Vibram five fingers shoes

[BraveUlysses]

My friend has them and being a first hand witness they suck outside in the dirt. Granted everyone seems to rave about there performance on the track or in the gym, but get them out in the environment and you'll pick up rocks, sticks, and misc. other shit. I wouldn't buy them

Oh my goodness you clearly identified a potential problem that absolutely nobody involved with the product development could have possibly thought of! Thanks for your wonderful insight!

[PorkandBeans]

You should be concerned with their performance and whether your foot problems would lessen if you wore them. You shouldn't care if your friends make fun of them. I'm sure someone has said the same derogatory shit about your (our) car(s) too.

Having said this, they are pretty weird looking and would draw attention - a deal breaker for me. I wouldn't mind having a pair though for around the house and yardwork. If I got them as a gift i'd keep them.

[markseven]

You should be concerned with their performance and whether your foot problems would lessen if you wore them. You shouldn't care if your friends make fun of them. I'm sure someone has said the same derogatory shit about your (our) car(s) too.

Having said this, they are pretty weird looking and would draw attention - a deal breaker for me. I wouldn't mind having a pair though for around the house and yardwork. If I got them as a gift i'd keep them.

I have really high arches and over-pronate when I walk, so I usually wear shoes with good arch support. The Vibrams don't seem to have adequate support for that, but then again, they are designed to be the closest thing to walking barefoot. My wife bought a size too small, so I can't really tell if they'll help with the foot issues.

They cost $100. I can probably get some decent Nikes and have money left...

[Restoman]

Get yourself one of those magnetic cure all wrist bands to go with those shoes. Please tell us you aren't going out in public wearing those.

[markseven]

Get yourself one of those magnetic cure all wrist bands to go with those shoes. Please tell us you aren't going out in public wearing those.

Nope. As much as I like to consider myself a "free thinker", I cannot wear those, even if they will help my feet feel better :p

[M-technik-3]

apparently they're the best for running. I've heard nothing but good things about them.

They are comfy for non pavement running or rubberized tracks.

[bmwstephen]

Some guy at my gym has those, thought they were pretty gay then he started clean and jerking about 3 times as much as I could (we have the same body type) so then I decided to leave him alone.

I can vouch for that. Squating, clean and jerk, all these workouts are improved with vibram simply because my foot now stays flat on the ground instead of unbalanced with sneakers. They're weird at first but considering my tight workout schedule, they definitely give me the extra workout i need. As for running... I'm the type of guy who prefers feedback from the pavement to keep me going so my distance and pace have improved..

all and all I have the regular KSO's, as a heavy lifter, rock climber, and weekend jogger its a unique pair of shoes. I'm not familiar with the environmental issues people have been talking about... but these shoes were inspired and made for the outdoors in mind. Perhaps, owners with these issues bought versions catered to differed to specific sports but used them elsewhere (ie. you shouldn't use the KSO Sprints on rock climbing sessions).

[Kershaw]

The guy I knew said that he was afraid of this, but had forgot his running shoes at home (we are in college) and so he had been running on concrete with them and said after two days he felt stronger and just fine.

How do you think people ran in the old days? with pillows?

in the old days they ran on dirt.

duurrrrrrr

:up:

[BigTe30]

I have really high arches and over-pronate when I walk, so I usually wear shoes with good arch support. The Vibrams don't seem to have adequate support for that, but then again, they are designed to be the closest thing to walking barefoot. My wife bought a size too small, so I can't really tell if they'll help with the foot issues.

They cost $100. I can probably get some decent Nikes and have money left...

Those shoes are def different, but i would not rock them.

I have the same problem as you, and you defiantly don't want nike's. Adidas in general have better arch support. Also if you go on the asics website they specifically say which shoes have extra arch support.

[SimplyDope]

I wouldn't mind a pair if they were given to me, but I wouldn't go out of my way to get some. I don't really exercise either, so probably useless to me anyways, hah.

[Matt-B]

there is a user in portland OR that wears them. I guess he said they build foot muscle and make it better on you. but there spendy

[joshuaaa]

i am curious as to how much these improve foot strenght. i would really like to condition my feet to be able to handle the long hikes i do during wildland fires in the summer. anyone who has them, or knows solid info care to chime in on it for me?

[Kerrath]

Man, I saw a pair at the REI used gear sale today and they're some weird stuff. I imagined them painted green so it'd be like frog toes. Iirc, they were only $30 and were returned because they bought the wrong size. For $15 and a size 11, I'd've hit it. :p

[joshuaaa]

even at 30 bucks, youd be smart to go buy those and list on ebay for 45. make a quick buck and then buy e30 parts :D

[mrsleeve]

i am curious as to how much these improve foot strenght. i would really like to condition my feet to be able to handle the long hikes i do during wildland fires in the summer. anyone who has them, or knows solid info care to chime in on it for me?

Sounds like you need better boots for that in the 1st place. good boots are key to anything like that.