Walk a mile in your feet…
Don Richman — March 9, 2010 @ 8:17 pm
There they were, right in front of me. Out of place, but too intriguing not to ask.
I took the bait – “What in the world are you wearing my man?”
“The best thing to happen to my feet EVER,” was the reply.
What were they? Vibram FiveFingers.
Explained by the creators – “The typical human foot is an anatomical marvel of evolution with 26 bones, 33 joints, 20 muscles, and hundreds of sensory receptors, tendons and ligaments. Like the rest of the body, to keep our feet healthy, they need to be stimulated and exercised.
That’s why we recommend wearing FiveFingers for exercise, play, and for fun. Stimulating the muscles in your feet and lower legs will not only make you stronger and healthier, it improves your balance, agility and proprioception.”
It looks intriguing, but it also looks like the more serious version of Nike Free. I’m simultaneously disturbed and intrigued by them. It’s like watching a train-wreck – you don’t want to look, but you can’t help it.
It’s crazy that “sports” are evolving out of the shoe (?). This reminds me of the Freestyle Walking phenomenon.
So what’s your take?
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Wear ‘em. Love ‘em.
Don’t be afraid to take the plunge.
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Don Richman Reply:
March 9th, 2010 at 10:03 pm
Interesting, thanks Joe. Where do you wear them?
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Joe Reply:
March 10th, 2010 at 1:31 pm
I’ve worn them everywhere but work. I run in them, wear them around the neighborhood, hike in them, etc. There’s not really anything they can’t do.
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I’ve really considered getting a pair of these, but they’re really not for everyone– but dang, they’re cool!
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I’ve had my FiveFinger Sprints for just over a year now and I love them. I use them primarily for CrossFit, but they are equally great to grocery shop in. There’s just something fun about walking around in your (almost) bare feet.
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Bought some about 5 months ago and love ‘em! Ran a 5k in them a couple of weeks ago and felt great.
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I have two pair now. They take some getting used to, but once you break in your feet, they’re hell of comfortable.
I wear them just walking around, and having finally recovered from a sprained ankle I finally tried running in them yesterday.
I get stopped by strangers fairly frequently, but so far it’s always been positive attention.
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A friend of mine from college had a pair…he wore them everyday when he worked in Yellowstone Nat. Park for two summers. He said that he loved to wear them when he went hiking in low lying areas (his feet got cold in the mountains.) They were definitely interesting.
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I love, love, love mine. I never liked running until I started wearing these things.
Go read _Born to Run_. Inspirational, and some discussion of the science behind the shoes, written by a former war correspondent.
I wear mine mainly for running, and sometimes around, although mine are so garish as to be distracting. I need a less flashy pair to start wearing them more generally.
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I’ve wanted to get a pair for awhile now but they dont sell them here in Malaysia. Maybe Bonobos can help me get some!
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I’ve always been interested – and somehow I knew from the title of the post that it would be about Vibrams. You all seem to be near the cutting edge.
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Bought some a few months ago solely for working out. Grab some and give them a whirl Don.
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Don Richman Reply:
March 10th, 2010 at 12:15 pm
I might have to -just to see what all the hype is about.
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Rob Reply:
March 10th, 2010 at 12:29 pm
Word of advice: if you do get them, only wear them for a few hours the first few days. You’ll want to give your feet a chance to adjust.
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Great post. I’ve been running in Vibrams for about 3 months and am shifting all my running to them. Up to about 11 miles on trails in them, and do all my road running in them. If my fiancee would let me wear them at our wedding I would. Already sporting the Midnight Blues and they would look great together. Somethings definitely brewing with the whole barefoot thing…
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They are so popular that you need good luck to find any in stock for average size feet! I’ve been searching lcoally (NYC) and online for months and the only available versions are the ugly grey/taupe versions. I’m looking to pickup KSOs and Sprints ASAP.
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Joe Reply:
March 10th, 2010 at 1:33 pm
James,
Have you tried City Sports on 48th Street? I had no trouble getting a pair there.
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James Reply:
March 10th, 2010 at 1:35 pm
Nope, I’ve called around town multiple times and only the employees at Paragon (as much as I dislike their store and prices) were able to even hold an intelligent conversation about them. I’ll check out City Sports next time I’m near 48th, thanks!
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Repellent. Like Tevas, but way, way worse.
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mark Reply:
March 10th, 2010 at 6:22 pm
I’ll second this.
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Hey Don,
Nice find.
These Five Fingers are amazing. I picked up a pair of Gray KSO’s about two weeks ago. I absolutely love them. If you all are interested in learning more, the book Born To Run is perfect. Written by Men’s Health editor and contains a lot powerful studies. I’ve been wearing these things for an hour or so every day. Either for running or TRX class. They make me feel like a combination of a tree frog/ninja/six year old kid. Does it get better than that?
The Bonobos Ninjas are going to love em.
-Scott
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I’m sorry but those are just awful if the idea is to war those casually. If you’re wearing them as running shoes, out on the trail, or in the water I’d say that’s fine, but I would be laughing pretty hard if I saw a guy wearing these in Starbucks.
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maybe you should sell some of these babies in the “Stuff” section. seems like people are pretty fired up about them.
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Do these go better with BC or SL?
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I wear them when I do Crossfit.
cannot say enough good things about them. it just feels “right” when you are working out.
if you wear them outside the gym, from my experiences, they are good conversation starters, i get a lot of questions, similar to my bonobos, everyone asks “where can i get pants that has lining in the back pockets”
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Looking for something less ugly but similar in function? Check out the Vivo Barefoot line by Terra Plana — same thin soles and flexible construction, minus the rubber/five toe look. They’re great casual shoes and in the three or four years I’ve been wearing them my chronic foot pain has disappeared. There’s a store in NYC or you can buy em on the Interweb.
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please sell them in the stuff section!
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Scott Burdette Reply:
March 14th, 2010 at 3:33 pm
I doubt they could get a big enough run in sizes to post them here – sell like hot cakes.
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Love ‘em. I ONLY wear them for hiking and trail running. I’ve been wearing them for about three years now. Take the plunge – no IT band probs anymore and love feeling free down low.
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