoe that doesn’t kill my feet.
Tried to converse with customer service and got absolutely no response. Should take off a star for that but they are absolutely fantastic!
When I learned the new line of Gaucho Ninja shoes were made in China I was concerned, but I decided to suspend judgment and order a pair of the new Derby. That was the shoe I had been wanting for years. They arrived yesterday.
They look and feel like shoes made in China, and they do not compare to the earlier goodyear-welted Gauchos that were made in Spain. They are far heavier, the materials appear to be cheaper, quality control appears to be lower (small details in construction suggest this), and they do not have the flexibility that earlier Gauchos had. They are clunky by comparison to the original Gauchos. I know they are more affordable, and I suppose that may be valuable for some. But, imo, they aren't even the same shoe anymore. I associated Gaucho with supreme quality before. Now it's a different brand, imo. I hope Gaucho brings back the earlier Chukkas that were made in Spain, at least as an additional product option for those who are willing to spend a little more. It was so much better than these 2.0 shoes.
$250 great not $400 great. My humble opinion
The boots are high quality.
For me, at the moment, with a high instep, without a shoehorn, I cannot put this pair on. As a result of the use of the shoehorn, I hope that the inside of the heel will not show some early wear and tear.
A waterproof zipper on the inside of the boots could solve my problem. Maybe if the stretch fabric would loosen up a little more by using them further, the problem for me can solve itself. For others, the problem with accessing the boots, can simply be nonexisting.
It ‘d my 4th pair of Gaucho Ninja. (2 safety: low shoe and ankle boot and also a pair of barefoot pals.)
I am a fan of the Gaucho Ninja brand! Quality for barefoot walkers. 😉
Only a few years ago there weren't really any options out there if you wanted a sort of traditionally styled boot with barefoot shoe cues. So I appreciate all the options available these days. Unfortunately, some manufacturers idea of a bare foot boot is just making the entire boot as wide as possible. Compared to some other barefoot Chelsea style boots I tried on, the gaucho ninja ones fit excellent right out of the box. I wear these for work (even though they have a proper work version -but it doesn't have a replaceable sole so not for me) and just going out in town. They look pretty smart for the most part, and not too much like giant flippers like some other manufacturers design them to resemble. They do excel at barefoot qualities as well, namely they are flexible and have generous room in the toe box.
What I do not like are the flimsy insoles and the fabric-y layers on the inside. I'd rather just have an all leather boot for durabilities sake. However, these less desirable pieces might be included to provide the flexibility aspect -something I'd give up as I generally just want more toe room and no heel.
Oh and the tariff (not their fault) was expensive. Almost $80.
I want to start by saying I had an issue with my wife's pair, the sole started peeling off on hers, so I emailed GN and they promptly shipped a replacement pair without me having to go through the hassle of returning mine.
These shoes are beautiful and supple, I bought a pair a few years ago, of the black barefoot pals which apparently were made with goat leather, since then I can see that they have added a reinforcement to the toe in teh front so they don't look too floppy. I have 0 complaints and hope they last me a long time. They look sharp, and the suede feels amazing.
I made a pretty big (for me) order with Gaucho, Lisandro and Karen, which kind of had some complications in the meantime with technical detail due to a bespoke order. SO, I went to the UK and met them and was so surprised. When I went to their workshop, I ended up buying the Pals wide in two colors, which are the most comfortable barefoot shoes I've ever worn, as well as best quality all around, and Lisandro makes things resolable, so if you take care of them, they will last a long time. I also bought the Chelsea in the brown French leather, which is like a beautiful leather sock that is dressable, as well as rugged, it check all boxes. The bespoke I had made are impeccable. It took a while for us to hit the nail on the head, I genuinely think mainly due to communication. In total, I have yet to find a brand like Gaucho, and stand-up employees that really went the extra mile to "make things right" displaying integrity, knowledge and a true care to this craft. I would not hesitate for a moment to try anything Gaucho, as compared to all of the other barefoot shoes I've tried. Also, I've went down a size, from 42-43 to 41, due to not needing the extra space at the tip of the shoe desired for the extra width needed in skinnier shoes.
These might be the first shoes I’ve ever owned that actually fit my wide feet. I got them for work and I have been wearing them everywhere.
UPS delivered my shipment to a wrong adress. Somewhere random. Entirely UPSes fault. But Karen in Gaucho Ninja customer service was very much not a Karen and was super helpful and re-shipped a new pair without a problem.
Very happy.
Great quality, extremely soft and comfortable
These shoes look and feel great, but the bulbous end may simply be too wide. I am still not sure if they look good in a suit and am always self conscious. But the quality is superb.