Vibram Five Fingers
Published by Doug under on 9:48 AM
I just picked up a pair of the Vibram Five Fingers "shoes" yesterday. I've been curious about them for almost 2 years now, ever since a friend of mine wore them to university rec center. I always thought they looked incredibly dorky however I've seen a few people wearing them since (one person at the gym and several people out on the trails) and either I've grown accustomed to the look or the newer models look less like frog feet. In either case, I bit the bullet and bought my first pair yesterday.
For the uninitiated, there is a growing movement in the running community towards minimalist footwear. The Nike Free is another example of this idea and there are a number of other companies jumping on the bandwagon. It's difficult to say exactly how beneficial barefoot-style shoes are especially given the fact all of our feet "grew up" in shoes and are shaped differently than the foot of someone who grew up without shoes. Still, there is quite a bit of evidence out there that suggests modern shoes are in fact making our feet lazy and may be the cause of numerous lower back problems, plantar faciitis, and possibly other running-related injuries.
Anyway, back to the topic at hand... (or should I say foot?):
There are several models out there from very minimal (Classic) to very rugged (KSO Trek). I went somewhere in the middle with the KSO, which I believe stands for "Keeps Stuff Out" (very clever Vibram) as it has a mesh top unlike the classic model and presumably rocks, glass, and other small creatures can't easily slip inside.
My curiosity won out against reason and I went for a run in them last night. I hadn't even worn them around at all... just decided to do my Thursday guiding session and see what happened. Probably wasn't the smartest idea but I was itching to see what they'd be like. Walking around felt pretty good though I was concerned they might be a little too "hard" without some getting used to. The Nike Free at least has a fair amount of padding between your foot and the ground. Fortunately the VFFs just kept feeling better as the run went on. We finished with six 30-second "strides", essentially a controlled acceleration into an 80-90% sprint and deceleration back to walking. They felt amazing! All I could feel was the balls of my feet on the ground. I took the first 3 a little easy and then really opened it up once I knew I'd feel comfortable. The last 3 were very fast and I felt incredibly comfortable.
So thus far I'm giving them an "A" on function. They ARE quite different and I would never recommend that someone just jump into these. The Nike Free 3.0's were a very important transitional shoe and I will likely continue to use them for some time. I'm optimistic that these may become a regular appearance in my running workouts... more to come.
For the uninitiated, there is a growing movement in the running community towards minimalist footwear. The Nike Free is another example of this idea and there are a number of other companies jumping on the bandwagon. It's difficult to say exactly how beneficial barefoot-style shoes are especially given the fact all of our feet "grew up" in shoes and are shaped differently than the foot of someone who grew up without shoes. Still, there is quite a bit of evidence out there that suggests modern shoes are in fact making our feet lazy and may be the cause of numerous lower back problems, plantar faciitis, and possibly other running-related injuries.
Anyway, back to the topic at hand... (or should I say foot?):
There are several models out there from very minimal (Classic) to very rugged (KSO Trek). I went somewhere in the middle with the KSO, which I believe stands for "Keeps Stuff Out" (very clever Vibram) as it has a mesh top unlike the classic model and presumably rocks, glass, and other small creatures can't easily slip inside.
My curiosity won out against reason and I went for a run in them last night. I hadn't even worn them around at all... just decided to do my Thursday guiding session and see what happened. Probably wasn't the smartest idea but I was itching to see what they'd be like. Walking around felt pretty good though I was concerned they might be a little too "hard" without some getting used to. The Nike Free at least has a fair amount of padding between your foot and the ground. Fortunately the VFFs just kept feeling better as the run went on. We finished with six 30-second "strides", essentially a controlled acceleration into an 80-90% sprint and deceleration back to walking. They felt amazing! All I could feel was the balls of my feet on the ground. I took the first 3 a little easy and then really opened it up once I knew I'd feel comfortable. The last 3 were very fast and I felt incredibly comfortable.
So thus far I'm giving them an "A" on function. They ARE quite different and I would never recommend that someone just jump into these. The Nike Free 3.0's were a very important transitional shoe and I will likely continue to use them for some time. I'm optimistic that these may become a regular appearance in my running workouts... more to come.
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