<p>[Vibram</a> FiveFingers](<a href=“http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/indexNA.htm]Vibram”>http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/indexNA.htm)</p>
<p>Gimmick? Great idea? Worth it? Anyone have experience with them? S1 wants a pair for Christmas.</p>
<p>YMMV, but I think that they are the real deal. I would not buy your initial pair online…they need to be fitted according to your longest toe. You need to build up your mileage in them.</p>
<p>I believe that they were developed for barefoot runners. I am a walker and am just getting my feet used to them. I have historically walked five miles on soft trails and am up to 2 1/2 miles in the FiveFingers. My back was bothering me by the end of my first walk in them but I was not surprised because they offer no cushioning. In theory the structure of my ankles and feet will strengthen over time. Keep in mind that I am a 55 year old slightly out of shape woman…I would think that a young, strong body would not have any secondary back issues. </p>
<p>I don’t generally wear shoes that are tight but all standard shoes push our toes together. I have one toe that has become bothersome and the FiveFingers feel very good when I wear them. I have seen the occasional runner in Central Park really cooking in them. I have also seen the occasional barefoot runner - what the heck are they thinking? </p>
<p>Many people wear them with bare feet but I purchased injinji toe socks to wear with them. Even the socks are an adjustment. It feels a little weird at first to have your toes separated but now they feel “right”.</p>
<p>I hope that a runner responds to your post. I would love to hear about their experience with them.</p>
<p>Check out the exercise/wellness thread. There was discussion of them a couple of months or so ago.</p>
<p>I think they look really cool, I love to go barefoot and I think it would be good for my feet to have my toes more separated- but when I was at REI- I didn’t think my feet were clean enough to try them on :o</p>
<p>( and then next year I could use them for a hobbit costume)</p>
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<p>I have them in black suede and they look like bear paws. :)</p>
<p>I ran a half marathon a couple of weeks ago and saw several runners in the half and full marathon wearing Vibrams. I also saw one guy completely barefoot (and it rained the entire race). My niece’s husband wears them all the time and loves them. I’m considering getting a pair.</p>
<p>I ordered them online i hope they fit. I am going to try them for running. I’ve always thought all my running shoes felt like bricks, so maybe these will be different. But good advice to start out on short runs.</p>
<p>I also purchased the walk fit inserts that you see on tv. I bought them at BB&B. I have terrible foot pain and leg pain. Its been very hard breaking them in even on the lowest arch. I must have really low arches.</p>
<p>My S1 has Vibrams. He’s in the military so does lots of running. He runs some in the Vibrams but wears them exclusively when working out daily at the gym. He says they are great for the gym…no wobbly ankles, no turning your foot over, better grip on the floor. Someone mentioned feet strengthening over time. S says this is true. He thinks the muscles and tendons in his feet have tightened up so much that he attributes it to a half size drop in his shoe size.</p>
<p>I bought a pair about a month ago and have been walking outside about 1 1/2 miles per day. So far, I’m doing well. I’ve been doing daily battle with fibromyalgia for five years and I developed severe Achilles tendinitis in both feet two years ago. The left foot healed after many months of no walking. The right foot refused to cooperate. It improved but it is still a little ouchy. Thankfully, resuming my walking routine in the Vibrams has not exacerbated the problem, as I feared it might. I’ve been careful to warmup with plies before walking; I stretch carefully afterward, and then ice for 15 minutes. The tendon has actually gotten better since I started exercising again. I also have Morton’s neuromas in both feet, so they like the feel of having the toes spread apart.</p>
<p>Elleneast: I have a pair of black vibrams too. At my house we call them monkey feet :).</p>
<p>Please tell your son to never, ever wear these shoes with a business suit! The other day, I saw a sharply dressed young man walking down the Fremont ave, and something did not look right… He had Vibrams on his feet! He looked like Frodo heading to a job interview :)</p>
<p>BB - The visual on that is just way too funny!!<br>
I seriously want a pair. I don’t think I’d ever be able to keep them on though. I have the shortest toes…to the point that my piggy toe doesn’t touch the floor. I was blissfully unaware of this until DH pointed it out. They look way too cool though and would be better than going barefoot all the time. Maybe my local running store would have them.</p>
<p>DM,I’ve called Vibrams Monkey Feet since the first time I saw S wear them.<br>
BB, Will never see S in a business suit. He wears fatigues and boots to his job every day.
Bet that was pretty funny to see a business suit w. monkey feet.</p>
<p>I wear mine to work sometimes. My PT wants me to spend some time each week in them- even though I am injured right now and can’t run. I also like Nike Free Runs, which are a little less, um, strange. I have had Vibrams for about 5 years. They were not developed for running/walking, but were quickly adopted by the barefoot set. Start VERY slowly in building up. Easy to get hurt.</p>
<p>What were they developed for, MOWC? Just curious…</p>
<p>I first saw someone wearing a pair at the REI store. I thought what the heck?! They were the funkiest looking shoe I had seen in some time. And popular–the salesman was telling the customer that the store was all sold out in his size.</p>
<p>Yacht shoes.</p>
<p>^^Really? How about that. When you think about it, it is perfectly logical but I had not read that anywhere.^^</p>
<p>MOWC, I hope that you heal up quickly. I live with two runners and each has been injured at one time or another. They are very unhappy campers when they can’t run.</p>
<p>Yacht shoes? My S who has Vibrams is a Navy officer. Wonder how they would go over on a Navy ship:)</p>
<p>Thanks all for the input. I can’t believe I’ve never heard of/seen these before (well, not that I’m in with the work-out crowd). S1 says he’s into “light treking”, whatever that might be. He does live in AZ and does a fair amount of hiking and bouldering and is currently taking yoga classes. Now that S2 has seen them, he’s thinking they might be good for the gym, indoor rock-climbing and after-sports. They’re both looking into which model is best for which activities.</p>
<p>One Christmas present down…</p>
<p>Yacht shoes? I never would have guessed it…</p>