One of the interesting purposes of the Vibram FiveFinger foot glove (floove?) is to allow the user to walk or run shoeless yet avoid toe hazards such as rocks, glass, thistles and other callous-causing objects. There are several different models designed for various activities including running, hiking, and kayaking.
Some people are of the opinion that walking barefoot provides a pure and natural gait and therefore promotes better posture and avoids exacerbating foot problems that can come from ill-fitting shoes. Others believe that barefooting is fine but only on uneven terrain (such as when hiking) and should not be performed on flat surfaces such as city sidewalks. In either case, these look to be a great way to go au naturale.
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These are the dorkiest looking things I think I’ve ever seen. They make the wearer look like a monkey-boy.
@Ken does that mean you ordered some? 😉
Yeah, they are a little hard to work the courage up for, particularly the first time you leave the house in ’em. Helped that I wasn’t in my home country 😀
Then, something very cool happened – I got the protection of my old Teva sandals, with better sense for the surfaces I walked on – boat deck, slickened by salt water.
Hot sand, unable to run over the tops of my sandals, since the KSO (Keep Stuff Out) model goes up to the base of your ankle.
Rock and coral beneath me as I swam and walked in the shallows during our outing in Coron, Philippines.
These things were too damned good to be true. If only I didn’t look like I’d shaved my feet, and painted ’em black 😀
Now… imagine wearing those — then putting on a pair of Birkenstocks.
These are brilliant! I wear them as i was experiencing foot pain when running in regular running shoes and a friend recommended me to try barefooting. These were the closest i could get to barefoot whilst keeping my feet clean and warm! Since i started wearing these i have no more pain in my feet or knees as they have improved my posture and my gait is exactly how it should be. There is nothing ‘dorky’ about looking after yourself!
I have a pair and I ran a marathon in them last month. They do look awful, but they are the best running shoes. I used to have knee pain after my runs. Changing to these shoes will quickly change your stride from a heal striker to a midfoot landing or else it hurts (no padded heal). The benefit is that heal striking transmits shock up to your knees and hips. Read the book Born to Run (a great read for any runners) and you will be wanting to try these shoes.
If it is good for Google’s co-founder….
http://birthdayshoes.com/index.php/sergey-brin-billionaire-innovator-five-fingers-model
This footwear looks like one for all foot types, but does not exactly fit each different foot shape: Egyptian, Greek or Roman.
I’ve been on the fence about these for some time now, but every review/article I’ve seen gets me closer to trying them. If it were up to me, I’d never put shoes on again – these may just be the shoes for me!
I’ve had a pair of Fivefingers for over 2 years and continue to love them! Even for just kicking around the house or puttering around in the yard on the weekend, these are great alternative to sandals or going barefoot. They even offer a minimal bit of arch support.
One caveat: I’ve found that I have to pay much closer attention to toenail grooming with the Fivefingers shoes. They fit so snugly on the toes that if you have a bit of ingrown toenail, they’ll only worsen that problem. And if you let your toenails get a little long, you’ll probably have some discomfort with these shoes.
@Rob — thanks for the tip about the ingrown nails; I have that issue and these would aggravate them, I’m sure.