Shoe Review: Vivobarefoot MAGNA FOREST ESC – Extreme Terrains Explorers – Hiking Boots

Detailed review:

Unboxing

“ESCape to reconnect to nature and rewild your feet, body and soul. Made with super-natural materials including a Woolmark® knitted collar and a newly-engineered, super tough and flexible Michelin® outsole. Developed for extreme terrains, forests, deserts and jungles. Lightweight for dawn to dusk explorers.”

Materials:

• Woolmark® knitted collar for perfect fit and natural movement freedom.
• Water-resistant with tough-wearing durable wild hide leather panels.
• Includes a 50ml tin of Renapur made from a natural recipe.
• ESC Michelin® rubber sole for ultimate, flexible grip across the wildest terrains.

This is the newest version of the Magna series. This is the newest, most rugged model. I haven’t had any experience with the other models, but I did research them before choosing the ESC as they seem to have made improvements from common complaints. As the name suggests, the ESC is short for ESCape (to other environments). The only other heavy-duty boot that I’ve had is the Feelmax Kuuva 3, and even that isn’t comparable as the Kuuva is meant for winter climates only.

Flexibility Test:

Performance:

I am impressed with how well these boots breathe. They kept my feet warm in the Canadian winter, but I’ve also been using them here in warm Bali. I sought to find a versatile boot like this for my minimalist pack and this seems to be perfect for what I wanted (apart from some minor gripes). At the time of writing this, it’s currently the rainy season in Indonesia and my feet have never been wet. I do suspect if you stay out in the rain long enough, it will penetrate the Merino liner, but the leather part of the boot does a great job of keeping water out. Hiking in these boots is great as I find that heavy-duty boots will keep your feet dry, but the inside will eventually get wet from retaining sweat. 

How it feels:

These boots do move very well and feel fairly light, but I have had lighter hiking boots with more flexibility. I am willing to trade off a bit of ground feel for longevity as the opposite end of the spectrum is that I prefer to hike in Vibram FiveFingers, but they either don’t have grip, aren’t water-resistant, or rocks/sand tend to get inside very quickly. As with all of my shoes, I take out the insole that comes with it as I generally wear socks and want to feel the ground as much as possible; this tends to make the boot even roomier than it is.

Check out all models and prices for barefoot hiking boots. You can compare prices and specs using our minimal shoes price scanner.

Durability & Protection:

It’s too soon to tell how durable these boots are, as it’s only been through 2 months of casual use and a couple of hikes. It does offer lots of protection as it is a full hiking minimalist boot. As with any leather shoes, creases have started to appear – unfortunately not in the best places as it slightly pinches the toe with all of the room. 

Fit & Sizing:

This is my 10th pair of Vivobarefoot shoes and I’ve been having issues with size consistency. Luckily, their return/exchange policy is very fair and if it weren’t for the fact that I’m now based out of Indonesia, I would try to exchange these for 41s. I’m generally a 42 in most barefoot brands and earlier Vivobarefoot shoes. I got a 42 based on other reviews, but wish I got a 41 as it does run very big.

The sock liner doesn’t feel very snug which tends to let the foot move around. This is a tradeoff with having the merino elastic lining – but it does seem to be designed this way and only more time in the boot will tell whether or not it’s practical.

Cleaning & Care:

I do want to give Vivobarefoot credit for providing Renapur leather balsam for conditioning the boot and keeping it waterproof. This is an added detail that I really appreciate as it avoids people picking the wrong product and allows us to just follow their recommended care guidelines.

It is a softer leather, so caring for it is imperative as this is generally less durable and waterproof than harder leathers. I love the initiative by Vivobarefoot to use wild hide leather as a benefit to the softer leather is that it does tend to breathe better.

Conclusion

Don’t let the minimalist score deceive you, I still recommend these shoes – they will just naturally lose points in minimalism as it was designed to be tough and rugged…which tends to sacrifice minimalism for the sake of durability and protection.

I was looking for a versatile, multi-climate boot that could be used to keep my feet dry during the rainy season in Bali, but wasn’t so heavy that I could only ever use it for hiking. This boot does all of that and can actually be worn with pants without looking too dorky. I’m a loyal Vivobarefoot customer because they tend to make barefoot shoes that aren’t obviously barefoot (ie split toes, weird designs, only made in flashy colors). You can tell that thought was put into the design of these and I appreciate it for the premium product that it is.

As mentioned earlier, I do wish their sizing was a little more consistent but they do make the exchange process very convenient.

This has earned a spot in my minimalist travel pack; the Magna ESC has replaced my Ra as my wet weather city shoe that is also better suited for hiking.

Specs

Check out the latest minimal shoes in our price scanner!