Vibram 5 Fingers

KristyO

I purchased the 5 finger shoes about a month ago. I really like them! I am posting this because I saw a thread about the Skecher Shape-ups and the Vibrams are basically the opposite. They are supposed to simulate walking barefoot. I really like the sensation of having all my toes seperated. I take a boxing class a couple of times a week and during the warm-up we do a lot jumping, skipping and squatting and I feel a lot more secure (for instance, doing high skips and squat jumps I don't feel scared that I'm going to roll my ankle coming down because my foot is not elevated at all by a shoe). It's also effective for doing squats because you can really lean on your heal and get your booty back where it should be.

There is a lot of interesting research on the barefoot "movement"...just wanted to share this with MFPers.

abredbenner

Do you run in them? I have seen a few pople wearing them at races.

I had plantar fascitis a few years ago and the dr told me not to walk around the house barefoot. I should wear some type of shoe for support. I work from home and would be barefoot 24/7 if I could. I hate wearing shoes. I have not had the pf issue lately and have gone back to being barefoot all day.

oliveoil7979

Thanks so much for this. I have really been thinking about getting a pair of Vibram 5 fingers. Glad to hear a positive review.

Crysta1976

I have never heard of 5 finger shoes? What are they?

Crysta1976

I have never heard of 5 finger shoes? What are they?

Never mind...I googled them. They look interesting. Now I'm curious about them...

KristyO

Do you run in them? I have seen a few pople wearing them at races.

I had plantar fascitis a few years ago and the dr told me not to walk around the house barefoot. I should wear some type of shoe for support. I work from home and would be barefoot 24/7 if I could. I hate wearing shoes. I have not had the pf issue lately and have gone back to being barefoot all day.

I jog in them, but I'm not a runner. If you look at some of the blogs/reviews on the web most people recommend that if you are a runner you should start out with a short distance and gradually work yourself up to your normal distance. The guy at the sports store seemed pretty bored with his job and after sizing me just brought the shoes, let me put them on and didn't say much. Finally I said "do a lot of people buy these?" and he said "oh yeah, and I have them too. I love them, I run about 5 miles a day in them and won't wear anything else." Judging by his attitude up to that point, his comment didn't seem like it came from a "salesman" -type place.

Some of the research says that being barefoot can cause PF, some say that it helps prevent it...the most compelling evidence that I read about was that being barefoot forces you to walk/run putting the most pressure on the pad of your foot, not the heel. Some running shoes have so much cushion on the heel, it makes your foot feel the best place to come down on first is the heel which is a lot of impact on the part of your foot that doesn't have natural padding.

There's also some interesting stuff about tribes in Africa that are always barefoot and hunt barefoot. Their speed and the points of impact are quite different in comparison to a person running with shoes.

Like with anything, we all react differently but I'm definitely a believer.

KristyO

I have never heard of 5 finger shoes? What are they?

Never mind...I googled them. They look interesting. Now I'm curious about them...

If they have them at your local sports store, I would give them a whirl...never hurts to try. Also, they are less expensive than most of the good running shoes (I got mine for about $75 at City Sports and the last pair of Mizunos I bought were $125).

kcsaari

I had a pair for jogging I bought off the Vibram website (it was the cheapest place to get them!) On my first run, a mini hole developed in the toe. I exchanged them, and right away with my second pair a hole appeared in the same place. I have plantar facitis as well, and did not have a problem with the Five finger shoes. I actually think they helped the foot pain. Since I kept getting holes in them, I just gave up and ended up in a pair of Nikes, but after the Five Fingers they are uncomfortable in a toe-squishing, blister-causing way.
In summary, Vibram's are good shoes if your feet fit in them.

asltiffm

I can't get past the things between my toes thing. I can't even wear flip flops but I had heard about heel strike so I tried running more on the ball of my feet and WOW, what a calf workout! I was hurting the next day! Is that what those shoes do?

abredbenner

Kristy - thanks for all the info. I'm going to try them out when I am ready for a new pair of shoes. I just bought new ones this month so it will be awile.

Asltiffm - I run on the balls of my feet and have big muscular calves. I never thought about the connection.

NimotheFrog

I LOVE LOVE LOVE my Bikila Vibrams!

I've been running single miles in them for a few months now and my body has adjusted to them quite nicely. I have felt my my hamstrings, calves and my glutes, all from running in them.

I do some feet flexibility exercises to help with stabilization in them.

I tried some sprinting the other day, that was fun. But boy did the bottoms of my feet feel sore. That part of wearing the shoe takes a little bit to get used to. My Bf has more sensitive feet than I, so I think it's a little harder for him to enjoy walking on rocks..!

Because the shoes are so light weight and form fitting, I feel like I can jump higher and do so much more than in regular shoes.

The only gross part is when they get wet. The first time I wore them, I wore them to a water park. My toes were so pruned up they hurt! Sweating in them isn't so bad, but still kind of weird.

I just throw them in the washer and air dry them when they get dirty, so that is pretty cool.

I only wonder how long these will last.. I look at the soles every time to see if I can see visible wear, but I have not seen any yet.....

BR1986FB

I ordered the Bikila LS and they arrived on Thursday. They were painfully tight (used their sizing guide) so I sent them back for 2 sizes bigger. I was supposed to wear a 41 (10.5 inches) but I went with a 43 (11 inches). Second pair should arrive on Wednesday.