Avid User of the Vibram FiveFingers Line Answers Questions

Search

// you’re reading...

"Barefoot" Footwear

Avid User of the Vibram FiveFingers Line Answers Questions

By Al Gauthier ⋅ July 10, 2009 ⋅

The following is a post by Keith Krone from his keith-in-training blog. The original post can be found here.

I try to get to all of my email personally, I really do. Sometimes, that’s just not possible. So…I’ll go ahead and answer some questions about the Vibram FiveFingers that have been sent my way since writing about my experiences with them.

Note that these are merely the opinions of one user and are not designed to sway your opinion one way or the other — this is only to serve as an “Answers to FAQ’s,” if you will.

So let’s get started, shall we?

Question: Can you really wear them anywhere? Job interviews? Weddings? Nudist camps?

Answer: Yes, why not? They are an interesting conversation piece for any job interview — and it would show the interviewer that you’re not just some drone who’ll march to the beat of everyone else’s drum. Weddings? Heck yeah! You can really chicken dance in them. Nudist camps? The VFF’s might not be for purist nudists, but they’d look cooler on a naked person than say, penny loafers.

Question: Seems like I always end up with expensive running shoes that I can’t wear anywhere else, and they’re usually worn out before I’m ready to drop $130 on a new pair. How long do the VFF’s last?

Answer: First of all, the “foam breakdown” experienced in regular shoes is a sham. That one inch of foam is doing very little to cushion your feet and legs from “impact.” In fact, you’d probably do well to let the foam in your shoes break down to the point where they’re barely hanging on anymore, then chuck those things and start running barefoot. Secondly, I just retired a pair of VFF’s with over 2,000 miles on them, including ultra runs on some of the bitchenist terrain in the upper midwest. They’re plenty rugged, and relatively cheap to replace.

Question: Where can I get a KSO in Singapore (Frankfurt, Afghanistan, Brussels, Nice, Texas…)?

Answer: http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/

Question: If you were shelling out the cash would you buy the KSOs over say the classics? Purely for vanity the KSOs are limited in their colours…

Answer: I guess there are merits to both models, but for my money I like the KSO’s the best so far out of the entire lineup of Vibram FiveFingers products, vanity notwithstanding.

Question: I have measured my shoe size and the approximate equivalent to it in european sizing leads to a too small/big FiveFingers. Help!

Answer: There is a great sizing chart and more answers to FAQ’s on the website. Many retailers of the VFF have a handy dandy sizing device that works specifically with the VFF sizing.

Question: What kind of support do they have for my arches?

Answer: Your arches.

Question: Your feet are freakishly muscular. How can I avoid that?

Answer: Wear more shoe, do less exercise.

Question: What kind of traction do they get?

Answer: Most of your traction comes from being able to better sense yourself in relation to the surface you are on, rather than relying on tread or spikes or what have you.

Question: Are the KSO’s waterproof?

Answer: No.

Question: Can you run in them in the snow?

Answer: Yes. And it’s cold. Just like snow is meant to be.

They’re meant to allow you to reconnect with surfaces and situations you’re told over and over again that bare feet or less shod feet aren’t supposed to go. SO get out there and have fun! Get muddy! Get wet! Get cold! Get HOT! Step on rocks. Step on logs. Climb trees in them. See how it all feels and teach yourself to run quickly and easily over all of it, just like we’re designed to do! Sneak up on animals in them. Allow yourself to be snuck up on by animals in them. Run through dandelion patches and get salad in between your toes in them. Jump off of things and land on your feet in them. Do yoga in them. Go to church in them. Run a marathon in them. Run an ultramarathon in them. Wear them on airplanes…Discover all the ways that being barefoot is so much more fun than wearing shoes!

Buy Vibram FiveFingers at these quality online retailers:

___________________________________________________________________________

About Living Barefoot Reviews:

As you read our reviews, please keep in mind that our reviewers review shoes in terms of their suitability for those looking to find the highest quality minimalist shoe products. All reviews are as factual as possible. In an effort to be transparent and ethical, we will point out any defects found, even if these do not affect the usability of the product. Not all defects will be present in final production shoes as we are sometimes offered “seconds” or pre-release products in an effort to provide you with reviews in a timely manor. In the event that serious issues are found with a review sample we will give every opportunity for the manufacturer to replace to explain the review samples before the final review is released. We never accept payments for reviews. We do not guarantee a good review for any products sent to us. We do not review products that do not claim to be minimalist or “barefoot like” unless we receive a significant number of requests from readers or listeners.

Should you have any questions about our review process or would like your product reviewed on our site, please do not hesitate to contact us using our contact page.

___________________________________________________________________________

Featured Interview: Christopher McDougall – Author of Born to Run

Listen HERE

Christopher McDougall is a well-spoken, humble man who has through the popularity of his book brought about some of the biggest changes in the perception of feet and running in recent years. Join us in learning about how this talented author wrote his book, discovered his feet, and how he feels about barefooting and running. This interview should not be missed.

We Talk about:

- Chris’s recent appearance at the TED Conference

- Thoughts on Interviews In General

- His first exposure to barefoot running

- How he came to find the Tarahumara while on assignment for the New York Times.

- He thoughts on his influence over barefoot running and ultra running

- How he struggled with writing Born to Run

- This thoughts on minimalist shoes

- And much more!

To learn more about Christopher McDougall visit his website: http://chrismcdougall.com

Buy His Book: Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen
Download the Audible Audiobook

Find “Living Barefoot” in iTunes and download it onto your iPod / iPhone or listen online

___________________________________________________________________________

Keep Yourself Connected:

Subscribe to our Twitter Feed, Listen to or download our Podcasts, subscribe to our RSS feed, or Subscribe to our email updates.

___________________________________________________________________________

Recent Minimalist Shoe Reviews:

Stay updated by being notified when we release a new reviews. Subscribe Here.

___________________________________________________________________________

Give us your support!

As Living Barefoot continues to grow our costs keep increasing. In order to cover the many costs necessary to provide our readers and listeners with the great quality reviews and content on Living Barefoot we would like to request your help.

If you like what we are doing, we are asking for a tiny contribution to show your support. We guarantee you won’t notice the missing contribution, but if enough people participate, it can be a significant contribution to help continue to innovate and bring you great reviews, news, and personalities through the Living Barefoot Show.

What will we do in return? We’ll continue to offer you great free news, reviews, and guest interviews on our show. We will also decrease the amount of advertising on our site as subscriptions increase.

Donate as little as $1 monthly. The subscription will simply deduct $1 from your bank or credit card monthly. You can cancel the automatic withdrawal at any time. You won’t notice $1, but we will!