Barerun Water Shoes - Review 2025

Rating

• Outoria Score: 3/5
• Quality: 2/5
• Comfort: 4/5
• Performance: 3/5
• Price/Quality: 3/5

Casual, Fun Water Shoe for Very Casual Use

Our first impression of the Barerun Water Shoes was pleasant enough. The sleek fit and fun lime-green design caught our eye, which gave us high hopes for the feel and performance of these shoes. They were super comfortable, offering a nice snug fit and a barefoot sensation thanks to the noticeably flexible sole.

The flexible sole was nice, but it gave us some reservations about the durability of these shoes. The shoes didn’t feel super substantial, and the construction doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence, but they were nice enough wearing them around the house and yard.

These water shoes do run a bit large, and since they are slip-ons with no way to tighten the fit, we recommend sizing down if you’re between sizes.

Comfort

The Barerun Water Shoes are perfectly comfortable for mild use. The polyester and spandex blend on the upper provides a nice, snug compression, while the flexible rubber sole is enough to keep your feet safe but still maintain a barefoot kind of feel. These shoes are about as close as you can get to going barefoot, pretty similar to the Body Glove 3T Barefoots or the Bedrock Cairn Pro II Adventure Sandals.

Use

These shoes are ideal for mild, lounge-y wear, but simply aren’t cut out for long distances or rigorous activities. The quality and performance of the materials used leave a lot to be desired, and frankly, these shoes aren’t built to keep up with the most active watersports connoisseur nor with the toddler at the water park. The Barerun Water shoes are good for swimming, paddle boarding, and maybe even yoga or yard work. These are the shoes you wear around the house or by the pool. If you’re looking for shoes to wear to the river, wading in the ocean, or while you wakeboard, we suggest you keep shopping.

Material

The Barerun Water Shoes are made up of a thin, flexible rubber sole with a polyester/spandex fabric upper. The material gives a nice stretchy compression and is form-fitting to your foot. The sizing runs a bit large, so since the material is stretchy, we recommend sizing down. 

While the look of the shoe and the quality of the materials seem promising at first glance, unfortunately, these shoes did not hold up to rigorous use, nor do we get the impression that these will last particularly long. Many customer reviews complain they only got a couple wears out of the shoes before they essentially fell apart. While the materials are not the highest quality, they will certainly still get the job done short-term.

Value

You can’t beat the $16 price point of the Barerun Water Shoes, but in this case you definitely get what you pay for. Many users complain that the shoes barely lasted them a weekend. If you’re looking for something low-budget to use a couple of times, these are a great pick. However, if you’re hoping to conquer some rugged terrain or find a pair of water shoes to last you for years to come, we recommend looking elsewhere. To those looking for something similar with a little more longevity, we highly recommend the Level Six River Boots or the NRS Kickers.

Barerun, But Not Too Far

The verdict on these shoes isn’t great, but it’s not terrible either. There are a lot of better shoes out there that better execute the same barefoot idea, like the Speedo Tidal Cruisers or the Body Glove 3T Barefoot, but admittedly none of them do it for just $16. If you need a short term, inexpensive solution for a weekend trip or an upcoming fishing trip, these will do the job. Just don’t plan on using them for too long, or going too far.