New hiking shoes

[CrazyFinn]

These look pretty comfortable - made in Italy. They say good for trekking, climbing, and canyoneering.

http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/pro...ucts_KSO_m.cfm

[blueeyes]

I was biking along the BST in Ogden and came across a girl wearing these. I wanted some but had no idea where to find them.

THANKS!!!!

[Scott Card]

It may be just me but they look horribly uncomfortable. I think my feet and ankles would last about 10 yards in the Narrows on Zion Park with those things on. I can't imagine how bad my feet would feel after the Subway. Heaps? ya right! So I took my kids up to Bridal Veil Falls and had to walk across a bunch of sharp rock and rock slides. Ouch. They may be ok for for the River Walk in Zion. I can't imagine me wearing them anywhere else. Just my 2 cents.

[Jaxx]

Bo and Tanya have a pair. I think they liked them. I can't find the thread though. Hopefully one of them sees this thread.

[blueeyes]

I just wanted them for hiking. This is hiking on easy trails with a 9year old I have to prod up the hill. I don't canyoneer (yet) and wouldn't have a clue if they would be good for this type of use. They just looked extremely comfortable to me. Especially after they conform to your foot.

[Jaxx]

I think that is what they used them for. I thought I remember them liking them and I looked into them. You could do an advanced search for it. I wasn't having any luck finding it.

[trackrunner]

I've actually heard people say it was uncomfortable for canyoneering. You feel every rock.

[cookiecutter]

aww the 5 fingers. Though I don't have a pair, a very good friend of mine does and swears by them - Ill rarely see him not wearing them when he is out on the town. We spent a week in Zion after graduation and he wore them through keyhole and said he liked them. But in longer hikes and canyons such as Behunin or Subway he wore his trail runners.

My big problem with them is this: some typa rubber material hugging each individual toe and the body of my foot, thats gotta get sweaty! Maybe not a problem for some, but I'm just outta high school and still pride myself in my developed talent of keeping myself sweat free. I'm not sure my powers could overcome these

[Ih8grvty]

I happen to be an idiot.
I like stuff that makes people look at me me and go WTF?!
so now IM interested in these damn shoes!
so far what I know with out actually buying them (thats gonna come sooner or later)

There are alot of Beta Tests on youtube of these, they all suck and are pointless to watch.

the red ones make it look like you have bloody feet when you run by wearing them, this is the pair I will prolly end up with when i buy some.

this site:
http://entropyproduction.blogspot.co...so-review.html
said:
Running in them is not quite the same as barefoot but the degree of protection is very good. You feel everything you're running on, and sometimes things hurt a bit but only for a second and there's no lasting pain. Like barefoot, you have to watch where you place your feet, but you have considerably more insurance whenever you make a mistake, so you can run briskly. Running on a gravel track wasn't possible for me, but trails and grass were both very enjoyable experiences.

on sweat they said:
The shoes are a little sweaty, although I think this may be a feature rather than a bug: when wet the Five-fingers suction onto your foot better.

As fa as sweat goes, the only real cure for soaked shoes that smell like cat poop, is to wear socks. Works with these too as there are socks made to fit in them:
http://www.citysports.com/citysports...sFiveFingerKSO

pretty much every source I looked at said the same thing about them:

One of the more interesting things - and this should seem obvious but never occurred to me before actually trying them - is that you feel everything below you. When the ground changes textures from wood chips to packed dirt to soft mud, you feel everything. The softness of the earth, the temperature changes, the dry or moist - every sensation is there (just be careful for jagged stones - the sole isn

[CrazyFinn]

I thought they might be nice around the house and to the grocery store, etc. But they are pricey for my budget at this point. Maybe someday.

[canyonphile]

I have a friend who got a pair of these for Xmas and absolutely *swears* by them. Then again, she likes to go barefoot, so this is a good solution to that. I think they sound promising for a walk-around-town sort of shoe, although they might not have enough cushion for the balls of my feet.

My professional (well, that of a retired foot doctor, anyway) opinion is that if you get a pair and want to use them for major hiking or running, is to VEEERRRY SLOOOWWWLY ease into that activity wearing them, otherwise you are asking for injuries. They are radically different than any other shoe design as they are designed to mimic walking barefoot, which most of us only do at home or at the beach. Since the bones and soft tissues of our feet have adapted to being in stiffer shoes with much more support (esp. hiking boots), suddenly going to a shoe that is essentially a Vibram slipper changes the biomechanics and stresses going through the feet. If you get a new pair, and they feel great walking around town a couple of times, so you decide to go on a 10-mile run in them, you are risking a stress fracture, tendonitis, metatarsalgia, plantar fasciitis, etc., etc. I'd personally wear them on walks for probably 3-4 weeks before I'd even run 3 miles in them, just to allow my bones, joints and soft tissues to adapt.

That being said, they are probably better for your feet than any of that Nike Air crap . I have seen first hand the foot pain and injuries those stupid shoes cause.

[oldno7]

This is kinda funny,
I was hiking out of the subway last year and a group of kids(20sumthin') kept passing me and then stopping and having to wait on their friend. When we got to the bottom of the last climb out we stopped to hydrate and the youngins' passed us again. I wanted to see who this last person was so we waited awhile and he came hobbling up. He appeared as fit as any of his other comrades, he only had one problem, he couldn't hardly walk. I grinned and asked him how he liked his "toe shoes", he said his feet were very bruised and sore and he could hardly walk. We let him catch his friends again, only to be passed by us old folks while he was sitting on a rock with his feet in the air. Never saw him again and never heard about a rescue of bigfoot out of the subway, so I guess he made it.

[Bo_Beck]

This may get cut from the post, but I thought I'd mention that I personally own 3 pair of FiveFingers. I have the KSO Trek, Sprint and Bikila Models. I plan on getting some of the Treksports and the new Komodos as well. I absolutely love the FiveFingers. Super comfy. I sell more FiveFingers than any other footwear. They are the hottest selling footwear I've dealt with.
http://www.thedesertrat.net/blog/201...am-fivefinger/

[blueeyes]

Spencer just spent 3 weeks earning money to buy him a pair from The Desert Rat the first day he wore them to school I got the following e-mail from him.

They're freakin awsome. I LOVE Them To Death!!!! Love You!!

He has big wide feet and has a hard time finding shoes that are comfortable. The kid researched them for weeks and decided he just HAD to have a pair. I wasn't about to put out $80 bucks on a pair of shoes that he MIGHT wear and MIGHT not so we went half's. You all know how kids are. Anyway he earned his half of the money and bought them. Not sure if he will ever wear a different pair of shoes after his feet get accustomed to these.

He wears them one day and the regular shoes the next. We went on a short hike Wednesday and he wore them and complained the next day of his hind end being sore. He told me you have to get use to the shoes. Kid did his research.