This is a good shoe for firmer surfaces such as pavement and compact trails. My only barefoot experience before this is with Merrell's Vapor Glove which is great but very minimalist. I was looking for something that could be used on tougher ground, which brought me to this shoe. The Primus Trail Swimrun accomplished this. It fits comfortably and the design is very aesthetically pleasing. I've seen some people say that the shoe irritates the back of their ankles but I have not had that problem at all. The only drawback is that I ordered true to size, but the shoe was still way too big in the toe box. I returned my first pair and ordered a size down and now they fit great.