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Vibram Five Fingers 'Barefoot Shoes'

i want to get a pair of these cuz i can fully exploit the weaponization of my feet in them, though the rubber padding on the shoe might absorb a bit of the impact. in any event, i think these might work out as kickass training shoes, i bet i could do all kinds of hybrid parkour/kung fu antics on the rocks in the park with a pair of these.
 
I've been running around my neighborhood in socks lately. I have a few reservations about the Vibram fingershoes that are keeping me from just going with them (appearance, price, smell, etc). I'm looking for something that will allow me to walk/run/hop naturally on the balls of my feet but provide a little more protection than socks. They don't need to have the finger/toe spaces or anything, they just can't be stiff to where my foot has to adapt to the shoe's bend. Anyone know of something other than the Vibrams fitting this description?
They have Vibrams that don't have the individual toes. Yes, the price is a tad intimidating, but as long as your feet are done growing, you'll probably have 'em for awhile. As far as the smell goes, the initial "new" smell of them does go away after a couple wears (like how sneakers smell when you first get 'em)... But seriously, who's going to smell your shoes? I dunno, I have bias though, as I <3 my Vibrams.
 
My dad bought himself a pair of the sprints a few years ago and I thought he was a bit crazy and swore I wouldn't be caught dead in them, but the idea has been growing on me ever since.

I read about these in this article on marksdailyapple.com just over a year ago.

Next month I am going to make my second attempt at Primal Living. Going to try and eat a primal/paleo diet and exercise in a more primal way too.

The vibram five fingers are on my shopping list too, I'm probaby going to go for the KSO Treks if I can find a local shop that sells them so I can try them on first. I would like to make them my main shoe rather than just a shoe for running, walking, hiking, etc in.

Has anyone else got a pair of these that they actually wear to work? I wonder what my work would actually say if I went in wearing these, as I work in a microbiology lab maybe they are not really suitable. I don't see why not though, I wouldn't wear the sprints to work, but the KSO Treks cover your feet as much as a normal shoe.
 
I have a pair of Komodo Sports and a pair of Sprints. The trek on the sprints is the same as the KSO treks and are good for walking, running, going through grass, etc. The komodosport is more for hiking and stuff. I absolutely love each kind so far that I own.

However, even the komodosports, being as they DO cover your entire foot, may not be appropriate for work. They look a little weird and the colors make them stand out. My place of employment (a grocery store) does not accept them as being "appropriate" because "we expect our employees to dress semi-professionally, which these shoes obviously are not". They were approved as being safe, but they are not considered acceptable.

So just make sure you get them for you and not for work. You'll love them so much that you won't even give a crap that you can't wear them to work.
 
Thanks :)

I doubt that my work will see them as suitable when I buy them, luckily I live about a 1 minute walk from the front door of the lab so I can always come back and change them if they don't like them. I'm more interested in buying them for me, to wear outside too, when walking and cycling and at the gym when I start going again.

They are also going to be great for when I go travelling in a couple of years around south and north america, would love to do the Inca Trail in a pair of Vibrams.
 
^My bf just got a pair and he has gotten approval from his professor to wear them in the chem lab. Granted that's not a place of employment but it is a lab.
 
Wow these seem awesome. Want to get a pair for general walking and biking as well as hiking in the woods! They look really comfortable. to bad I just got new shoes not to long ago. Will have to pick some up for cheap on Ebay or something when they come up.
 
They do have some decent prices, but you can't be positive that they were not pre-owned and worn unless you go to the stores that are eligible to sell Vibram Fivefingers. We have a Crocs store near us that sells these shoes and you can make sure they fit and walk in them and stuff before buying them. I don't recommend buying these from Ebay. The sizes run very differently and if you buy shoes even one size off, they won't fit properly.
 
seriously, just go barefoot. it doesnt cost any money. there is no excuse for you to not do it.
I can see numerous excuses, but I think what sums it up is this: Sharp items on the ground that could injure your foot. Sure, your skin will get tougher the more you walk barefoot but not everyone has that luxury year-round. Not to mention that: Year-round. I doubt anyone is going to want to go barefoot in the winter time in Western New York where we get freezing temperatures, let alone anywhere colder. And yes, I have seen people wearing Vibrams in the winter. I totally would if I didn't have Raynaud's. 8)
 
seriously, just go barefoot. it doesnt cost any money. there is no excuse for you to not do it.
I can see numerous excuses, but I think what sums it up is this: Sharp items on the ground that could injure your foot. Sure, your skin will get tougher the more you walk barefoot but not everyone has that luxury year-round.

Yeah, I would love to just go barefoot, I'm sure everyone who appreciates the human anatomy would be pleased to have a never known the shoe..but modern terrain just doesn't allow it. Also, I just don't want my feet to get as tough and calloused as people who go barefoot (i.e. BlindGuy, IME). I am definitely looking to get Vibrams for the benefit of dexterity but without getting hurt and ruining my cute feet :3
 
I walked barefoot in the snow of massachusetts for a day to see if I could do it. My feet returned to normal temperature after ~1 minute of being held in the air away from the snow.

This was after walking a good half mile in the snow. I spent the entire day barefoot, including a few walks over snow and ice, as well as putting my feet inside a freezing car.

The weather on New Orleans' UNO campus during the winter is atrocious. It is windier than I ever thought possible. Most of the time my feet were numb. I still have all my toes.

Again, no excuse for barefoot.
 
haha you crazy. Not everyone wants to risk sensation in their feet and just dumbf*ck cold when they don't have to, that's a no brainer.
 
^ I have to agree here, you do realise you'll never have the same degree of sensation and circulation again in your feet if they get frost-bitten right? Barefoot in snow is just a little too extreme for my liking >.<
 

ok sure, make a face as if you don't understand.

to elaborate, the state my feet went through for about 4 months was a constant 20 mile an hour wind in about 40 degree weather, in the wet and the cold, and I did not lose any toes. I had only been barefoot for about 2 months before this.

Then I went to massachusetts, where I wore shoes for the most part, except for the few days when I decided to see if I could go barefoot. During those days, I walked over snow, ice, frozen concrete, etc. for well over a half mile. My feet returned to normal temperature after a minute of picking them up from the snow and ice on the ground. Simply holding them in the air warmed them up.

Fuck.
 
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