Hobibear Avis 37

If there was a zero star that would have been it. Where do I start? Pretend to be a UK business but it is send from China taking weeks to arrive. Pulled apart in 2 weeks and then the fun started, back and forth wanting photos and videos, blamed me first and refuse to give refund, hear this... the reason because I used it they wont refund it WTF. Absolutely refuse refund and to make it a bigger joke after me not accepting a ridiculous 10% discount the offered to SELL me glue at a 10% discount to fix the shoes, luckily I paid through PayPal and Hobibear was quick to response but even then the closest I got was another pair as this is obviously cheaper for them than paying a refund. An absolute joke!!!!!!

honestly didn't realize from the pics that these shoes aren't fully closed on top. still, they're super comfy and the size is spot on so i'm keeping them.

Another one who should have read the reviews! Product ships from China via a courier that uses Evri in the UK. Evri misdelivered the parcel and there’s zero answer from Hobibear customer services about a refund - Evri of course can’t refund me directly. Shoes might be ok if they’re correctly delivered and fit you, but you’re very much gambling on the delivery and the fit as there’s zero customer service or capacity to realistically make returns.

Never again!! Ordered a UK size 11 for my husband and we’re sent a UK 12. Won’t refund or replace and insist I have to pay for return.

Constantly emailing with offers of money off despite being asked not to contact me again

Now £40 down on a pair of shoes I doubt I can resell

Did not like shoes as made my feet look likd a clowns. Tried to send back but they offered a discount on another pair. Finally gave me an address to return which cost me £9 plus as has to go to Germany.
After 2 weeks waiting for refund they appeared back at my front door.So i am now down £9 plus cost of shkes

AVOID AT ALL COSTS. These are both dreadful shoes and a dreadful company. If you want to try them, do not buy direct is my advice. I believe they are sold on Amazon too.
I saw them online and should have researched further (my first error) as they appeared to be from a UK website, THEY ARE NOT A UK WEBSITE. They took several weeks to arrive as it turned out they were coming from China, I immediately tried to cancel the order but they wouldn't reply to my messages.
On arrival, they were fine to look at but were nowhere near a UK size 6 as promised. I immediately contacted them and asked for a refund as they were too small. Here is the next and biggest problem. They don't reply quickly, it's usually the middle.lf the night and days later and most especially they do not want to give you a refund at all. They try suggesting you keep them, give them to a friend, sell them. Basically anything so as not to get a refund. Then they offer 25-35% off if you keep them. If you keep.insisting that you want a refund they eventually ask for endless pictures of them from all angles.
For anyone who then gets agreement to send them back you then never hear another thing and don't get your refund.
My second mistake was buying them.and paying by PayPal who wouldn't take up the case unless they put a mark on my credit file that it was a dispute, despite the fact I'd paid for them so I was in no debt to PayPal at all!

Please go elsewhere for barefoot shoes, Zara do some really good ones for the same or less money!

Hobibear.co.uk is coming from China. It takes a long time to get here. I don't care that it is good quality. I just don't want to buy from there. And it wasn't clear on the site. Not recommended.

I have read the bad reviews and while it is totally possible that the things in there are true, it hasn't been the case for me. I have bought 3 pairs of HOBIBEAR shoes. One for sports (red and white) and use them for badminton, gym and table tennis. I've had them for a few months now and they're doing a great job, no issues. I have a pair of walking boots (brown) and we've been in the mud with them for dog walks everyday in the past 3 months without any issues. The last pair I have I wear occasionally for going out (black, low top, lace up). I have walked barefoot or in barefoot shoes for 7 years now. I have tried so many different shoes. I have found hobibear to be affordable and the widest toe box of all the barefoot shoes I've tried. Personally, I am very happy with my purchases. The only thing I would say is that the sizing can be inconsistent to some extent.

Poor quality and support, just another flat pair of trainers but with wide toe. Very slow shipping too. Have sent an enquiry to send back, doubt I’ll hear much back, very glad I didn’t pay full price.
Update: as expected, didn’t want to refund me, wanted me to gift them to someone else or sell them. The amount of these unworn trainers on preloved platforms is crazy. Hard avoid.

Website states easy to return. Does not seem to be the case, they just keep referring you to the website and you have to return to Germany at your own cost!

I purchase a pair of HOBIBEAR Women's Men's Ankle High Hiking Boots Backpacking Lightweight Breathable Trekking Trails Non-Slip Outdoor Shoes in September 2025 for moderate everyday use during the winter months. Initially I was very pleased with my purchase. The boots were very comfortable, practical & aesthetically pleasing. Despite willing to put up with some of the misleading features of the boots (described as non slip which they certainly were not!); last week (nearly 4 months post purchase) they have developed fundamental flaws that have rendered them not fit for purpose. Adhesion failure has resulted in compromised weatherproofing & design peeling.

Not, in my opinion, a reasonable length of time to have elapsed before such a failure to have occurred in hiking boots that have only been used for walking to/ from work & shopping.

Trying to get a remedy through the company has been impossible. Their customer service is unresponsive.

My advice to those of you out there is not to buy anything from this company unless you are happy to spend your money on poor quality shoes / boots or willing to cut your losses when things go wrong.

They sent the wrong shoe, then told me I would have to pay to send this back to Germany(they came from China) even though it was an error on their end. Then they asked what shoe I wanted to exchange for a different size even though I stated I just wanted the correct shoe I originally ordered in the size I ordered. I even attached photo. Their customer service is terrible and considering I’m ordering from a website that is .co.uk I’d expect a warehouse in said country. Very misleading

I contacted Hobibear about a problem i found with a pair of trainers i bought from them. The trainers I bought had a pattern fault. The design on the front of the trainers was not symmetrical which made them look odd! I only wanted to tell them about the fault but they are refusing to accept there is an issue. I have photos as proof

AVOID! Utter rubbish. The shoe looked good on inspection but the size was out so I asked to retrun them. What an totaly circus of aff emails offering discounts if I kept them and sold them. Finally, they provided an address but caveated that it might not et to them, I asked why and they said it might end ups some where else. Shock horror the shows that been returned because they weren't collected from the address despite being delivered. Total jokers!

100% Tat. One to avoid!

Scam. Ordered weeks ago and still have yet to receive anything. The tracking number provided doesn’t exist on the tracking website. Currently trying to get a refund but i am not keeping my hopes up.

Ordered from what I thought was the UK, took ages to arrive, wrong size, rubbish quality, wrapped up in a cheap plastic bag, no box, squashed and misshapen.

Never again

Firstly, the shoes are sent from China, which is not made clear on the website and took a very very long time to arrive.

Upon arrival I noticed that I had ordered the wrong size shoe. No worries I thought, the website says 'easily returnable'. This is not the case!!! You have to contact them through a online form. They then sent an email asking me to pass on the shoes and they'd give me a partial refund and a discount towards my next purchase. I declined and asked for a full refund and have since been ignored.

Quality of shoes also leaves muxh to be desired and I would have probably looked to return these even if they were the correct size.

Disgraceful and basically theft. I'm down £46 and am I have to show is a pair of rubbish shoes that don't fit.

The Aurora wide toe sneakers are the comfiest trainers I've ever bought, but it's frustrating that Hobibear choose the weird sizing and can't keep the standard lengths for sizes. Measuring your own feet at home is tricky to get right - I measured 3 times and got different results each time so took an average, thankfully landing on the right size for me which was a Hobibear 6 (I'm usually always a UK5).

I don't feel like the returns policy is transparent or straightforward enough as you should ideally be able to initiate a return via the website without interacting with customer services, in my opinion and as part of my personal preference as a shopper.

I also don't think it's clear before you order that the shoes are shipped from China, as the return shipping address is to Germany.

The tracking was from a company is never heard of called SF Express - the extensive 25+ updates that it's "In Transit" concerned me that it wasn't legitimate tracking website, but 10 days after I placed the order the trainers did arrive safely. Other companies based in China are able to facilitate free returns from the UK, it's unfortunate Hobibear can't offer that or at least somewhere within the UK to ship returns to to mitigate the cost to the consumer.

That being said, the fit I ended up with is fairly good. They're so comfy. Sometimes they're a bit baggy looking across the top, and the material is quite soft so not the most attractive looking if you need your laces pulled tight. The green and pink colour combo is nice though, something a bit different. I can't speak to the durability as only walked a few miles in them yet, I do hope they hold up over time.

This is an atrocious company.
Their sizings are wrong as I already own a pair (purchased on Amazon) in size 7 yet the new ones were way too small.
Here's where things go bad - they make it impossible for you to return!
There's no return address on their website or policy and they just keep putting obstacles in the way.
AVOID AVOID AVOID

Absolutely unacceptable experience — avoid at all costs!

I ordered a pair of children’s sneakers that turned out to be shockingly poor quality. They looked very cheap i'm not even sure they follow all the barefoot standards. When I raised a return, we had dozens of back and forth emails offering me discounts for keeping them (shame i didn't check Trustpilot reviews before making an order) I finally returned them, following all the return instructions customer service sent.

Weeks later, I still haven’t received a refund. The customer service team keeps telling me they “can’t locate my return in the warehouse”. Meanwhile, I’m left with no shoes and no money.

This is beyond frustrating — it feels like either complete incompetence or a deliberate tactic to avoid processing returns. I will never order from this company again and strongly advise others to stay far away.