Should I buy fivefingers?

Posted by Papaya on August 9, 2013 at 3:22am

Hi all,

I know there's a number of discussions on this subject but I did not find the answer to my question on them.

The thing is after all the curiosity with five fingers I made up my mind to give them a try. I have been visiting a few stores in Manhattan and tried quite a few pairs. My first disappointment was I looked into the store locator of the official five fingers website and many of them did not have them; especially I could not find Vibram in any running store (I wonder why is this...). So finally I saw myself walking into random shoe stores and asking. 

I'd like to give them a try for running (I know, I should transition very very slowly) and tried the models the brand recommends for women runners. My concern is that even though they fit comfortable, they don't fit like a glove at all. I understand we all have probably completely different shapes to our feet and that it's almost impossible that most of our pairs of feet match the one pair of feet Vibram that would perfectly fit in the shoe design. For instance, not that I have a very long big toe, but I still found that most of the pairs were made for feet with shorter big toes. I went up one size so my big toe was more at ease, but then the shoe was kind of too loose...

To sum up: if these shoes do not fit my feet like a pair of gloves, they might miss their purpose since I may not be able to move my toes freely.

Did any of you have this problem? Any suggestions?

Thanks so much

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Replies

  • Papaya August 13, 2013 at 9:05am

    Thank you all for the replies. I went to REI and spent some time trying different models of fivefingers and for now I'm not buying them. I find pretty clear they are thought for toes that grow fairly straight as opposed to mine, that are rather curved...

    I think I'll try xero shoes for now, but will have to buy something else for winter, as I wouldn't like to run on sandals in winter. Probably will give Altra's a try.

    Hugs 

    • Toni Hartman > Papaya August 13, 2013 at 9:59am
      I wore RunAmoc running moccasins from Soft Star Shoes last winter. I've heard of people wearing their huaraches all through the winter. They say that you can train your feet to adapt to the cold but I didn't want to mess around with that. Anyhow, the moccasins are really awesome. They feel like slippers and there's nothing out there that's more minimalist than these. They have vegan styles and you can have your shoes custom made if you want. The customer service is top notch. Can't recommend them highly enough! I still love my Altra's for the really long runs because they offer more comfort and cushion but the moccasins are great too. FYI: if the roads are wet or snow covered, I wrap my feet in bags and secure them with masking tape around my ankles to keep my feet dry in the moccasins. Works like a charm. Good luck!
      http://www.softstarshoes.com/running-moccasins/moc3-runamoc.html
    • Stephen Berks > Toni Hartman August 13, 2013 at 10:12am

      I enthusiastically recommend GTX models from inov-8 for winter running. Any shoe models demarcated by Inov-8 as "GTX" contain a waterproof gortex liner.  For running in very heavy snow, you can use a pair of gators.  Inov-8 offers two different gator models, and Runningwarehouse offers lots to choose from.  www.runningwarehouse.com

      http://www.inov-8.com/New/Global/product-select-mens.asp?L=26&A...

      Terrafly's are nice because they are hybrids that do well on both trails and roads.  (The less "drop" a shoe has, the closer it is to running full-on barefoot.)

  • Toni Hartman August 9, 2013 at 11:17am
    Forgot to mention... I tried five fingers and, though they felt great on, they always give me painful blisters if I wear them for more than just a couple miles :/ not good
    • Daniel Kerr > Toni Hartman August 11, 2013 at 3:13pm

      +1 blisters for me, so I took them off, much better.

      for racing though I tend to wear them as I feel the ground a bit less then I take risks I would not take barefoot, i.e. running fast on gravel.

       

      Another cheap option is to find a strong liquid rubber,like Plasti Dip get some cheap toe socks and make your own.

      they will fit well, ;) good luck

    • Papaya > Daniel Kerr August 13, 2013 at 9:01am

      Wow, you have some creativity ;-). I never thought of making a shoe out of a sock, do you know of anyone who tried that?

    • Daniel Kerr > Papaya August 13, 2013 at 2:58pm

      Yep was written about by Ken Bob Saxton in his excellent book about barefoot running "Barefoot Running Step by Step" IN this he talks through his issues with the minimalist shoes and his assertion that they are still sub optimal.

       

      If you wish to maximise running efficiency barefoot is the way forward. As efficiency improves so does speed, but for racing there may be a dividend to wearing some form of shoes. In essence it is a compromise, the further away from natural running you get the increased probability of injuries caused by structure, but in our endless search for speed we want to feel no pain. short term reduction of pain on the soles can lead to long term serious pain in the back or knees or hips or wherever your weak points are. This includes minimalist shoes. I think of it like working with gloves, you can still get the job done but it is not the same as working without gloves. Sometimes gloves are necessary but usually only because you are not used to the activity. Think of chopping wood, initially you may like gloves so you don't develop a blister, but if you only went till the blister started to form you would not end up with sore shoulders and back. If you continually develop your wood chopping capacity limited by your skins' capacity to not blister your muscles will develop without soreness. In the end you will chop more wood more efficiently.

       

      If you are transitioning to barefoot shoes, just run without shoes. It may limit you to a few hundred metres at first but by the time you are running your original distance you will be very unlikely to injure yourself. It scares me how many people you see at events wearing minimalist shoes running with stiff legs and high impact styles. They will get injured.

       

      Good luck with your journey.


      Dan

  • Toni Hartman August 9, 2013 at 11:15am
    Try huaraches. You can buy a customized do-it-yourself kit from xeroshoes.com very cheap. No more toe issues! ;) I also love my Altra's :)
  • Brad Ramsay August 9, 2013 at 5:08am
    To answer the question that is the title of this thread, I would say yes, they are great shoes. Minimalist is the way to go for running. BUT, if you are going to be running in the city/on roads, I would recommend a zero drop shoe with some cushion. Is ground feel THAT important on concrete?

    Do you know of altra's (less on the minimalist side) and Luna huaraches (most minimalist shoe with varying degrees of cushion)...?

    Just want to make sure you know all your options. Vibrams may prove to be right for you, but even if they're not the perfect running shoe, they're great for hiking, festivals, walking around...
    • Papaya > Brad Ramsay August 9, 2013 at 6:37am

      Hi Brad, I'm new to running and even more to shoes minimalism so those options were completely unknown to me so far. Thanks for letting me know and if there's something else you consider important I'm all ears.

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