As someone who follows the paleo/primal movements, I’ve been interested in joining the barefoot movement for a while. I’ve had my eye on the Vibram Five Fingers. I know that Primal Toad has a pair and loves the company for their great quality product and excellent customer service. I love being barefoot – I love the way my toes can splay out and grip the earth in front of me, but I don’t like actually being barefoot, especially outside. The Vibram Five Fingers are the perfect compromise between actually being barefoot and feeling barefoot. They combine a thin flexible sole with spaces for each of your five toes to give you protection from the elements while still providing you with the barefoot experience.
Due to my self-imposed shoe embargo, I didn’t get a pair for myself until earlier this week, though I had talked both of my sisters and one of their boyfriends into getting pairs of their own. My little sister is a big fan of her KSO Treks and wear them everywhere, especially to the gym. I ordered the VFF SmartWool Classic – I’m a big fan of SmartWool socks and actually own a few other pairs of shoes that incorporate the SmartWool into the construction. As someone who can be prone to sweaty, stinky feet, I was hoping that the SmartWool would help, as it does in my other pairs, reduce the footfunk that can ensue from wearing shoes sans socks. A side note – the VFF sizing system is unique and though it looks like the numbers ought to correspond to the European shoe sizing system, it does not. In addition, shoe sizes can vary from model to model (for instance, the SmartWool Classic is said to run a bit smaller than the regular Classic). I went to the Vibram site after measuring my foot and used their charts to determine which size to purchase.
I ordered from travelcountry.com – I took advantage of their big VFF clearance sale, and the shoes finally arrived earlier this week on Tuesday. Putting them on was a little weird – my toes are not the most flexible, so they don’t always want to go into each of their dedicated slots. I’m finally getting to the point where I can basically pull them on, make sure my toes are all in straight and go. Also, getting used to the feel of something between my toes takes a little getting used to. Overall, I love them. They are so comfortable – like wearing the barest of slippers on my feet. I love being able to grip the earth with my toes when I wear them, and there are all sorts of muscles in my legs and feet working that I didn’t even know I had. And the SmartWool has been awesome – so far, so good – no stinky feet!
Having read a little about the VFF Classics, I expected to experience a breaking in period and so, only wore the shoes for a little bit each day. They did rub my heel on the back – the high back takes a bit of getting used to, but I often have this problem with flats and don’t mind wearing moleskin or bandaids until they are fully broken in. I wore them to piyo class, but ended up going totally barefoot for the actual class. Today, in fact, was the first time I wore them for an expended period and they felt pretty damn awesome.
Until I looked down and saw the hole. I’ve only had them four days and they’ve already developed a hole. I hate to think how beat up they would have become had I run in them this week. Sigh. At this point, I’m just really, really disappointed. I’ve been telling everyone how great the VFFs are and how they should get their own pair (I think I’ve convinced my SIL that she needs to ask for a pair for her birthday), and mine start to break down after only four days?
I guess this will be my chance to see firsthand how good or bad Vibram customer service can be. I’ve already contacted both travelcountry.com and Vibram directly. It is my understanding that they are under warranty for 90 days from the date of purchase and I should be able to send them in and receive a replacement pair. I’m really hoping that this won’t color my experience with VFFs negatively. I had already scoped out my next pair (either the Performa Jane or the Jaya LR)! I’ll let you know how things turn out, but I’m just hoping to be back in a pair of Vibrams soon, doing my barefoot thing!
My replacement Vibram Five Fingers arrived in the mail this week. As you can see, I opted not to get another pair of the SmartWool Classics and try out the Sprints instead. A full review should be posted next week after I’ve had a chance to put them through their paces, but so far, I really really love them. Already I’ve noticed that where the bungee cord and high back of the Classics rubbed against the back of my ankle, the maryjane style strap on the Sprints keeps them in place without any rubbing whatsoever.
