Barefoot shoes - Gale winter shoes, cognac brown leather

Norwalk Gale – a barefoot shoe for the Nordic winter ❄️

Stylish cognac-brown warm barefoot shoes! Norwalk Gale is a barefoot shoe designed in Finland and made at a family-owned factory in Portugal, built to withstand Finnish winters. Genuine leather and a warm wool lining keep your feet protected, while the thin and flexible TR rubber sole preserves an authentic barefoot feel even in freezing conditions.

Wool lining is nature’s own high technology – breathable, warm, and adaptable. The leather upper has been treated to repel water, and an aluminium reflector hidden inside the shoe acts like an invisible heat shield, radiating body heat back toward the foot and preventing the cold from penetrating.

This model is the familiar Gale winter shoe, formerly sold under the Storm brand. The same shoe, just with a new Norwalk brand! 😊 That is why the product photos still show Storm on the shaft; in this new batch, the Norwalk logo is printed on the shaft.

• Designed in Finland, manufactured in collaboration with a Portuguese family-owned company 🇫🇮🇵🇹
• Lining: 100% genuine wool – warm and breathable
• Upper: high-quality genuine leather with a water-repellent treatment
• Aluminium reflector between the sole and lining – blocks the cold and reflects heat back toward the foot
• Lightweight TR rubber sole: 5.1 mm at the flex point, 8 mm from the top of the tread
• Flexible, lightweight, and warm – the perfect shoe for the Nordic winter
• Removable insole: Yes

Maria the merchant’s medium-width feet – details:

• Not a high instep and not a low instep
• A “flipper” shape, meaning the toes are almost equally long, with no pronounced curve at the toe line 😊
• A slightly rounded toe box suits best; very pointed shapes often don’t have enough room for Maria’s big toe
• Usually wears size 43, with a medium-wide G last or a wide H last
• In barefoot shoes, typically size 42, because there’s enough room for the toes
• Length of the longer foot 26.8 cm
• Width at the ball of the foot 11 cm

As is generally the case with barefoot shoes and foot-shaped toe boxes, size 42 would be Maria’s choice. The length was just right, and the width was also very good. Size 43 felt too roomy. At first, the shoes felt a little low for Maria, but this improved considerably after loosening the laces completely and tying them again. The leather will of course also stretch with wear. Removing the insoles provides additional room in terms of height. Wonderfully comfortable winter shoes!