I may use a racksack for ease and comfort and can hang suitable sandals from it for barefoot walking and put shorts and vest plus towel for dip. I always wear shorts without inner brief or liner and without underwear anyway, and these can be taken off or put on easily if wearing sandals.
For some short walks I just carry the shorts and a bumbag for keys, phone, camera. I often drive nude to do early skinny dip then hill walk in the early morning and leave keys under a rock and walk naked and without carrying anything for TOTAL freedom

Small shoulder bag that holds keys, phone and clothes (T shirt and trousers or shorts.  If I need to I can get the shorts out and put them on in 15 seconds so I have never bothered with the velcro shorts which probably take as long.

I'm fortunate enough to be able to reach everywhere with sun cream - the most difficult part is the middle of my back but sun cream on the back of the hand instead of the front means I can reach the spot.  Job done 🙂

Barefoot as much as I can but beach sandles if it's very stony or sharp underfoot.

A question for those who have Vibram Five Finger shoes: Do you wear them with the special five finger socks or not? My suspicion when I looked at a pair was that without a sock they would get very sweaty very quickly but adding a couple of pairs of socks pushes the bill to even sillier levels.

My natural cynicism says that I can achieve a barefoot experience without spending the thick end of £100 (or at the top end £150!!!) for the privilege. Can they really be worth that much?

Have fun,

Ian

No - I don't use socks with them.  They don't get sweaty in my experience as they are so open, although they often get wet as they not intended to keep your feet dry and there are us
usually puddles or streams to cross around here.

I find them really comfortable, although better still to be barefoot IF the ground is not too difficult - the worst being tracks composed almost entirely of small, sharp stones.

I can't pretend they are cheap and will be experimenting with huare(?) style minimalist sandals.

What do I carry? - the minimum required.  A pair of shorts (or a towel if near beach) for short walks, other things if may be required by nature and length of walk - ie 5fingers, water, sun cream, warm clothes, ruck sack, food.  Common sense really, based on experience. - and I usually carry a pak towel in case of any chance of a swim, although if on a run I just rely on air drying.

Just catching up on things here, but one item i always like to carry are secataurs, whenever I walk at this time of year, dressed or not, brambles seem to be able to grow 3 feet a day & are not skin friendly! Map & compass if going high, been very greatful for them in the past when mists come in, even on sunny days!

A question for those who have Vibram Five Finger shoes: Do you wear them with the special five finger socks or not? < SNIP >

No - I don't use socks with them.  They don't get sweaty in my experience as they are so open, although they often get wet as they not intended to keep your feet dry and there are us
usually puddles or streams to cross around here.

I find them really comfortable, although better still to be barefoot IF the ground is not too difficult - the worst being tracks composed almost entirely of small, sharp stones.

I can't pretend they are cheap and will be experimenting with huare(?) style minimalist sandals.

Thanks for reply; I was beginning to think I'd asked an unfair question or something. I have to say that cut or dying thistles are worse in my experience than sharp stones; they shed their spines into the skin were they can continue to work their way in for days. At least the pebbles only hurt while I'm walking on them.

What are "huare(?) style minimalist sandals"?

Have fun,

Ian.

What are "huare(?) style minimalist sandals"?

That should have been "huarache", as popularised by Barefoot Ted and also available as do it yourself kit from Invisible Shoes. I have got one of these kits (much cheaper) but haven't yet tried them out.

Thanks Martin.

I have tried my huarache style sandals now, made myself from a kit from Invisibleshoe.com. Just vibram sole material which you cut to shape of your foot, punch three holes in each and insert laces.  They work well and are just about the lightest and most compact footwear you can carry, like slaps but much better for walking/running.

Thistles are indeed one of the worst enemies of the barefoot walker/runner - I try to avoid fields where there are too many to step around easily.

Maybe it's just me in the boonies of upstate NY USA, but I always carry pepper spray when hiking nude.  We have been known to have brown bears, coyotes, and mountain lions in our area, not to mention rabid raccoons and others critters, so I feel better having something to defend myself with if necessary. Being New York State, naturally, pepper spray is illegal unless you are in law enforcement.  So, it requires knowing someone who can get it for you, but it makes me feel a bit more secure when the rest of me is pretty vulnerable! 😮

Hope you don't spray the textiles!!

A pepper spray would be classed as a prohibited weapon in the UK and rightly so. Fortunately the only marauding bears in the UK are the naturist bares. Also hedgehogs and squirrels don't present too much of a problem either.

Glad I walk naked in the UK!!

Davie  😎

PS Just have to watch the sheep, but the only pepper they'll get is when it's being eaten.  [smiley=sheeprun.gif]

I also take a pair of light tan hiking shorts - always figure that if someone sees me far off, I can put them on and no one can be sure if I was clothed or not from a distance.  Devious, but being an educator, I don't want my name in the news for being naked in the woods. :-

I also take a pair of light tan hiking shorts - always figure that if someone sees me far off, I can put them on and no one can be sure if I was clothed or not from a distance.  Devious, but being an educator, I don't want my name in the news for being naked in the woods. :-

I also use light tan shorts for the same purpose.
My take on it is that, while they don't actually fool anybody, they allow people to pretend that you were wearing them and so avoid a confrontation.

Walking naked with no lugage is okay but i always find a problem with car keys. what do you do with them?
Iv'e tried using a BN case but the string makes awhite kine around your neck.  I know some leave their keys on the top of their car wheel, but i have never chanced this  what do you all do?

You rarely have situations where you can walk the entire journey naked so you need a small rucksack for some clothes not to mention food and drink.  Car keys just go in the rucksack.

......then hill walk in the early morning and leave keys under a rock and walk naked and without carrying anything for TOTAL freedom

It's not often that I've had the chance to do this, walk nude with no baggage, preferring not to risk running into someone and upsetting them. But its a great feeling to walk and be totally liberated from clothing and not carrying anything. I have met people while naked without anything to cover up with, one couple asked if it was OK to walk nude and more or less said 'good on you', adding that they visited naturist beaches. Another encounter was OK but not that comfortable. I don't want to force nudity onto others and try and avoid the possibility of this happening. At the same time I wonder what the fuss is all about!

Normally I'll carry the usual walking essentials and like others above some tan coloured shorts to slip on quickly if there is anyone else about.

Nik