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These shoes are awesome. I want.

Lee,

They sell a variation of those at Hanig's Footwear on Clark and Diversey. I am not sure that they are the same brand as the ones you first posted but I do know that they have them in the store.
 
The concept behind the Vibram 5 Fingers is built upon numerous studies of shod and unshod runners and the instance of injury. Most studies not only show that shoes are detrimental to proper biomechanical action of the foot, but that as the expense (and therefore padding) of the shoes increase, so too does the rate of injury.

In your particular case Lee, especially with your knees, you may not want to jump right into the 5 Fingers unless you already spend a lot of time walking or running barefoot outdoors. You could try a more transitional shoe (like Nike Frees) or you could ease into wearing the shoes by keeping it to an hour at a time until your feet acclimate.

Additionally if you're looking for a pair that's more "in vogue", you could try Vivo Barefoot. While those shoes look more like traditional shoes, they have a 3mm flexible sole.
 
hahaha! My math and american lit teachers each have a pair of those and wear them to school. A few kids in my class have gotten a pair after seeing theirs.

I would get a pair, but i have syndactyly (meaning i have webbed toes). So i guess i can't wear them 🙁
 
Gonzo3333 said:
They sell a variation of those at Hanig's Footwear on Clark and Diversey. I am not sure that they are the same brand as the ones you first posted but I do know that they have them in the store.
Click to expand...

I think they are the Vibrams -- I remember checking them out there a year ago.

I really want a pair of these at some point, too.
 
leekohler said:
These are the coolest athletic shoes I've ever seen. A guy at the gym had them on this morning and said they're great. I'm gonna get me some for the gym. 🙂

http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/products/products_KSO_m.cfm
Click to expand...

I saw some dude wearing those in the weight room a few months ago (though, they were colored blue). I was like, "WTF?" They look weird and not very safe for weight lifiting. Though, I have no idea how comfortable they are or how much support and safety they actually provide. Bare feet kind of bother me. So, these make me a bit uncomfortable.
 
Gonzo3333 said:
Lee,

They sell a variation of those at Hanig's Footwear on Clark and Diversey. I am not sure that they are the same brand as the ones you first posted but I do know that they have them in the store.
Click to expand...

They are the same. Hanig's sells them.

Iscariot said:
The concept behind the Vibram 5 Fingers is built upon numerous studies of shod and unshod runners and the instance of injury. Most studies not only show that shoes are detrimental to proper biomechanical action of the foot, but that as the expense (and therefore padding) of the shoes increase, so too does the rate of injury.

In your particular case Lee, especially with your knees, you may not want to jump right into the 5 Fingers unless you already spend a lot of time walking or running barefoot outdoors. You could try a more transitional shoe (like Nike Frees) or you could ease into wearing the shoes by keeping it to an hour at a time until your feet acclimate.

Additionally if you're looking for a pair that's more "in vogue", you could try Vivo Barefoot. While those shoes look more like traditional shoes, they have a 3mm flexible sole.
Click to expand...

Darlin', I'm getting a pair for the gym- that's it. I won't be wearing them all the time.

mkrishnan said:
I think they are the Vibrams -- I remember checking them out there a year ago.

I really want a pair of these at some point, too.
Click to expand...

I'm gonna get some Sunday if I'm down by Hanig's.

Leareth said:
safer than flip flops or most sandals.
though I have snagged little toe on branches in trees...

they are not the prettiest, but once you get used to them, their ugliness is forgiven for their comfort.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the review! It's good to hear from someone else who's used them.
 
Personally, I would not wear these in public, way too bizarre. Like nude feet, but not. Or perhaps wear them and then put on some Teva's over them. 😀 But then again i know nothing about fashion so maybe the kids these days think they're cool.
 
Don't panic said:
i've seen people in the city with those.
they look very weird but they are supposed to be great for running.
Click to expand...

For certain activities such as climbing, I see these being useful.

For running? I'd try them, but the impact of running long distances on roads would probably make my knees hurt a lot more than they do now (when I run). 😱 I have a pair of shoes that offer great protection for people like me (but not good enough for frequent running, unfortunately), but the thicker the sole, the more it feels like you're running on high platform shoes. You just won't get the balance that you'd have naturally while barefooted. It's a tradeoff from thinner-soled running shoes, but it's something I probably need.

Anyway, the sole of these Vibrams probably doesn't offer enough shock protection for runners unless you're looking at the KSO Trek, and even with the KSO Treks, they don't look great for running purposes.


And they'd probably be good for light hiking, but they don't offer enough ankle support for any real hiking. That's what hiking boots are for. The ankle support has actually saved me from ruining many hiking trips.
 
I have a pair of these for when I went bouldering and rock climbing with my friends back in the summer.. I got a really good deal on them because they were overpriced at the time. They are really comfortable on me and I enjoy bringing them when I got camping or rock climbing.. granted I wouldnt wear them in public because I personally think they look really weird
 
leekohler said:
They are the same. Hanig's sells them.
Darlin', I'm getting a pair for the gym- that's it. I won't be wearing them all the time.

Thanks for the review! It's good to hear from someone else who's used them.
Click to expand...

Lee,
from personal experience, wear the shoes around house for couple weeks to get used to the range of motions your feet be able to do
and to strengthen the foot and leg muscles
especially if not walk around barefoot for long periods of time.

otherwise you can end up hurting yourself asking your feet to do to much, especially in the gym.
you will notice you feet and legs getting fitter, stronger and more flexible just by wearing them 🙂
jogging and lifting weight in them adds another dimension of fitness.
 
I'd consider them if they had a decently long-lasting sole for a person who walks nearly three miles a day as exercise. But only as a shoe for good weather use.

Mind you, I'd like to see a version that accommodates people wearing socks, though. 🙂
 
Abstract said:
For running? I'd try them, but the impact of running long distances on roads would probably make my knees hurt a lot more than they do now (when I run). 😱 I have a pair of shoes that offer great protection for people like me (but not good enough for frequent running, unfortunately), but the thicker the sole, the more it feels like you're running on high platform shoes.
Click to expand...

Recent studies are showing that shod runners strike the ground with more force than unshod runners. The padding on shoes interferes with the proprioceptive information your brain receives when your first metatarsal head hits the ground and thus your body does not adapt correctly to facilitate transfering the load through your joints with minimal stress. Additionally, shod runners are more likely to heel-strike, which robs your body of even more proprioceptive information to better transfer force.

That said, forefoot striking takes force off of the knee, but it puts more force on the ankle. We haven't done enough studies to determine if barefoot is necessarily better for injury prevention (although it seems very likely) but we have done studies that show that running with shoes actually increases strike force.

Study
 
SactoGuy18 said:
I'd consider them if they had a decently long-lasting sole for a person who walks nearly three miles a day as exercise. But only as a shoe for good weather use.

Mind you, I'd like to see a version that accommodates people wearing socks, though. 🙂
Click to expand...

yep they last that long .
I wore one of mine all summer long , hours per day on dirt , rocks and pavement and still are good for another season
and yes you can wear toe socks in them.
but kinda defeats the whole barefoot experience.
 
Iscariot said:
Recent studies are showing that shod runners strike the ground with more force than unshod runners. The padding on shoes interferes with the proprioceptive information your brain receives when your first metatarsal head hits the ground and thus your body does not adapt correctly to facilitate transfering the load through your joints with minimal stress. Additionally, shod runners are more likely to heel-strike, which robs your body of even more proprioceptive information to better transfer force.

That said, forefoot striking takes force off of the knee, but it puts more force on the ankle. We haven't done enough studies to determine if barefoot is necessarily better for injury prevention (although it seems very likely) but we have done studies that show that running with shoes actually increases strike force.

Study
Click to expand...

Strike the ground harder when wearing shoes? Probably.

Does the design of the my shoes take up any of that force? Probably.


And like you said, whether I strike the ground heel-first or forefoot-first may affect the amount of force I step with, but that's not to say that the effect on your joints is the same. You can't just relate force to stress. If I punch a wall with my fist unclenched, I'd probably punch with much less force, and much more reluctantly. However, I'll have a far greater chance of breaking my fingers. If I punch with a clenched fist, I'll probably punch harder and yet still have less chance of injury. Bad example, but there you go.


Besides, I did live 30 seconds from the beach for a long time, so I did things barefoot all the time. When I run at a typical jogging speed, I land mid-foot (i.e. feet footed) whether I'm running barefoot or with shoes on. The difference comes when I'm jogging very very slowly. When I'm barefoot, I'd land fore-footed. When I'm wearing shoes, I land on my heel first. But at the speed that I'm talking about, I could jog for hours.


I skimmed the complete article, but it doesn't even give the first step towards coming up with a conclusion as to whether shoes are bad or good.

Anyway, since I step mid-footed, I'm not convinced that wearing these is any better.
 
Leareth said:
Lee,
from personal experience, wear the shoes around house for couple weeks to get used to the range of motions your feet be able to do
and to strengthen the foot and leg muscles
especially if not walk around barefoot for long periods of time.

otherwise you can end up hurting yourself asking your feet to do to much, especially in the gym.
you will notice you feet and legs getting fitter, stronger and more flexible just by wearing them 🙂
jogging and lifting weight in them adds another dimension of fitness.
Click to expand...

I walk around barefoot or in stocking feet a lot. I won't be doing doing squats in these things for a while though.
 
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