Vibram Five Finger Updated Review

I have officially had my first pair of Vibram Five Finger KSO model for 8 weeks now. I reviewed them previously at about the two week mark.

Here is a quick list of the things I have figured out since my first review:

-Wearing regular shoes especially during outdoor activities is now annoying. Gripping the ground with your toes, bouncing off rocks, and the feeling of almost nothing on your feet is just great.

-Too many people do not pick up after their dogs or they let them potty in the middle of the trail, you tend to notice this more when you are watching where you step.

-After several weeks of sore stiff feet and taking it super slow transitioning to VFF’s, I finally turned a corner and my endurance jumped significantly (I was worried I would never make it past the transition stage…).

-After 8 weeks I can now trail run over 3 miles or hike 6 miles. I Crossfit in them 3-4 times a week. The balls of my feet are much more durable on hard surfaces and loose gravel. My feet have now caught up with my overall fitness level.

-I still find it painful to run on hard packed dirt roads with large gravel spread over it. At my Crossfit box I either take alternate running routes or bring regular tennis shoes for longer runs (boo). Hope this improves more over time.

-A lacrosse ball used as a massage tool is great, so are ice water baths if you can stand them (followed by warm water).

-Heel pain I have woken up to for years that would fade after 30 minutes has now disappeared entirely. I now realize this was a sign of plantar fasciitis but by strengthening my feet I have pretty much resolved the issue.

-I used to experience arch pain no matter what shoes I wore, that has pretty much disappeared as well. If I am on my feet ALL day I still experience occasional heel pain, but not to the degree I did in the past. I expect this to continue to improve.

-I have always given up on learning how to run or hike longer distances due to shin splints and knee pain. For the first time in my 35 years I am reaching goals I never came close to and am having to expand my mental limitations to meet my new physical abilities. I credit this both to being primal and my new footwear.

-Its fun to leave wet foot prints in the gym and have people point them out because it looks like you were walking barefoot across the floor.

-The KSO model is good for most trails, even very rocky rough ones. Where it does struggle is on wet rocks, muddy surfaces, or loose gravel on a hill…..they get very slippery. I suspect as I learn to use my toes better it will improve on loose gravel, but there is not much to be done in mud or wet rocks. I may consider the sportreks as a future pair for more traction.

I now consider all the muscles of my feet to be something that need conditioning just like any other part of my body. Before, I stuck my foot in a shoe and at most I considered strengthening my ankles but nothing more. Now I realize how much I needed to work on my ‘foundation’, starting at the toes up. I can curl my foot and feel the muscles developing, I can grip the ground and push off and feel my foot conform and respond. It feels like before I was running on inanimate objects, now I have a dynamic accessory that I am utilizing to it’s full potential.

Ha, I just called my foot a dynamic accessory….think it is time I wrap this up!

After 8 weeks I can now officially recommend the Vibram Five Fingers. If you cannot wear them for whatever reason, find something similar and give it a try, it is worth the effort. I also continue to hear of more and more minimalist shoes in the pipeline (without toe pockets), so selection is only going to improve. It is worth focusing on your foot more, that is for sure!

(at the bottom of my first review are links to additional minimalist shoe options)