Anyone own Vibrams Five Fingers Shoes?

[ArrogantBastard]

I use them for running and weight lifting (especially useful for squats and dead lifts). I typically have pain in my shins, knees, and ankles when running with normal running shoes; however, a lot of that pain seems to be mitigated when using my KSO's.

Your calves will be in a state of constant pain for a while. Even if you ease into running. Even if you do other activities barefoot (e.g. martial arts).

I don't think it would be wise to let your running form "auto-correct". You should actively work on transitioning to a forefoot or mid-foot stride to prevent injuries.

Also, forefoot/mid-foot stride is best for people with normal pronation/arcs. It may be best to consult a doctor if you have severe pronation or flat feet before trying something like this.

[ChenPengFi]

I've run and hiked barefoot for my entire life, the clay soil here often makes shoes too slippery and consequences for a slip are dire:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3424/...dbb96a45_o.jpg
The classics i have are too smooth for the clay although i can still grip with my toes.
I'm gonna pick up a more aggressive pair soon.
Toe-stub resistance is much better than i anticipated.

[Pandinha]

Please post a review when you get a chance (it's always good to have another perspective). I have been interested in that very model for several months, and recently got myself a pair of PF Flyers as a stop-gap solution. The difference between my “Sandlot reissues” and my wannabe skate shoe Sketchers is like night and day...in a very good way.

I will for sure. On day 4 now.

I have been using my Sprints for about a year now. Best advice I could give you is to ease into it slowly.

You have to almost re-learn how to run again while wearing these and so your feet will be very susceptible to injury if you try to do too much too fast. That's where most people go wrong.

Start with walking for a couple of weeks, ease into walk/jog for about a month, and then try running after that.

(Walking around barefoot in your yard and house as much as possible is a good idea too)

I’ve been wearing ortho slides for about a year now. The change over hasn’t been too rough so far.

my wife loves hers. she didn't ease into them over 2 months, more like 2 weeks, but we both walk barefoot at home all the time. she had to get some stuff that looks like a deodorant stick that is designed to help prevent blisters, but after getting that stuff she's been fine.

No blisters, and I just had a pedicure done on Sunday. So far so good.

I absolutely love mine, and I also had about a two week break-in period. I, however, also did quite a bit of barefoot training and walking before that. For the running, it was just muscle pain and fatigue, as though I wasn't used to running. Apparently I use different muscles when I run in the Vibrams. I believe that I was running heel to toe before, and now I run on my forefoot. I can't say for sure, as I've never seriously reviewed my running form, nor seen video of myself running. Another benefit of using correct form: I used to get pain in my right knee when I ran, and since switching to the Vibrams, that's a thing of the past.

I don't use that blister stuff Ming referred to, but I do wear injinji socks with them. You definitely want to throw them in when you do your laundry. They do fine in the washer, but let them air dry. If you stay ahead of the game, they are fine, but once they pick up a funk it's extremely hard to break it out of them.

I’m planning on weekend cleaning of them. Hand wash and all. Vinegar and oxyclean.

I have been using mine for quite a while now and I have some clients who use them also. As has already been stated, take it slow and don't push it. Your calves and shins will thank you. The vibrams will correct running form if you give them enough time.

One of my clients used them for a half marathon and they worked great(6 months prep time with the Vibrams). The plan is to have her try a full marathon in them to see how she does.

I use them for all of my CrossFit workouts, since they keep my feet level.

I don’t plan on doing a marathon, but jogging maybe a mile a day or so. I’m working on the jogging part a bit a day.

Oh, man do I love my Vibrams. It's almost a sexual thing now (I almost wish I had a smaller dick so I could... with the big toe...). I started with the KSO's in the Winter and they were great. Got slush, snow, freezing rain, it didn't matter my feet were warm-ish from running and all pain I had previously associated with running was gone.

I had really bad pain in my arches everytime I ran for tennis in high school. So bad, in fact, that I ran barefoot whenever possible without ever hearing a word about any "minimalist" or barefoot kind of "movement"; I was just in so much pain from all sneakers no matter how much money and doctor's visits I made.

I ended up buying the Vibrams after I decided to be fit for the first time in my life and started running. With running came running magazines and youtube clips and I stumbled upon some video of a Harvard Prof talking about barefoot running (if I find the vid later I'll link to it) and he had a pair of Five Fingers on the table. I looked it up, they were MUCH cheaper than the expensive Adidas my parents wanted to buy so I got them. Since I was pretty much a "barefoot when outdoors" kind of person already my break in time was a week or two as I got used to really going longer distances at higher speeds on hard road surfaces (if you live near a park or nature trails they really do shine at their best on those, IMO).

If you're heavy (like me) and mainly doing roadwork then I recommend running barefoot for short distances in between your Vibram work. It's not to toughen the soles but to get an even better running form to prevent any injuries. Also, watch out, your tendons and bones don't really start to strengthen up to the new running style quickly so even if the muscle soreness is gone after a couple of weeks keep taking it easy for a bit you could be doing some damage without realizing it and be forced into a "rehab week" or something to heal them up.

I'm hardly an expert but love the shoes (and just plain hate socks) so I would recommend keeping a close eye and just talk to a good doc who has experience with barefoot running if anything starts acting funny. Also, have fun, you're now wearing Modern Ninja Booties.

I’m bigger than the average bear, 6’, 235lbs. So I’ll take your advice to heart. When me and the boy first got them, we were doing the ninja thing all over the house and seeing who we could sneakup on people. On Monday, I snuck up behind on of my video encoders. He wasn’t too happy when I kicked over his head.

I've had a couple pair over the last few years and love them. They're goofy as hell, but any back pain I have associated with jogging is gone when I run barefoot or in the vibrams.

I’m looking at correcting posture and fixing my back problem.

I use them for running and weight lifting (especially useful for squats and dead lifts). I typically have pain in my shins, knees, and ankles when running with normal running shoes; however, a lot of that pain seems to be mitigated when using my KSO's.

Your calves will be in a state of constant pain for a while. Even if you ease into running. Even if you do other activities barefoot (e.g. martial arts).

I don't think it would be wise to let your running form "auto-correct". You should actively work on transitioning to a forefoot or mid-foot stride to prevent injuries.

Also, forefoot/mid-foot stride is best for people with normal pronation/arcs. It may be best to consult a doctor if you have severe pronation or flat feet before trying something like this.

I already had a lead on this, wearing flip flops for a year. I’m not really noticing my hard heel falls. In fact, my stride has lessened immensely.

I've run and hiked barefoot for my entire life, the clay soil here often makes shoes too slippery and consequences for a slip are dire:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3424/...dbb96a45_o.jpg
The classics i have are too smooth for the clay although i can still grip with my toes.
I'm gonna pick up a more aggressive pair soon.
Toe-stub resistance is much better than i anticipated.

Had my first pinky stub yesterday, I updated my facebook about it. I’m sure more are on the way. Man, that’s beautiful where you live!

[Tom Kagan]

While I feel there is definitely something in the minimal running movement, I can't help but suspect that shoes such as the Vibram five fingers is a clever marketing ploy designed to lock the user into buying a particular product.

My suspicions will be confirmed when the next product released by Vibram are five finger socks to go with the shoes.

[Phrost]

While I feel there is definitely something in the minimal running movement, I can't help but suspect that shoes such as the Vibram five fingers is a clever marketing ploy designed to lock the user into buying a particular product.

My suspicions will be confirmed when the next product released by Vibram are five finger socks to go with the shoes.

http://injinji.com/

[Tom Kagan]

http://injinji.com/

I can't really say it because, overall, $14 isn't a heck of a lot of money, but I feel a undercurrent of moral reprehensibility for paying that much for a pair of socks.

[billy sol hurok]

Would y'all mind discussing what kinds of surfaces you're using them on?

[Ketsueki]

Would y'all mind discussing what kinds of surfaces you're using them on?

I usually use mine in the Estuary, which is packed dirt trails. I also use them for beach runs. I try not to use them much on paved surfaces. My feet do alright with them, but I worry about the knees.

[WorldWarCheese]

I run mostly on the road, but I try to make it out to a park/reservoir at least twice a week now so I've gotten both my KSO's and my Bikila's out on turf and sand as well (personally, I just don't like sand. No matter how good the shoe sand on the inside just ruins the experience whereas sand and barefeet is like a match made in heaven).

I’m bigger than the average bear, 6’, 235lbs. So I’ll take your advice to heart. When me and the boy first got them, we were doing the ninja thing all over the house and seeing who we could sneakup on people. On Monday, I snuck up behind on of my video encoders. He wasn’t too happy when I kicked over his head.

Hahaha, yeah my pair of KSO's were all black ones so I HAD to go running every morning in black sweatpants/shirt with the hood pulled up, not to mention the black rashguard; I could'be given Mountain Ninja Nerd a run for his money (Bikila LS's which are better for my fat/wide feet are grey, oh well).

And with the pounding the ground, I found that in the beginning giving myself a day of rest in between each run for the first week or so was all I needed. You'll feel calf and maybe ankle pain/soreness for a while but so long as you can feel the difference between muscle and joint pain you've got nothing to worry about. Also, I don't know about LA but barefoot/minimalist running is huge in Massachusetts so it was pretty easy to find a sports therapist who's dealt with them before. If you feel joint pain and it doesn't go away after a couple of days with ice then definitely talk to a professional, always better safe than sorry (especially with feet, and big guys).

EDIT: apparently there are two types of Bikilas and only one are good for fat feet (who knew?)

[ArrogantBastard]

Would y'all mind discussing what kinds of surfaces you're using them on?

Roads, sidewalks, indoor/outdoor tracks, and treadmills.

Harder surfaces probably require greater attention to detail on form.