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Just got my first pair of Vibram five-fingers

D

desura

Diamond Member
Woot.com had a sale of these for like $32.

Fit pretty snug. Really hard to put on at first. Really hard. Takes like 10 minutes of trial and error.

You have to think about them as like a pair of gloves.

Pretty interesting. They're good to wear around the house (haven't taken them running yet). Great to wear while doing some basic gardening.

Although, now that I think about it, they're basically socks with some rubber grips on the bottom, no? Couldn't like, sock shoes serve a similar purpose?
 
I think these are on the way out from around the fitness world because Al Bundy was wrong the first time around as well

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SlitheryDee said:
Those things look awful to me. Worse than crocs, which I also don't wear, and probably not as comfortable.
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One of my old roommates was huge into running and wore those...they look awful and apparently start to reek REALLY bad and are hard to clean after a while.

I can't help but laugh when I see people wearing them.
 
Let me know how you like them. I tried on a pair at REI and I realized that a "shoe" like this takes some getting used to and is not going to fit like anything else. Its not like a sneaker or dress shoe you try on and know it is a good fit. I didn't buy them; I'd like to do some more research but I hear they are great for building foot strength. People with weak arches benefit especially.
 
BlitzPuppet said:
One of my old roommates was huge into running and wore those...they look awful and apparently start to reek REALLY bad and are hard to clean after a while.

I can't help but laugh when I see people wearing them.
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Yeah, they probably smell awful real fast.

They're an amazing around the house shoe though.

They're also pretty awesome for people with wide feet like myself.
 
desura said:
Woot.com had a sale of these for like $32.

Fit pretty snug. Really hard to put on at first. Really hard. Takes like 10 minutes of trial and error.

You have to think about them as like a pair of gloves.

Pretty interesting. They're good to wear around the house (haven't taken them running yet). Great to wear while doing some basic gardening.

Although, now that I think about it, they're basically socks with some rubber grips on the bottom, no? Couldn't like, sock shoes serve a similar purpose?
Click to expand...

It's funny cuz I got mine yesterday as well. I ordered what I believed to be 1/2 size too big...then when I got them yesterday, I couldn't get much more than half my foot to fit. I had to mess with them for about 20 minutest (toes in first, leading w/ big toe) to get them to fit. Once they are one, they wear like dream.
 
It will get easier/quicker to put them on. I've never taken 10 minutes, though. Perhaps because I use the LS variety which can be loosened and tightened. I couldn't actually fit into the standard variety because of a large instep.

I wore mine during the half marathon last weekend. They do smell if you use standard detergent. Stuff like Win detergent (there are a bunch of similar products) works really, really well at getting the smell out, though. One or two washes with that and they will smell fine. Plus those styles of detergent are great with technical fabrics and martial arts Gis.

Do not just start running at your normal distance and speed in them if you have never run in "minimalist" shoes. That's a huge mistake a lot of people make. Ease into them. Your calves, the tops of your feet, your ankles, etc. all are not used to fore-foot+barefoot-ish running and you are not used to using the form assumed.
 
I like mine, but I mainly bought them to strengthen my feet for doing bare-foot martial arts. They look kinda goofy.
 
I've had a few pairs myself...I think they have their appeal. Had one for Crossfit, one (Bakila) for running, and one (Smartwool Classic) for the house - best house shoe eveeeeeeer...this coming from a Chinese guy who's won slippers around the house all of his life.

That said, I haven't worn my other two pairs in quite some time since I've been given a lot of free shoes from Crossfit/Reebok.
 
I bought some for running (kso) and liked them but they would develop holes on the bottom way too quickly for my taste. After 2 pairs in 1 season I went back to regular shoes.
 
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nickbits said:
I bought some for running (kso) and liked them but they would develop holes on the bottom way to quickly for my taste. After 2 pairs in 1 season I went back to regular shoes.
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Yeah, kind of afraid of this happening. There's practically...nothing...underneath.

Hopefully eventually these hit like $20, or they come up with some longer-lasting rubber formulation.
 
I finally got a pair of KSOs last week and tried it once. I like the Saucony Hattori's a lot better. They're more comfortable. I now use my Vibrams primarily for lifts and not running.
 
I just ran with them.

Eh, for running, they're no different from racing flats IMO. At the same time, it isn't in fact the same as running barefoot. Not at all.
 
This thread needs pics for those that won't bother googling this awfulness. I was surprised by just how stupid these shoes are. Good luck with the blisters between your toes.

The New Balance Minimus, however, seems a lot better...they didn't try and reinvent the wheel. By making it a triangle. It's just a lightweight shoe. Kinda looks like a cross-trainer fucked some wrestling shoes.
 
phucheneh said:
This thread needs pics for those that won't bother googling this awfulness. I was surprised by just how stupid these shoes are. Good luck with the blisters between your toes.

The New Balance Minimus, however, seems a lot better...they didn't try and reinvent the wheel. By making it a triangle. It's just a lightweight shoe. Kinda looks like a cross-trainer fucked some wrestling shoes.
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Blisters? Never had an issue with blisters runing in VFFs. More likely to develop blisters in regular shoes/socks and this is one reason why some runners will run with toe socks with their regular shoes.

Note, I also run in NB Minimus shoes. They provide a little more padding that I need to run marathons. The NB Trail Minimus shoe is basically a VFF on the bottom with a regular covering on top.
 
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Blisters comment was from thinking about how the toe separations seem like they would jam into my toecracks (the buttcrack of the foot) and chafe my foot in a place that would never normally chafe.

Like shaving your taint.
 
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