If you’d like some easy-to-wear, fun patterned barefoot shoes for your kids, check out Be Lenka Play. New in 2020, it offers Velcro to allow your young kids independence with their shoes, a flexible and durable sole, and solidly constructed upper for long-lasting play. We purchased these shoes at a discount, but all thoughts are my own.
Technical Specifications:
- Upper: Leather
- Lining: Textile
- Sole: Vulcanized rubber
- 8 color combinations
- Sizes 25-35
Company Information:
Be Lenka is a surprisingly young barefoot company, compared to their position in the market as one of the most well-known brands. They were established in 2017 and remain designed and produced in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. They have a dual purpose of marketing both barefoot shoes and ergonomic baby carriers and you can read more about them here.
Appearance:
These are very distinctive shoes in the Army colorway. For me personally, this is not my thing. But when I decided to get my middle son these shoes I let him pick the color himself. He’s loved them. He usually slides them on with joggers/sweat pants (hates jeans) and goes out to do what kids do. If you’re looking for Sunday best or school shoes, you’ll need to pick one of the more sedate colors like all black.
Fit:
All Be Lenka shoes are beautifully wide in the toebox, and these are not as bean-shaped as the adult shoes, meaning your kids should have plenty of room in a variety of foot shapes.
I do think that, like many of their adult newer models such as the Eazy I reviewed here, they are not the highest volume shoes. My kid does okay, but they’re snug on his high volume feet. Medium-volume feet will be fine and low should be fine with the use of the velcro, but we can’t attest to that personally.
Sizing:
Be Lenka recommends adding up to 1 cm of extra length. I follow this research that says 1.2 cm is the minimum, and really up to 1.7 is ideal so that they can keep wearing them for several months without the extra space shrinking so far they lose gap needed for optimal toe movement.
Be Lenka is always great to provide both width and length in size charts:
Measuring our 35s with the Plus 12, I get 22.5 just like the sizing chart. That means you can follow these measurements to get the optimal fit for your kids. If you are unsure how to measure, check out this post.
Flexibility:
At 6 mm, the sole is on the thicker side, especially for kids’ shoes. I can flex these, and he’s had no complaint, but it will take more effort to flex something like this than something that is more like 3 mm.
The positive tradeoff here is that you get some great durability. They still look great after rocks, and mud, and everything else kids get into.
Wet and Winter Wear:
Some of the models are nubuck and some are smooth leather, like this Army version. That combined with the molded sole gives you a modicum of water protection, but, you have to go further to increase that if you’re going to be around a lot of wet conditions. There are several waterproofing options on this page, but there is no membrane in these, so you’re going to want to go with the Penguin model if that’s something you need. Similarly, these are unlined, while Penguin does sport a lining for increased warmth.
Downsides:
The insoles of the ones we received weren’t insoles at all, but just pieces of foam cut into insole shapes. Without a thin, firmer layer on top to give them structure, they immediately slid under his feet and we removed them. This was months ago and I didn’t throw them away, but I’ve lost them. We never put them back in even once. Kids need real insoles too.
Without them, he doesn’t want to go sockless, but otherwise is fine going out and about with his sock feet straight on the midsole.
I’m adding a second note for what I’ve seen in other reviews: some of the designs might not hold up as well as this one does. Both Katja from Bosenogice and Mel from Baresteps have the stars model and found the same issue: the pattern wore off. You can check out their reviews for more details, but I suspect it’s a mix of the printing and the type of leather, nubuck, vs the texturing and smooth leather used on our Army version.
Cleaning and Care:
This particular version of the Play shoes has a smooth upper that is very easy to wipe clean. The soles are knobby and require more attention to get dirt out of them, such as a stiff brush or a method of your choice to dip them in water and loosen things up. Be Lenka has an exhaustive care guide in PDF form on their website and also sends out the paper version with orders.
Purchasing, Shipping, and Returns:
The Play model can be purchased directly from Be Lenka for between $66 and $73, depending on the size you need, and you can save 5% with my non-affiliate code OWBSHOES. If you use this link to make your purchase, I am paid a commission, and it costs you nothing extra.
Shipping to the US is via DHL Express, which is super fast, at the cost of $28.
If you go to purchase from Be Lenka (any model) and see notes like “First half of [Month]” on a product page, that is typically when they expect to receive them for shipment. Once that happens, shipping takes just a few days to reach the US.
Returns are accepted within the EU, with certain countries getting both free shipping and returns. Check out the full policies here.
Final thoughts:
Aside from the insole, which needs to be an actual insole, these have been good. My middle son likes them and he doesn’t like shoes. He’ll put them on quick and go. The sole has held up great and the upper shows no signs of wear, like some of the other designs. If you like the girly designs, maybe watch for them to be improved, but this one definitely holds up well and for a kid that lives in bare feet almost every day, he has no complaints.
Want more reviews?
Check out All the Barefoot Shoe Reviews for more in-depth looks.
Looking for Winter?
Take a look at this BIG list.
Want to check out other lists, such as color and type break-downs?
Check out all the BIG lists here.
