Great barefoot feel, but..... - Vivobarefoot Tracker FG Hiking Shoes - Women's

I wear fairly minimal shoes in my everyday; I don't like a lot of arch support and choose shoes to allow for my wide feet (due to bunions). I like a shoe that is soft & will mold to my feet, generally. I'm a HUGE fan of Aurora & Co shoes (size 9.5; out of upstate NY) and Duckfeet. I really wanted to love the Vivobarefoot hikers. I've had a pair of Patagonia Bly mid hikers (size 9) for years that I've loved, but as my feet have changed I need a slightly larger shoe. When I tried these on, I loved how they accommodate my wide foot and I can really feel the ground. The materials & craftsmanship are clearly very high quality.

What I didn't love was that I seem to fall between sizes (9 & 9.5; I'm usually a 40/41 or 9.5 in most shoes). I tried both the 9.5 & the 9. The 9.5 was clearly too big, and the 9 felt like the toes on my larger foot were hitting the top of the shoe, even though the shoe seemed long enough. Also, for such a wonderfully minimally designed, low-volume shoe the tongue on this shoe is CRAZY. Like, why in the world is there so much material in the tongue??? It's nuts. It's almost uncomfortable how big the tongue is! I'm just not willing to spend so much money for something that I'm not 100% in love with. I really wanted to love them, though. The soles felt so great!