Vibram Five Finger toe shoes: the Verdict

I have had my Vibram toe shoes for a while now. I have worn them as my daily shoes and have worn them out on the trails. I have about 70 miles on them. My first impression of them was a foot saver. I had tried several shoes but all hurt my feet. The Vibrams did not make my feet hurt. I thought I found the perfect shoes. Today I went walking the trails and walk ways in the park. The path is mostly concrete with stretches of dirt path. After six miles of concrete my heels were feeling the lack of cushion. I had to walk the last mile back on the grass next to the concrete walk. The difference was night and day. I will say that because I gave my feet a rest from conventional shoes for two months I am now able to wear my dress shoes without any foot pain. I will still wear my toe shoes, just not all the time. When my KSOs are worn out I will buy another pair of toe shoes.

Vibrams fivefingers KSO

After reading all of the hype about these shoes, I got a pair for an early fathers day present. My family was tired of listening to me talk about how much I would like a pair but what if I don't like them. What if it they hurt my feet. I didn't want to spend $85 just to have them sit in my closet.

I use to wear Nike shoes and I absolutely love them. I heard how great New Balance shoes were so after much debating I broke down and bought a pair. $150. Ouch! I went out walking and they felt great at first but then my left foot started to hurt on the inside edge of my heel. I walked about 3.5 miles that day. I had to pull my shoes off when I got back to the car. The left foot had three blisters all around the heel. I was hurting for weeks. I healed up and then tried them out again. I ended up pulling them off and walking back in my socks. I told my self never again will I spend that much on a pair of walking shoes.

I still need to run my Vibrams through the paces to see how they will do for me. At first blush they are great. I walked about 3/4 of a mile on the sidewalk and then returned on the trail. The KSOs did well both on and off the walk way. This week I should get about 20 miles logged in the shoes. Stay tuned.