These are the shoes I'd buy if I had only £70 left in my bank account

These are my shoes. There are many like it, but this one is mine. My shoes are my best friend.

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person runnig on the sea front wearing Vivobarefoot running shoes
(Image credit: Vivobarefoot)

Surviving December without going in the red is indeed challenging. There are a lot of things to buy for a lot of people, making it all the easier to clear out the bank account before the end of the month. However, if I had only £70 left on my account, these are the shoes I would buy.

I test running shoes for a living but I already confessed that I'm a big sucker for barefoot shoes and Vivobarefoot shoes in particular. Don't get me wrong; I love my Xero Denver boots but the shoes I always return to are the Vivobarefoot Primus Lite III. Ask everyone who knows me and they'll tell you that I wear those shoes 90% of the time.

I have been wearing various iterations of the Primus Lite for a couple of years now; I think it's time for me to move on. Well, move on to wearing different Vivobarefoot shoes, that is. And since I'm broke to the nth degree, it's probably best if I chose shoes from Vivobarefoot's clearance section.

Vivobarefoot Addis Mens shoes on white background

(Image credit: Vivobarefoot)

The shoes I'm eyeballing are the Addis Mens in slate. They are down to £70 from £95 and just look utter gorgeous. My current Vivo shoes are black, so wearing something a bit more lively will surely lighten up my wardrobe.

The Addis range is handmade in Ethiopia with a minimalist ergonomic design for "super-natural comfort wherever life takes you next", as Vivobarefoot explains. The upper is made of leather, and not just any leather but naturally scarred leather from free-roaming cattle sourced from small scale farmers.

The Ababa Sole features a footprint design inspired by the Laetoli found in Tanzania, the oldest recorded persevered human footprints dating back to around 3.7 million years ago. It also might help confuse people walking behind you on a beach.

Best of all, the Addis is part of the Revivo collection so when I'm finished with them, I can send them back to Vivo using the Revivo website. Come to think of it, I can actually just buy a pair of upcycled shoes straight through Revivo for cheap...

Matt Kollat
Matt Kollat
Section Editor | Active

Matt Kollat is a journalist and content creator for T3.com and T3 Magazine, where he works as Active Editor. His areas of expertise include wearables, drones, action cameras, fitness equipment, nutrition and outdoor gear. He joined T3 in 2019.

His work has also appeared on TechRadar and Fit&Well, and he has collaborated with creators such as Garage Gym Reviews. Matt has served as a judge for multiple industry awards, including the ESSNAwards. When he isn’t running, cycling or testing new kit, he’s usually roaming the countryside with a camera or experimenting with new audio and video gear.