Best Barefoot Freedom Minimalist Sandals | Xero Shoes Review | Jessie

By Elly McGuinness

What are the best barefoot minimalist sandals? And why?

I waited a while to answer this question and review the Jessie sandal from Xero Shoes. I wanted to be super sure my pair could really pass the test of time. Functionality and versatility are two of the most important features I believe you need from barefoot freedom sandals.

Now, in this post, I’ll explain how the Jessie barefoot sandals have passed those tests for me.

Ok, and also to keep it real…I had my second baby around the time I received my Jessie sandals. So I was kind of busy during the first year of wearing them!

[The photo below is of me wearing the Jessie’s in one of my first post-baby outings!].

Minimalist sandals - Xero shoes review - Jessie barefoot sandal

Read on to learn more about these super cute minimalist sandals. If you prefer, you can watch my video review of the Jessies at the top of this page. I have also included the video transcript at the end of the post.

The video was really the first part of the review because I did it not long after I started wearing the Jessies.

And now I’ve put together the full post almost one year later. I’m still wearing the Jessies, so I know they’ve really stood the test of time.

(This post includes affiliate links for which I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you should you make a purchase)

[Click here to check the latest prices on the Jessie sandal at Xero Shoes].

Xero Shoes review | Jessie minimalist sandals

Before I get into my most recent Xeroshoes review I want to highlight a couple of things.

First of all, full disclosure, I’m a Xero Shoes Ambassador and affiliate. I became an ambassador after I did my first review. By then I had decided I loved this company and their range of barefoot shoes and sandals that are designed for natural movement.

As an experienced health and fitness trainer and coach, I only promote products or services on this site that I believe are relevant for living your fittest, healthiest life.

Secondly, if you want to you can jump straight to my other Xero Shoes reviews:

  1. My very first sandal review: Xero shoes z trail review, which I first wrote before I was an ambassador. At the time, I was looking for the best sports sandals and all-around adventure sandals. I definitely love it as a performance-based sports sandal. If you’re after women’s or men’s running sandals (barefoot style), definitely check them out.
  2. My Xero shoes review of the Cassie barefoot shoe. I wore this one immediately after the birth of my daughter. Like the Jessie, it’s more of a lifestyle shoe rather than a performance-based one.
  3. The other shoe I’ve been wearing from Xero Shoes is the Terraflex. These minimalist shoes are designed for the trail, so you can use them for barefoot-inspired trail running and hiking. Here’s my review of the upgraded version, the Terraflex II, released for spring and summer 2022.
  4. I have also reviewed the Kids Prio from Xero Shoes. It’s a fantastic option for healthy and happy little feet!
  5. Road runners will love the Zelen sustainable barefoot road running shoe

[Click here to check the latest prices on the Jessie sandal at Xero Shoes].

What are barefoot sandals?

Maybe you clicked on this blog post after asking the question “How can I be minimalist with clothes and shoes?” And now you’re wondering whether minimalist footwear is the same thing as barefoot footwear.

The terms ‘minimalist sandal’ and ‘barefoot sandal’ are often used interchangeably. They can mean the same thing, or something a bit different, depending on your search intent.

The barefoot movement: inspired by amazing barefoot runners

The barefoot movement exploded after the release of Christopher McDougall’s bestselling book “Born to Run” was released. McDougall set out to discover the secrets of the Tarahumara Indians and find out why they could run for miles and miles without getting injured.

The simple (barefoot!) nature of their footwear was highlighted as a very important factor. The epitome of simplicity, the soles of their footwear (known as “Huaraches”) were made from a tire tread. A leather strap completed the look.

[Click here to check the latest prices on the Jessie sandal at Xero Shoes].

Minimalist sandals and shoe designs for a modern world

These simple, minimalist designs have inspired barefoot shoe companies such as Xero Shoes. Barefoot sandals and shoes have zero drop between the heel and the rest of the shoe (i.e. the heel is not raised). The goal here is to allow for natural movement and good posture.

Shoes and sandals designed for barefoot running, hiking or everyday wear don’t have “arch support” as such. The goal is to offer the minimum amount of support and protection required so that your feet can bend, flex and function effectively.

The soles are also thin to allow all the little sensory receptors on the soles of your feet to provide feedback to the rest of the body about how to move. All of these features together reflect the basic design of the traditional Tarahumara footwear.

[If you haven’t read “Born to run” yet, grab it from Amazon in your favorite format. I listened to the audio version a number of years ago, before I became a fan of barefoot sandals and shoes]

Minimalist sandals versus barefoot sandals

So now you know a bit about what barefoot sandals are. I mentioned that the term “barefoot’ is often used interchangeably with the word “minimalist” when it comes to footwear.

You might also be looking for sandals based on the concepts of a minimalist lifestyle. In a quest for simple living, you may be looking to minimize the number of material possessions you have, including clothes and footwear.

If that is your goal, then definitely consider the Jessie sandal as a great item for your “capsule wardrobe”. Read on to discover my five top reasons to consider the Jessie sandals as your best choice in minimalist sandals for 2020. From reading my list you’ll understand why the Jessie’s make the cut with my own personal minimalist wardrobe!

[Click here to check the latest prices on the Jessie sandal at Xero Shoes].

5 reasons “Jessie” could be the best minimalist sandals

They’re super versatile minimalist sandals

For me personally, versatility was an extremely important factor in my choice of minimalist sandals. If you consider yourself to lead a minimalist lifestyle, or you have aspirations to do so then versatility will be important for you too.

I love the Jessie minimalist sandal because I feel like I can wear it with anything in my wardrobe. And that is super important for me since I ‘slow travel full time with my family. I only own two pairs of footwear, which are the Jessie’s and the Terraflex.

So yep, if I need to, I wear these with the one dress that I own, as dressy minimalist sandals. Depending on your lifestyle, you might not think that the Jessie’s pass as a dressy minimalist sandal, but I’m just sharing how I wear them. [In the pic below, I’m heavily pregnant and heading off to my dad’s 60th birthday party with my sister and daughter. At the time, I still had tan lines from my old Z-trails!]

Minimalist sandals - Xero shoes review - Jessie barefoot sandal

I think they look great with pants/trousers, shorts, skirts and dresses.

Minimalist sandals - Xero shoes review - Jessie barefoot sandal

I also do a wide range of activities in the Jessie’s. These include light hikes, playing in playgrounds with my kids, and walking along the beach or crossing streams.

[Click here to check the latest prices on the Jessie sandal at Xero Shoes].

Could also be purchased as mens minimalist sandals (i.e. they’re DOUBLE versatile)

There is a big range of footwear on offer from Xero shoes. Sandals like the Jessie’s were originally designed for women. However, some men have chosen to wear the Jessie sandal as well. If you’re a man who wants to try out the Jessie sandal, just check you can get it in an appropriate size.

By the way, Xero Shoes stocks a number of different styles of minimalist sandals. Womens AND mens sizes can be found in styles such as the z-trail, z-trek, naboso, genesis, and cloud. Click here to check out the latest in their minimal sandals and shoes range (no flip flops in sight)!

Minimalist sandals designed for feet!

The third important reason that I recommend the Jessie as my top pick for minimalist sandals in 2020 is that they are designed with health in mind. If you’ve been reading posts from my website for a while, you’ll know that all the information I share is created to help you lead your fittest, healthiest lifestyle.

Your footwear is a factor in that equation. In my opinion, healthy feet need to be able to bend and flex naturally. A rigid shoe or sandal doesn’t allow this to happen easily. As you’ll see in my video further down the page, the Jessies are incredibly flexible, zero-drop sandals, so they certainly allow for natural movement.

Remember that not all minimalist sandals are going to be designed with this in mind. From a minimalist perspective, they might be designed with versatility and/or a small amount of material. But the sole could still be firm and rigid. [See the earlier section titled “What are barefoot sandals”. This will refresh your memory about the barefoot philosophy].

They’re a very travel-friendly minimalist sandal

As I mentioned earlier, I slow-travel with my family full time (find out all about this over at our digital nomad family blog).

Over the past year of slow travel, I have worn the Jessie’s about 95% of that time, and for good reason. Ok, so we have only been traveling in the tropics, so I don’t wear the Terraflex as often. When we move to cooler climates I’m sure I’ll be wearing the Terraflex a lot more!

In addition to the versatility factor, the Jessie’s are clearly super thin and they’re such a lightweight sandal. They roll up or lie flat to take up very little space in my pack.

And when you’re a full-time traveler, every item in your pack has to earn its place. Because the Jessie’s take up such little room, I opt to pack them and wear the Terraflex on our travel days.

[Click here to check the latest prices on the Jessie sandal at Xero Shoes].

High quality AND cheap minimalist sandals

Reason five to consider the Jessie as your best choice for minimalist sandals is that they are built to last. That durability is offered at such affordable prices from a company that also holds some strong values.

They even offer a 5000-mile sole warranty, since they’re pretty convinced you’re not going to wear them out!

As I mentioned, I wanted to really know that my Jessie’s had stood the test of time before I published this post in full.

After wearing the z-trail for our first year of full-time travel, I did actually wear a hole through the bottom of mine. However, I understand the material on the z-trails has been changed since then as a result of testing and feedback.

The Jessie’s still look almost as good as new after wearing them nearly every day for the past year. There is only a slight bit of tread wear under each sandal, around where the ball of my foot goes.

Minimalist sandals - Xero shoes review - Jessie barefoot sandal

The velcro is losing its stickiness a little and I think the straps have also stretched a little (or my feet have shrunk!), so I’m going to take them to a local shoe repair place and get them to sew on some new velcro and trim down the back strap a bit.

Where to buy minimalist sandals

If you’ve decided that the Jessie is a great choice in minimalist sandals for you, you can click here to jump straight to this particular sandal in the Xero Shoes store.

As I mentioned in the last section, you won’t have to pay a ton for them either. At the time of writing, the Jessie’s are priced at just $44.99. So they’re pretty cheap barefoot sandals, and they also have sales on from time to time.

[Click here to check the latest prices on the Jessie sandal at Xero Shoes].

If you’re after the best running sandals then the Jessie’s might not be your first choice. However, the Xero sandals range includes barefoot running sandals such as the Genesis, Cloud, Naboso, Z-trail, Z-trek, or their DIY minimalist sandals kit.

Their zero drop shoes include barefoot running shoes like the Prio, Speed Force and terraflex, or more casual styles such as the Hana and Pacifica.

My Jessie  Review Video & Transcript (xero Shoes womens minimalist sandal)

Click the image below to watch my original Jessie review video, or scroll down to read the transcript below.

Hey everyone. Today I’m going to review the Jessie Sandal, which is one of the Barefoot Minimalist Sandals offered by Xero Shoes. Here it is. Here’s the Jessie.

Now, out of all the Xero shoes and sandals that I’ve tried, this is probably the thinnest one. Super lightweight, super minimalist like all Xero shoes and sandals they can bend and flex. As is the case with all Xero Shoes, the Jessie’s don’t have arch support, since this would negate the barefoot effect.

There’s the evidence of how thin it is right there, how it rolls up. This one’s going to make it into my travel bag. We slow travel full-time and my two chosen pairs of footwear for that are going to be the TerraFlex, which I’ll have on my feet while I’m traveling. And then this one is just going to take up zero room in my bag, which is the main thing.

I love the Jessie’s as a woman’s style minimalist sandal

I absolutely love the Jessies. It is a woman-style sandal, but I have seen from Xero Shoes posts that many men also love this style. So I don’t think they think they come in men’s sizes at the moment but there are some men opting to wear the Jessie as well.

And I really love it because, first of all, I wear these on the beach a lot. And I have a newborn baby and it’s not always easy to take my shoes on and off all the time.

Sometimes I don’t have any hands free, sometimes I have one hand free. So I leave these on, usually, when I go walking along the beach. You might even be able to see they’re full of sand at the moment. So that’s my everyday beach shoe.

What activities I’ll be using these minimalist sandals for

I have taken them up one little hill. They’re going to be okay to wear on small off-road trails or small hills. I wouldn’t take them on major hikes or anything. I find that my toe would probably slip out of the front if the terrain’s too uneven.

You can definitely break into a sprint if you’re into that. They’re best for everyday sort of lifestyle activities though. And I really love them because I think they look really great with a dress as well.

So it’s the middle of summer here for me. I have been wearing more dresses, especially when I was pregnant and I just think the style goes really nicely.

[Click here to check the latest prices on the Jessie sandal at Xero Shoes].

Minimalist sandals - Xero shoes review - Jessie barefoot sandal

Minimalist sandals for a minimalist lifestyle

So if you’re looking for a real minimalist-type wardrobe where you’ve only got a couple of pairs of footwear and you need your footwear to be really versatile, then this is a great one to have on board.

And like all Xero shoes, they follow the barefoot philosophy, as you can see by how thin they are. So that allows your feet to move and function as feet should.

Minimalist sandals - Xero shoes review - Jessie barefoot sandal

It also allows for the sensory receptors that you have on the bottom of your feet to work properly and provide feedback to the rest of your body on how to move effectively.

So that’s the Jessie. I love it. I’ll be taking it on my slow travel lifestyle when we leave again in about three or four weeks. Can’t wait to have this in my bag. As I said, it’s going to take up zero room.

Thanks for reading my review post of the Jessie minimalist sandal from Xero Shoes. Have you tried out the Jessie? Or do you have another pair of favorite minimalist sandals? Please feel free to leave a comment below. I’d love to hear from you! Elly xx

[Click here to check the latest prices on the Jessie sandal at Xero Shoes].

Disclaimer: This article contains affiliate links. This means that if you make a purchase after clicking on one of these recommended service provider links, like an insurance broker, or a travel agent, I may earn a commission – at no extra cost to you. [For my full disclosure, please see my DISCLAIMER page].

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