Vivobareoot Motus Flex Review | Are They Overpriced?

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What I Like

1. Flows With Your Feet: For my mobility and movement-focused friends — think Animal flow — these are great. They remind me of a more sporty Wildling barefoot shoe. You get the flexible sole with breaks, but with a sportier upper.
2. Comfortable and Low-Profile: If you love knit uppers in your shoes and enjoy going sockless with your barefoot shoes, these can be great. Unlike Vivo models like the Primus Lite Knit, this shoe’s knit is a lot more comfortable with less aggressive toe breaks for sockless use.
3. Great for Lazy Lacers: For those on the market for a drawstring barefoot shoe that’s easy to slip on and off, this shoe also gets the job done. It’s easy to set and forget, and it stays secure enough to where you don’t have to constantly fidget with laces.

What I Don’t Like

1. Not Ideal for Powerlifting: For powerlifting and more niche training contexts, this shoe’s performance can fall short. More specifically, this wouldn’t be the best barefoot shoe for powerlifting due to its upper lacking the rigidity to prevent spillover in things like sumo deadlifts.
2. Higher Price Point: Their price point is high, which shouldn’t come as a surprise since it’s a Vivobarefoot model. Like the Motus Strength, this shoe costs around ~$200 which makes it one the more costly knit barefoot shoes.
3. May Be Too Narrow for Some: These aren’t going to be the widest barefoot shoes on the market. They’ll be plenty wide for 3-E width feet and below, in my opinion, but if you’re 4E wide or constantly battle Vivobarefoot shoes due to their widths, this model won’t be any different.

Specs to Know

• Price: $200
• Heel-to-Toe Drop: 0mm
• Weight: 8.45 (size 10 model)
• Removable Insole: Yes
• Width: Wide (Should work for narrow to 3E widths)
• Sizing: True to Size, if you’re in between sizes — size down!
• Inov8 Bare-XF: Comparable Alternative

Best For/Falls Short For

$190

4.6

Stability

4.7

Versatility

4.6

Durability

4.5

Quality

4.7

Pros

• Wicked flexible Motus Flex Outsole
• Mesh and knit upper is super comfortable
• Drawstring lacing is super convienent

Cons

• Not the widest barefoot shoe
• Falls short in rain and cold weather
• Spillover can occur at times

Best For

• Mobility Workouts
• Bodyweight Exercise
• Cross-Training
• Strength and Hypertrophy Training
• Lovers of Sock-Like Fitting Shoes

Falls Short

• For Long Runs
• For 4E and Wider Feet
• For Powerlifting

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Who Should Buy This Shoe?

• Mobility-focused individuals.
• Anyone who wants a barefoot shoe for cross-training with some strength.
• Barefoot shoe lovers who love sock-like-fitting shoes.
• People who hate laces — joking, but not really.
• Warm climate dwellers.

Who Shouldn’t Buy This Shoe?

• Powerlifters and runners.
• Individuals with 4+ E-width feet.
• Anyone who lives in damp and cold climates.

Performance Overview

It was funny how when I put Motus Flex on, I naturally gravitated towards a specific style of training. I test all performance-focused barefoot shoes with the same protocol, and I’ll start to bias what I do in them based on feedback that I get from them.

How I’ve Tested the Motus Flex

• Lifting: 4.⅘ (max lifts: 275 lb lunge, 525 lb deadlift). For strength and hypertrophy workouts where you’re more static, this shoe works well. It can also handle some dynamic lifts depending on the lift and intensity.
• Cross-Training: 4.⅘. I really like the flexibility and comfort of this model for cross-training, but it will have some limitations as you get more intense with your jumps, cuts, and agility work.
• Running: 3.9/5. For sprints and short intervals, this shoe can work. I’d rather have a model with a more running-friendly upper to prolong long-term durability, though.
• Walking: 4.7/5. These are comfortable, flexible, and breathable. Not to mention, I’m lazy with my laces so the elastic drawstring lacing system is fantastic.

My Experiences Lifting and Cross-Training In the Motus Flex

The Motus Flex has been great for my sessions where I’m doing hypertrophy work and mobility-focused exercises. For example, on one of my lower body training days in my current block, I do the following:

• A1. Hatfield Split Squat
• B1. Side Step-Up
• B2. Single-Arm Kettlebell Swings
• C1. Lateral Lunge
• C2. Frontal Plane Landmine Swing
• C3. Copenhagen Plank

For this type of workout, the Motus Flex was clutch and worked exceptionally well. None of these movements are overly stressful in the context of needing upper security and the flexible sole was welcomed on the lateral lunges and Hatfield split squats.

I think if you’re doing more recreational lifting sessions which are more geared towards your standard strength, hypertrophy, and mobility work then you’ll enjoy this model’s performance.

The upper is secure enough for most of the demands that you’ll encounter in these work contexts and the flexible sole is awesome for single-leg training and dynamic work that you’ll hit with kettlebells.

I think where this shoe starts to fall short for lifting is when you’re doing things like sumo deadlifts or heavy low-bar or wider stance squats. This is when you’ll start to notice the upper giving way to the feet spreading the floor.

I picked up on this when working through some sumo tugs when I’m adapting a wider stance to passively work my hip mobility. Similar to lifting, this shoe will work for cross-training in most training contexts.

When doing box jumps, single-leg plyos, and jump rope, this model worked great. Basically, any form of dynamic exercise that has a more vertical orientation or is more moderate, this model will work great.

For skater strides and broad jumps where you’re pushing the upper’s security more, you may find that you slide a bit in this model. I noticed a little more spillover in the Motux Flex compared to its knit peers like the Primus Lite Knit, and I think that’s due to the Flex being softer.

Outside of these few examples, though, this shoe has been exceptional for my cross-training workouts and sessions where I blended strength and power exercises together. I could see these being fantastic for the kettlebell-focused athlete and lifter.

Are the Motus Flex Good for Running and Daily Wear?

For running, the Motus Flex is okay, but I wouldn’t rock these for runs that are longer than a couple of miles.

My rationale for this revolves around the higher price point and knit upper. Running can beat up shoes at a faster rate, and I think you’ll get more out of this model’s knit if you save them running excessive running stress.

On top of this, I find this model to run long like some of the Primus models, so from my experience, I found these to have kind of a floppy feel when running due to their extra length.

You can do short runs under a couple of miles in the Motus Flex, but for longer runs especially outdoors on varied terrain, I’d explore barefoot shoes more optimized for running.