Portland Leather Barefoot Sandals Review: Are They Worth It?

I tested the Portland Leather barefoot sandals to see how it fits medium-width feet. Read my review of the fit, flexibility, quality, sizing, and price.

Portland Leather is best known for its leather goods, so I was curious to see what their new barefoot sandals would be like. They launched in May 2026, and the styles are simple and minimalist. Since I already had a closet full of beautiful shoes I never wore because they didn’t fit before I switched to barefoot shoes, my biggest questions were pretty straightforward: Are they flexible, comfortable, and actually wide enough for my feet?

I ordered the Amalfi Sandal in EU 37 in Marsala, which is a good length for my 23.3 cm feet.

First Impressions & Quality

The leather is one of the highlights on the Portland Leather barefoot sandals. They use vegetable-tanned leather for these sandals, and the quality feels consistent with what you’d expect from a company that specializes in leather goods. The Marsala color—a deep red wine shade—is especially beautiful in person.

In keeping with barefoot sandals, these are zero-drop, with a sole made up of a thin rubber outsole, a similarly thin and stiff midsole, and a leather insock.

The outsole is somewhat stiff, although I’d still consider it reasonable enough for a barefoot sandal. The midsole has a similar level of stiffness to the outsole, so these aren’t really a cushioned sandal. If you’re looking for something with a little softness or padding, these probably aren’t it.

Fit

For me, this is where the Portland Leather barefoot sandals fell short (or in this case, narrow). I tried the Amalfi style because I thought it would be the most forgiving when it came to fit due to the thinner straps. But based on my fit notes below, I think the other styles—the Venezia, Firenze, and Roma—would likely have similar fit issues.

I would consider this sandal best suited to narrow to medium-width feet. I have medium-width feet that are about 9 cm wide, and while the EU 37 is a good length for me, I found the sandals too snug to be truly comfortable.

The leather is vegetable tanned, which is often described as a leather that “molds” to your feet, but doesn’t necessarily stretch out. In this case, I actually needed the straps to stretch out to give me a little more room.

The biggest issue was the strap placement around my big toe. It pushed my big toe inward, which means my toe couldn’t really access the insock space available. These have a prominent and straight big toe shape without much curve, but for me, this just ended up being empty space.

On the outside of my foot, the strap felt tight around my pinky toe as well. You can see the fit on me in the photos above, as well as the comparison to how the BeLenka Summer sandals fit.

When I walked, my foot also tended to shift into a slanted position. I’ve experienced this with other sandals, and it’s a bit annoying to walk around with your foot being pushed off of the sandal.

Pricing

The Portland Leather barefoot sandals are a pretty good deal given the $72 price point and the quality of both the leather and build. I got mine for 25% off, too (it seems like they have deals pretty often). With the $10 shipping and taxes, though, my total ended up being pretty close to the original $72 price all-in.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I really wanted to love these. They’re a beautiful, simple leather sandal, the quality seems good, and they’re at a pretty affordable price point.

But a good price doesn’t make up for a poor fit, and these just weren’t quite wide enough for my feet.

I’d love to see Portland Leather make their barefoot sandals a little wider and adjust the straps so they don’t squeeze your toes. I think those changes could make a big difference for people who need more room through the toes and want the anatomical, barefoot fit.

If you’re still on the search for comfortable barefoot sandals, check out more of our sandal guides here. And if you’re specifically looking for barefoot sandals without a toe post, you’ll want to see this list.

Bottom line: A beautiful, well-made minimalist leather sandal that I think will work best for narrow to medium-width feet, but the fit was too restrictive for my feet.