Barefooting, Review of Vibram Five Finger Shoes
Posted on | October 9, 2008 | 5 Comments
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The best thing happened to my feet – I found a perfect shoe.
The most comfortable shoe in the world (for me, anyway). It seemed like my feet died and went to heaven.
The shoe? Vibram’s Five Fingers (www.vibramfivefingers.com).
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It is called Five Fingers because (wait for it) it has five fingers. Separate compartment for each toe (what a concept)! It offers no support (your muscles get to provide it), plenty of protection against sharp and yukky, and a unique feeling of freedom (feels as if you are barefoot).
Summary: Love them. Very comfortable, improves posture, foot and leg strength. It is a summer shoe as feet get easily cold and wet. Flow model is the only Vibram Five Finger style that offers cold weather/wetness protection, yet, it has been discontinued by Vibram.
Want details? Keep on reading.
The Good and Not so Good
Comfort
Very comfortable. I would have to say it is the most comfortable shoe that I ever had (and I had a lot of shoes). Feet like a glove. Does not cause blisters. This was a bit of concern to me as I hate anything getting between my toes. Those thong flip-flops – hate them! Vibram Five Finger shoes caused no discomfort – very silky on the inside, these shoes made my feet feel like superstars. What a feeling!
Improves bad posture, strengthens muscles
Vibram Five Finger technology presumes that our feet are perfectly designed and require no compensation. They are right. Walking in these shoes is like being barefoot. Walking in Vibram Five Fingers improves gate (how we walk), posture and strength. As postural therapist I have to that it works. I’ve seen marvelous results and transformations take place.
Durable
I’ve been abusing these shes for a couple of weeks now. Great quality. I’ve been very active – running, working out (outside with kettlbells), climbing, riding scooters, playing with my kids on the playground, and running my fitness program. Much abuse! Vibram Five Finger shoes held up beautifully. One word – quality.
Energizing
There is something special about these shoes. I (and 4 of my clients who got Vibram Five Finger shoes) experienced a better connection to the ground. My body wanted to climb trees, jump on rails, sprint and jog. Overall invigoration. An incredible feeling! What’s causing this giddiness? Improved alignment? Improved strength and balance? Hard to say.. All I know is that my feet are loving it!
Wet and Cold Feet
I like my feet warm. Jogging in the morning (grass is dewy) is not an option. Feet get soaked and cold very easily. I teach kettlebell boot camp in the mornings (6am) and wearing Vibram’s Five Finger shoes is not an option (as comfy as they are)
Walking over a puddle (even a very shallow one) will also soak your feet. Great for warm and dry days (or inside use).
Virbram does have a Flow model of Five Fingers. It is all neoprene and should keep my feet warm and dry. Bad news is that this model is being discontinued by Vibram. Get it now while you still can.
Stinky
Vibram Five Finger shoes require no socks. You wear them like a glove. If you are as active as I am and sweat (keep in mind that I’m not an overly sweaty guy) – they will get stinky (may be I should wash my feet a whole lot more often?). Worse than ordinary running shoes. Washing them was easy but had to reserve to ‘odor eaters’ spray. Worked ok – now my shoes smell like rubber and ‘odor eaters’…
That said, it is still the best shoe I’ve ever had
You can get Five Finger shoes from Vibram webiste (www.vibramfivefingers.com). The best $80 I’ve every spent.
Have you had experience with Vibram Five Fingers? What do you think? What is your favorite shoe?
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Tags: five fingers > fivefinger > fivefingers > vibram > vibram five finger
Comments
5 Responses to “Barefooting, Review of Vibram Five Finger Shoes”
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December 19th, 2008 @ 7:20 am
I picked up a pair of the Vibram KSO’s about 7 months back and absolutely love them. Happily, I’ve managed to mitigate the cold and stinky issues a bit with a collection of the Injinji Outdoor socks. Yes, they are toes socks, but they don’t ALL come in rainbow colors, and do keep those toes toasty.
May 12th, 2009 @ 4:58 pm
Looks like Vibram has changed their minds on the Flow. It’s still showing and shipping on their website. Receiving my KSO’s (Keep Stuff Out) today in the mail!:)
July 23rd, 2009 @ 6:18 pm
Interesting review and I agree on most points – I have 2 pairs of Vibrams Fivefingers (Classic and Sprint) and I like them very much. However, and unfortunately, I can’t agree with this statement: “a unique feeling of freedom (feels as if you are barefoot)”.
I’m sorry, but this is like claiming that wearing gloves on your hands feels like being bare-handed. It simply doesn’t. While Vibram has done a great job creating a minimalistic alternative to barefooting, it is still that: “an alternative”, not an “equivalent”.
The shoes, like gloves on your hands, still isolate your feet from their environment and muffle the sense of touch; furthermore, your feet are covered in layers of rubber and fabric – therefore, I’m sorry, but it’s nothing like the true feeling of being barefoot.
Just my humble opinion
August 6th, 2009 @ 10:11 pm
I really wanted to love them, especially after seeing Tim Ferris go on about them, but they just didn’t work for me.
My feet fall somewhat outside of the standard mold: they’re fairly broad across the ball, and my toes are pretty curved, like hammertoes, but not quite. The rubber sole extends to each toe underside, but if your toes aren’t shaped fairly straight, that’s a lot of rubber-wanting-to-be-straight that each little toesie has to constantly fight if it isn’t.
I had to return mine after a few days due to that toe discomfort, and I tried a number of sizes.
February 25th, 2010 @ 11:07 pm
I love these shoes, so much that I made a webpage with a small review about them.