Minimalist/Barefoot Shoes

rachel5576

I have vibrams kso and classics and have been running in them since November in all conditions on all surfaces. I love love love them! I ran a half marathon in them last month with no issues. Just make sure you try on a pair before you buy you need to have enough toe room. Also like others have said take it slow. Just wear them around the house for like an hour for the first week. I was afraid mine were too small at first but after getting used to them they work great! Good luck!

runningneo122

I have vibrams kso and classics and have been running in them since November in all conditions on all surfaces. I love love love them! I ran a half marathon in them last month with no issues. Just make sure you try on a pair before you buy you need to have enough toe room. Also like others have said take it slow. Just wear them around the house for like an hour for the first week. I was afraid mine were too small at first but after getting used to them they work great! Good luck!

Yea, I felt they were a little too tight on my longest toe.(Only that one.) I'm getting used to it, but I think I might go up one size next time.

Rurouni_Kou

I run in VFF. Like one of the previous posters I did not enjoy running before, but I really enjoy running now with my Vibrams. It's much more comfortable and I love being able to feel the ground when I run. (I would barefoot before but had never tried to do it running so not being able to feel the ground bothers me.) I worked up to running distance in my vibrams very slowly. I can only make 2 miles (20 minutes) so far and am working up to running a 5k. I run on pavement usually and have no had problems with it, it's perfectly comfortable (unless you heel strike...)

I have a pair of Vibram Sprints and Bikila, so heres my view on those two types:
Sprints- Awesome. Much more tactile feedback from the ground and I love it. Very comfortable and hugs the toes and soles of my foot like a glove. However, I do not like the tightness around the rim of the shoe. I got the Sprints because the upper part of the heel on the classics pressed against the tendon in my heel and I hated it. The sprints after wearing them for more than 15 minutes or so begin to press painfully in the same spot. It's so tight around that rim that it keeps my heel from actually sitting back in the heel proper so there's a good half inch between my heel and the heel of the foot, the tight rim pushes my foot forward in otherwords. (No I don't have the wrong size, it's actually a half to a full size too LARGE in that my heel doesn't sit in the heel bed and getting one smaller to fit the heel better would make the pressure on that tendon worse.) I got used to it after about a week, but it still bothers me from time to time. They're comfortable enough otherwise that I can overlook this. I will not likely buy the Sprint style again because it, like the Classics, does not agree with my foot structure. Other than the heel tendon issue, they are very comfrotable to run in. I had to wear the injini socks because my feet sweat alot and I needed the moisture wicking, and also the strap would stick to said sweaty foot after long runs, causing blisters. The socks fixed both problems and made the shoes wonderful for running. I ran so much I was wearing a thin spot under the ball of the foot so I got a pair of bikilas (which have thicker pads in that spot) to run in and now wear these for dailywear instead of running.

Bikila- I got these for running specifically and do not use them for dailywear. These are much more comfortable for running. I went down a size from the Sprints and due to the design of these my heel sits perfectly in the heel cup and it does not press at all against my heel tendon because unlike the Sprints it does not have that tight elastic top. I got the "laces" version instead of the strap version. I discovered I had to go up a size if I got the strap version and it didn't fit as nicely as the laces version. The laces, being spread out don't give me blisters like the strap did so I can wear these without the socks (though I still do because they keep me cooler.) They have slightly thicker pads than the Sprints which makes them not -as- flexible but still plenty thin enough to feel the ground really well and still plenty of flexibility for running and jumping around. I liked the thicker pads because I was blowing out my Sprints in the ball area and these are holding up more to the punishment due to those pads.

My view: The VFF are excellent shoes. Incredibly comfortable. Do take it slow when first wearing them. Also make sure to try on different sizes. Different styles WILL fit you differently and some styles may not fit your foot that well where other styles will fit like a second skin.