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Tara Soles Sandals – Review

Tara Soles – a pleasant surprise of this summer. I bought these huarache sandals on the recommendation of a friend and I was just excited to try them on. And Tara Soles showed me that they are a lot more than just a simple assembly of shoe laces and a thin sole.

Tara Soles is a German brand of handmade barefoot sandals. Sabine, barefoot trainer from Germany and owner of Tara Soles has a lot of helpful videos on her website which can help you with the decision to find the best pair for you.

Sandals are made according to your foot tracing and you have so many options to choose from to make them very unique and special just for your needs.

This year I decided to try their Standard and Asphalt model and they instantly become one of my most worn sandals of this summer.

I bought them also for my oldest two kids, but here I’ll be reviewing only adult sandals, as they are planning to change kids sandals for next year.

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1. General

  • Brand: Tara Soles
  • Model: Standard and Asphalt model for adults
  • Colour: Black with Blue laces and Black with Rainbow laces
  • Tested on: woman, medium-wide feet, 26.3 cm long and 10 cm wide (10.3 cm between metatarsal heads), low instep, skinny ankles – see my how to measure guide

2. Material characteristics

2.1 Upper

Tara Soles sandals are a truly minimalist style of sandals and there is not a lot of material to see when you see them for the first time. Only a thin sole and an upper which is in this case just a thin piece of a shoelace. A maximum freedom for your feet.

Shoe laces are available in three different styles (round laces which are 4 or 6 mm thick and fat laces). You have plenty of colours to choose from.

I wanted to try all three styles of laces, therefore I ordered round laces for myself in thicknesses 4 and 6 mm and for kids I ordered 4 mm round laces + extra pair of fat laces for my daughter to test them too.

From left to right: round laces 4 mm, round laces 6 mm, fat laces

Regarding how the sandals are tied you can choose between two different options. The first one is cross lacing as all my sandals are made. This style is used in their Standard, Asphalt and Mountain model.

They also have Easy-Flip model which can be a barefoot alternative for flip-flops.

You will receive your sandals already tied up, so you just need to adjust them a little bit.

It can happen that you will need to replace shoe laces and re-tie them. For cases like that I prepared you the video how I tie my Tara Soles.

All how to tie your Tara Soles video you can find also or Tara Soles official website.

For the upper material of your sole, you can choose between different materials and colours. I decided to get an anti-slip footbed in my Standard model and leather footbed in my Asphalt model. They have many vegan options available too. And next year they are planning to release new Corklatex sandals.

2.2 Sole

For the sole type you can choose between different options. In their Standard and Asphalt model 4 mm or 6 mm Vibram sole is used. Their Mountain model has a more robust Vibram sole which will give you a better traction while hiking.

Both my Standard and Asphalt models have the same Vibram sole, but in the Asphalt model the sole is 4 mm thick and in Standard 6 mm thick.

My Asphalt model also has added 2 mm thick Aero Sorb material which will give you just a little bit softer feeling while walking on harder surfaces.

The sole is super flexible, thin and with a great ground feeling.

Both soles, 4 mm and 6 mm are very flexible also in longitudinal direction.

Totally flat sole will wonderfully mould to your feet with wear.

Not only that you can choose between different sole types, footbeds, laces and also Aero Sorb interlayers, Tara Soles has even more options for you.

You can also decide to add Therapeutic magnets or Grounding under your heel. For both options you need to pay extra and they are not possible in combinations with all soles and upper materials. All the info about that you can find under the model you are ordering.

A therapeutic magnet is inserted into the heel area

3. Sizing information

3.1 Length

Sandals are custom made to your foot tracing. Just be careful while making your foot tracing. I’m sure they will fit you great if the tracing is made correctly. Don’t forget to mark the space between your big toe and second toe, so they can know where to position the hole for the shoe lace.

How to do a foot tracing you can read in my post here.

3.2. Toebox shape & width

Custom made sandals means no worries. They will perfectly fit your foot shape. You can’t get anything better than this.

3.3. Fit around the instep, heel and ankle

Sandals are adjusted with a single shoe lace which you can tighten or loosen where necessary. The position of the holes is made on the places to fit your foot shape, therefore I’m sure you will find a good fit.

TIP: I prefer leaving laces around the toes slightly looser and tighter around the ankles.

4. Comfort

I have two pairs of Tara Soles sandals and the model I wore the most was their Asphalt model with 4 mm thick shoe laces. I find this model super comfortable to wear. I haven’t experienced any rubbing or discomfort anywhere while wearing them. Also the Aero Sorb midlayer makes them even more pleasant to wear.

The sandals feel truly minimalist and they feel like you have nothing on foot at all. Maybe it can be too much for someone who just begin barefoot journey, but for me this mean only one thing…I’m in heaven 🙂

As the sandals are made from just one piece of shoe lace, there is a knot at the bottom of the sole. This creates a little bump which can be disturbing to walk for someone. But in my sandals, Sabine flattened the knot really well. You can also use a lighter at home to do that.

I found the thicker 6 mm round laces less comfortable to wear. This spot at my pinky toe bothered me a little bit. But some colours of laces are softer than others.

In that case I think my problem would be gone.

5. Durability and practicality

How practical are they?

I didn’t have any problems with putting my pair on. This is how they look when you take them off. No need to rety them each time you put them on. Only for time to time you will need to tighten the laces a little bit.

If you decide for fat laces you will need to tie the part around the heel each time you put them on.

How durable are they?

I definitely recommend you to buy some extra pairs of shoe laces.

You can see on the photo how my pair looks after 3 months of wearing them. The laces are still fine.

But I find some colours more sensitive to wear than others and here the laces needed to be replaced.

6. How to wear them?

These are sport sandals, therefore I prefer to wear them with my sport and casual clothes.

I wore mine mostly at home and I used them just for everything. For lawn mowing and even on a field when I was picking up potatoes. They were muddy, but they can easily be washed.

7. Price & where to buy

You can buy Tara Soles directly on their website. The price for Standard model starts at 65 €, Asphalt model 80€, Mountain 95€, children 35€ and Easy flip 60€. You need to pay extra for thicker sole 5€, also some upper materials are extra 10€ and also for grounding and therapeutic magnets 17€.

Extra pair of shoe laces is 5€.

You can get a 5€ discount on your first pair of Tara Soles if you sign up for a newsletter.

8. Shipping info

Shipping costs depend on the shipping country. Sandals can be shipped worldwide. For most EU countries the shipping costs are around 8€.

9. Where are they made?

All Tara Soles sandals are completely handmade in Berlin, Germany.

10. To sum up

Yes, people were skeptical about them. I heard comments. How can sandals with these thin laces be secure and comfortable on foot? And also…how I’ll manage to tie them on my own?

I admit. They need adjustments from time to time, but not so often that I would find it too many. Their style is truly minimalistic, with plenty of ground feel and toe freedom. Maybe for a total beginner it can be too much to begin with, buy once you adjust to them, you will love it.

I love their minimalist style. I can easily see them wearing it inside the house instead of slippers in the winter time too. An investment to cover the whole year.


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