Comments on: Vibram Five Finger Shoes (reviews)

By: Zog

Zog — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 23:01:42 +0000

Your argument is against marathon running, rather than against this particular shoe design. Dogs are designed to chew things, but if they chew bones for six hours a day , their teeth are going to wear out. Evolution has its limits.

From my experience, I do less long term damage to my body running in these shoes because by running on the forefoot, I’m putting pressure on the muscles in the calf rather than shock through the skeletal system like when you land on your heel in shoes. After years of wearing these, I’ve experienced no chronic problems from running, though I don’t run marathons and don’t plan to. I’ve also never even come close to twisting an ankle, which is much harder to do in vibrams.

By: Jesse Peart

Jesse Peart — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 05:48:53 +0000

A very thorough review. and thank you for the effort. I am disturbed; however, by the continued argument that “umans were designed to run bearfoot so these shoes are better for you.” I’d like any advocate for this thought process to name a single animal who runs the distances in nature that we do so frequently. Yes, we were designed to run bearfoot, but only short distances. Hunting and survival are the reasons to run in nature. Neither require marathon distances; therefore, it’s an invalid argument. Frankly, the human body was NOT designed to run these distances in nature, so extra padding is necessary. I believe we’ll see extensive body damage later down the road from the minimalists who continue to pound the pavement in these type of shoes.

By: Zog

Zog — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 17:42:56 +0000

I don’t see why not. I’ve tried them in the river, but not for swimming. I expect they would be more like being barefoot than like wearing shoes. I’ve been wearing them for a couple years now and they seem like they are fine for most things. I don’t wear them for more than about five hours at a time any more because they start to get clammy, but they are still the first thing I reach for if I’m going out for less time than that.

By: deanna norris

deanna norris — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 02:56:11 +0000

can you wear them in the pool?

By: David Hunt

David Hunt — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 02:13:11 +0000

Can’t say enough about how good these shoes are for me.

I want a black pair to wear with my suits!

By: fitness lady

fitness lady — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 15:08:41 +0000

Good review ! They have great sprint speeds but they get tired easily. So we, as a pack predator, would get into formation and literally run animals to death. Then we’d eat them. We are good at running.

By: Zog

Zog — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 15:44:55 +0000

That would be a fair assessment for a casual wearer; far more stable and fun on odd terrain than shoes, but requiring some time adjusting to running on asphalt.

I’ve read several reviews from people claiming to have worn them successfully on asphalt marathon runs. In my own experience, I find that my feet have adapted far more than I thought they would in a short time.

I’ve never been a marathon runner, but my feet are my primary transportation, and I don’t have any discomfort running a mile or so on asphalt now. It seems like the longest adjustment is in all the little bones and muscles in the feet needing to grow strong and stable after years of being crammed into foam blocks. Whenever I feel like I’ve stressed these too far I stop and give it a rest for a day or two and then I find I do much better the next time.

By: Hasten

Hasten — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 01:56:32 +0000

A very thorough review indeed!

Would it be fair to say that the Vibram Five Finger Shoes function better on sandy beaches, stream trotting, natural terrain and indoors, but not so suitable for hard running on asphalt?

It seems like quite a tall order to run a 13.1 miler or 26.2 miler, if it can cause pain and discomfort while walking to work.

Will it be fair to conclude that the Vibrams are an excellent tool for forefoot conversion, but not so for long road races? The Vibrams sound like a really good aid to teach us forefoot running all over again. But it sounds counter-productive over long, arduous distances.

By: admin

admin — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 22:31:38 +0000

Good advice on the adapting to the Vibrams. I’ve been doing a lot of short runs with them and wearing them everywhere. The other day I went back to my running shoes and I felt like I was running in high heels. Apparently the adaptation goes both ways.

I went for a walk in the redwoods last weekend and the FiverFingers were fantastic. Even if I didn’t keep them as running shoes, I’d definitely have a pair around for off road excursions.

By: Ravi

Ravi — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 05:56:42 +0000

Great post. I got the Vibram’s and have run regularly in them, just did a 4 miler in them and feel great. I know my feet are getting stronger and they just feel awesome.

Definitely a good idea to start out with short runs to avoid any potential injuries as your feet adapt to them.

My full write-up here of my initial barefoot running experience is here:

http://www.sethigherstandards.com/barefoot-running-vibram-five-fingers-are-worth-it/