ÚNICO - One shoe for everything
The Único. Our specially developed, individual, welted, resolable premium barefoot shoe, handcrafted in our factory in Freiburg
A shoe for everything and everyone! With the Único, you have performance, creativity, and comfort combined in one barefoot shoe. It accompanies you on every occasion and in every season, whether at work, on a hike, or for sports, in spring, summer, or winter. The Único is a shoe in its own right, just for you. It can be customized. You decide how Único should look for you. Color, upper material, sole, and important accessories – you choose. The best part: You can even choose the width yourself. Choose 'extra wide' if you have very wide feet or want to give your toes plenty of room. For normal to narrow feet, simply choose 'normal width'. A unique shoe for you that ensures a stylish appearance and will never let you down. A shoe that fits your unique foot. Whether tall, short, narrow, or wide. With Único, we don't want to limit ourselves or you, but rather meet your individual needs. Would you like to find out more details about the manufacture in Freiburg, the materials and the elaborate manufacturing process? Then take a look here. The Único Manufaktur barefoot shoe is delivered in the usual high quality – packaged in high-quality Chala kraft paper, which provides optimal protection during transport, especially since many of our products have a wax finish.
- Order number: SW10033
One shoe for everything, in absolute premium quality
High performance outer fabrics can be individually designed
Our idea has always been to make a shoe that is suitable for every use. The result was Único - a shoe for everything. You can put this shoe together individually: the sole area, the colors and the upper materials. We currently offer five high-quality outer fabrics. 1. OUTER FABRIC: Is the water-repellent EtyDry, made from fine 100% recycled organic cotton. EtaDry is a functional cotton fabric. Extra long staple fibers are spun and twisted with a special softness and then woven in the highest possible density. The result is a dense all-weather fabric with natural properties and maximum comfort. EtaDry is rainproof, absolutely windproof and equipped with a breathability that can only be achieved with natural materials. EtaDry is 100% PFC-free and incredibly robust thanks to long-fibre organic cotton. 2. OUTER FABRIC: This is the fine, soft Black Forest® leather we collect, which comes from the region and is processed by us with farm certificates of origin. It is particularly rare and of high quality because we know exactly where it comes from. We have often visited the small farms ourselves and been able to see the animal husbandry in detail. Many of the farms are organic or Demeter certified and have been working in close cooperation with nature, animals and people for years. This leather is limited and is enough for 250 shoes per year. 3. OUTER FABRIC: Consists of fine, water-repellent Hydro calfskin suede, which is made by a small tannery in Germany. Hydrovelour is waterproof, easy-care, quick-drying and breathable. Water simply rolls off, dirt doesn't settle and color abrasion is minimal. The fine suede leather is of course tanned purely with plants. Both leather shoe variants are made for heavy use, they can be worn all year round and are made of full leather, i.e. made entirely of leather. The inner lining is made of very fine and soft goatskin, vegetable tanned, from Baden-Württemberg. With appropriate care and resoling, we give the leather shoes a durability of 15 years or longer - a nice and above all very sustainable idea. 4. OUTER FABRIC: Made of OnDura®, a vegan high-tech fabric with high-strength fibers that offer the highest abrasion resistance and maximum breathability. It is seldom used for the shoe sector because it is expensive and such high breakage standards are not needed. Usually cheaper 3D mesh outer fabrics are used. Our fabric is very light and can be water repellent. It can successfully withstand friction and fracture tests that would be unusual and unthinkable for other types of fabrics or natural fibers. This is how the most demanding standards are met. Best of all: the fabric is ÖKO-Tex 100 certified. We give the vegan Ondura® shoe a shelf life of at least 6-8 years with regular cleaning (e.g. with a vegetable brush) and resoling - that's pure sustainability. 5. OUTER FABRIC: Is made from naturally vegan Piñatex, which is obtained from pineapple leaves, which are mostly considered leftover and waste products. It is a natural product: sustainably produced and absolutely free of animal components. It's strong, versatile, breathable, soft, lightweight, flexible and easy to print, sew and cut. It is almost 100% percent biodegradable. The new Único made of fine Piñatex is equipped with a very high-quality organic cotton inner lining. This completely vegan shoe can be worn casually without socks in spring and summer. A compelling alternative to leather, available in beige and black. This variant was important to us because sustainability is important to us and we are happy to respond to your wishes. The shoe is just as comfortable and flexible as the other variant, definitely an eye-catcher and perfect for spring. Piñatex needs careful care, regular waxing will give it a beautiful patina and make it last longer. We give the Piñatex shoe a durability of 3-5 years with regular care and resoling. 6. UPPER FABRIC: Is the world's first sustainable vegan organic material made from nopal cactus, also known as prickly pear, is produced in Mexico on a ranch in the state of Zacatecas. Available in a variety of colors, thicknesses and textures, it exceeds industry requirements. The cactus leather is harvested every 6-8 months, with no irrigation system, only rainwater and earth minerals present. The selected cacti are hardy and easy to harvest. Our tests with this special material show greater robustness compared to other vegan materials such as: Piñatex. It smells good, feels great and has a great feel, and the closed surface makes it completely water-repellent, similar to smooth leather.
Excellent thermals and a dry foot feeling
In addition, there is a high-quality insole that can be removed if required or exchanged for a warmer wool insole when it is cold. The high-quality double Poron XRD is also used here. The combination of the Poron XRD bulge and the Poron XRD insole ideally cushions rough bumps, especially off-road, absorbs energy and protects your foot from blunt injuries. This strong combination is recommended for our Único Standard for running off-road or hiking. If you want even more barefoot feeling, you can remove the insole or replace it with a warmer wool insole in winter. We also use our special perforated ONSTEAM outer fabric. This fabric is unique, it reacts to moisture like blotting paper, pulls out all moisture within seconds and transports it to the outside via the outer fabric. This not only protects the foot from heavy impacts and odor, but also comfortably and dryly on the go at all times.
Pure barefoot feeling with elaborate sole construction, welted and resolable
Único impresses not only with its looks but also with its comfort. We go to the trouble of constructing the sole ourselves, which takes a lot of effort. Almost all shoe manufacturers today use an injected molded sole that is simply glued or injected. Such soles are often not resolable, and the shoes are thrown away prematurely. We, however, deliberately put in more effort and hand-cut a natural rubber frame from fine crepe rubber, which reinforces the toe area and additionally protects the upper fabric. This sole edge is carefully stitched along the edge, preventing the sole from detaching from the edge (incidentally, the most common complaint about shoes). And that's not all: all our shoes are then carefully balled with our high-quality Poron XRD, and only at the very last step is the thin sole of your choice added. We currently have seven different sole types to choose from. This allows you to tailor the Único even better to your individual feet. The new OK Gummi® BI-Color HEXAGRIP Ultra & Extreme sole, with a sole thickness of 4.6 mm, consists of a new compact rubber sole from the HEXAGRIP series by OK Gummiwerke – Made in Germany. Developed for extreme loads, it is perfect for agriculture, forests, rocky terrain, and trails worldwide. The sole is acid and oil resistant and offers outstanding grip – even on extremely slippery surfaces. Friction further enhances this effect, so that the Único's practically stick to the ground. The aggressive, compact profile ensures maximum grip in every situation and is highly self-cleaning. The Vibram® Megagrip Trail & Terrain, with a sole thickness of 5.2 mm, is ideal for all sporting activities, but also perfectly suited for intensive running ambitions. It grips extremely well in wet and slippery terrain and is also suitable for demanding lead climbing in the mountains. The second sole is the popular and well-known Vibram® Newflex Sport & Everyday, with a sole thickness of 5.0 mm. It's the "jack of all trades" and ideal for everyday sports, also because of its good tread. The third sole is the Vibram® ECO Crepe sole, with a sole thickness of 3.8 mm. It's extremely durable and suitable for everyday use. The ECO sole is ideal for home, the office, with the child at the playground, or for walks. The fourth sole is the Vibram® Berlin Edition, already known from our Classic Berlin Edition and a thin compact rubber sole. It's quite thin, with a sole thickness of just 2.0 mm, and is ideal for everyday urban use. However, if you want the thinnest, most flexible, and most barefoot feel, choose our 1.8 mm thick Astral natural rubber crepe sole. They're suitable for intense nature walks, but also perfectly wearable for everyday use. Those who live and work in icy and wintry environments can opt for the more exotic Vibram® Arctic GRIP Snow & Ice, with a 5.3mm sole thickness, but this is only really worthwhile in snowy areas. All seven sole types can be resoled, even with a different sole that was previously used. You can also find more information about the individual sole types in our sole wiki.
Handmade and regional
Sustainability is the top priority for Único. That is why we source a large part of our materials from the region. This enables us to have a manageable supply chain and a reduction in Co2. Our innovative bonding process also dispenses with aggressive adhesives and chemicals. We use a water-based glue. This adhesive is harmless, similar to wood glue, it is applied very sparingly in a modern vacuum spraying process and further processed in a longer oven process under extremely high atmospheric pressure.
