Realfoot City Jungle: Extra-Wide Barefoot Casual Dress Shoes

April 18, 2025The Realfoot City Jungle is a barefoot dress shoe with an extra-wide leather upper and thin 4mm sole.

Hello, my name’s Andrew, and these are the Realfoot City Jungle, the best extra-wide barefoot shoes for dress casual.

Features

Back when I was an agency copywriter I had to wear these horrible dress shoes that pinched my toes and made my feet ache…

So testing out a minimal shoe that looks this good as the City Jungle kind of feels like long-awaited “f you” to the crushingly callous culture of corporate “foot prisons.”

Upper/Lining

Because the City Jungle has an extra-wide, foot-shaped toebox with a soft leather suede upper and flat laces, as well as back pull tab and synthetic mesh lining that’s perforated for breathability.

Sole/Tread

Underneath you’ve got a thin 4mm zero-drop sole with excellent flexibility in all directions, plus a stitched hybrid tread that’s smooth enough for roads, but also grippy and durable enough for light trails.

Testing

Having found some of Realfoot’s other shoes, like the Canva and Farmer to a little snug, I thought the City Jungle might feel the same.

Walking

But going out for a walk, there was more room in the mid-foot, and the 4mm zero-drop sole felt amazing cruising along pavement.

The first couple minutes I did get a little pressure from the end of the tongue, although the leather softened up nicely after a mile or so…

…and the City Jungle has one of the most comfortable soles I’ve tested, in terms of rolling down smoothly for long city walks.

Casual/Work

Stylistically, the suede looks nice enough to wear to work, and the mid-tone color makes the wide toebox less obvious, but I do wish the laces were cotton, instead of synthetic.

Hiking

Also, because Realfoot’s rubber is made to military standards, it works well for gravel paths, and even light hiking—especially the brown version, which does a great job of hiding mud.

Another nice thing about leather is that it’s water-resistant, and you can treat the City Jungle with wax to improve it even further.

For moderate temperatures, the perforated lining was decently breathable, but it did start to get sweaty above seventy degrees, so I like to use Injinji merino wool toe socks, which are moisture-wicking in the summer and insulating in the winter.

Bonus: the Realfoot City Jungle is so flexible I was able to run and parkour in it. What other “dress shoe” can do that?

Conclusion

Overall, the Realfoot City Jungle is an excellent option for anyone who wants an extra-wide barefoot shoe for dress casual that feels good all day long and has some added versatility for trail walking.

Alternatives

But, in terns of similar barefoot shoes…

  • Mukishoes Duna: extra-wide toebox, undyed, organic hemp upper, soft cotton lining, thin 3.5mm zero-drop sole with superb flexibility, and minimal tread for urban casual.
  • Vivobarefoot Gobi Sneaker: wide toebox, leather upper, suede or canvas lining, and thin 4mm zero-drop sole with excellent flexibility, and minimal tread for urban casual.
  • Xero Denver: medium-wide toebox, canvas or leather upper, synthetic insulation, hybrid 5.5mm zero-drop sole with great flexibility, and firm ground tread for roads and trails.
  • Resources

    If you’d like to support the channel, you can shop with the referral links below, browse and filter more products with the shoe finder tool at my website barefootwear.org, or watch my zero-drop transition video to learn more about barefooting.

    Finally, if you have a question about the Realfoot City Jungle, or about barefoot shoes in general, let me know in the comments.

    Thanks for watching, catch ya next time. Peace!

    Andrew Folts

    Andrew is a writer/filmmaker who creates video guides and reviews for a community of 34K+ creative rebels on YouTube.