White barefoot shoes give you an undeniably classic look and I’ve already compiled a big list of white barefoot shoes here, including my long-loved Mukishoes Cloud Canvas and the newer Nimbus with brown accents. But you really step things up a notch with the GEO Court. Read on to see if these are the white minimalist shoes you’ve been missing.
Disclaimer: I bought these myself, but I am an affiliate of VIVO so if you use a link on this page to make a purchase you are supporting the blog and it costs you nothing extra. In fact, you can save 10% on most purchases with the code OWB10 in addition to using the link. You can also check out my previous review, for the Fulham boots, here, which has a good explanation of crossing over to the men’s side of the shoe aisle as a woman.
Pictures were compiled over several months and comparison with Geo Shell added later.
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Company Information
VIVOBAREFOOT is approaching 10 years old and comes with an impressive pedigree, being started by sons of the Clark family, well-known shoemakers. They’re the 7th generation of family cobblers. VIVO cares about sustainability, waste reduction, ground feel, and more – things that we, as wearers, care about. Check it out here.
The shoes are made in Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi, Vietnam.
Technical Specifications
- Upper: Wildhide leather sourced from free-roaming cattle at small-scale farms
- Outsole: “Movement Outsole” that’s 2.5 mm thick with 2 mm of golf-ball inspired tread
- Lining: Leather (back half) and textile (front half)
- Insole: I’m not sure, but it’s not a cushy foam and some may want to replace it for that reason
- Available in both Men’s and Women’s versions
Appearance
VIVO has gone out of their way with the Geo Court models to give you a shoe that doesn’t ‘look’ barefoot. The detailing on the faux-sole, where it looks like you have a heel, for example, means people need to really look to see that this shoe is different.
Color-wise, the is Limestone version is considered white, but they have a slight greyish/off-white tinge to them that is common in white leather shoes. You only notice it if you put them up against something else that’s a true bright-white, though.
But when you wear them, they look white, so I wouldn’t worry about it.
Fit
These are the men’s version of the Geo Court II, which means they fit great. My feet are 26.8 x 11 cm and I can almost even wear my Correct Toes in these shoes, but they’re just a teeny bit too tight at the pinky with them in. But for regular wear, they are wonderfully wide.
The back of the heel does come quite high and is stiff at the start, but that has softened. The women’s version may not come up quite so high.
The toe box has a fairly strong slope, leaving me with more room at the big toes than at my outer toes. Keep shape in mind, always, when selecting and sizing shoes. Sometimes you may have a severe mismatch that prevents you wearing a certain style at all, but usually you can play around with sizing and still enjoy the look you want.
Sizing
VIVO offers multiple ways to size products like the Geo Court II. If you’re new to the market, you can get suggested sizing from other brand experiences, using the FIT Finder system on the model pages. For me, as an American, it also offers selections directly in American sizes. With a little digging in the menu system under Explore you can find the actual sizing charts with lengths, and that’s my favorite method. Using the Plus 12 device and measuring from the heel straight to the end (not angled toward the big toe) I get the exact listed measurement of 28.2 cm for my size 43s.
The question on sizing, if you’re in the sweet spot where Men’s and Women’s sizes overlap is: how wide are your feet and do you have a lot of volume? I have some explanations on those and how they affect fit on this page, but basically you will find that women’s VIVOS are more narrow and have less volume, ie – terrible for me. And not good for plenty of others, as well, so it’s great that if you fall in between 40 and 43 you can go either way and pick the shoes that are best for your needs.
Know that if you ‘cross over’ like I did (any terminology about this that involves genders bugs me because I just want it to be Regular and Wide) you will have more width and volume everywhere, including at the heels and ankle opening.
How do they feel?
Ground feel is not primo with the Geo Court II, but the sole looks way thicker than it feels. They’re also not heavily cushioned, which further increases your thoughts that they must be really stiff shoes.
Straight out of the box, they will basically fold, and that’s more about the upper than the sole.
You can squeeze them from the sides just fine, and twist them with some effort.
After wear, the shoes are getting closer to a ‘roll’ but will never truly do that due to the amount of leather above them. Right now, it’s a pretty solid 3-part fold.
With this II release, VIVO says they are softer. I never had the previous version so can’t compare, but these are still some of the stiffest barefoot shoes out of the box and it’s because the leather is thick. They do soften and will crease with wear, though. You can see here how that’s happening, more on my left foot than my right because I have some limited big toe mobility on the right foot. (The things you learn after you get into barefoot shoes…)
On a final note: I really want VIVO to add eyelets to the lacing holes. They’re really stiff to lace and unlace and who wants to spend time fighting beautifully thick leather just to get their shoes on and off?
Comparison with Geo Shell
Several months after releasing the Geo Court II, VIVO came out with the Geo Shell, a lighter and leaner version of their popular court shoe. I am wearing the same size and in the men’s as with the Geo Court II, but at the time of writing only the women’s is still available and is currently discounted.
Taking a look at them both on the feet you can see a similar silhouette, but some definite differences.
The shell has more flair to it, with a higher tongue and higher heel piece, but has the same sole:
And offers a much lighter, more breathable, and thin upper:
It looks from the pictures like the Shell offers less space, but that’s not the case. They feel the same inside, but the upper material of the Court II is so much thinker and leather that it doesn’t hug the foot as tightly as the Shell.
It’s still easily flexible (even more so):
And has a cork insole versus the fabric one inside the Geo Court II:
The laces are much easier to manage and tie quickly, but also tend to come undone so prepare to double knot.
Cleaning and Care
These are leather, so they’re easy to treat (find a product here) and wipe clean. The only place I’ve struggled to remove a stain is the stitching at the pinky toe. They did this arts attachment for the front parts of the sides and day 1! I dropped them when I was taking some don’t-wear-them-yet-woman, get-some-clean-pics pictures. Some soaking may take care of even that.
As with most minimalist shoes: do not machine wash or dry them.
Purchasing, Shipping, and Returns
VIVOBAREFOOT stock doesn’t last, and this particular color is almost sold out (of course!) but you can get other colors more easily, including the very cool Obsidian-White colorway. All pairs are $150 currently, before the 10% OWB10 discount.
Final Thoughts
These are some of the thickest barefoot shoes I own, and, in that respect, not at the top of the list when I think ‘what do I want to wear today.’ They have their place in the market, though, as not everyone can or wants to wear the thinnest shoes, and I wear them for the looks more than anything. VIVO GEO COURT IIs look cool, they can really help with those who are sensitive to too much ground feel or need extra support (you’d need a cushier insole, though). I’m glad they’re on the market and if they ever let the cute colors cross over into the wider men’s styles, I’ll be happy to grab another pair.
Want more reviews?
Check out All the Barefoot Shoe Reviews for more in-depth looks.
Want to check out other lists, such as color and type break-downs?
Check out all the BIG lists here.
