About Beth
I am a freelance writer, based in Pittsburgh, PA, specializing in science and technical topics. Yes, I am available for new writing projects! FiveFingers update
Yes, I did get used to walking in them. It takes time for your feet to get stronger - a few weeks. At the same time you learn how to place your feet for maximum comfort. Experiment and you will see.
I wear them everywhere, including hikes in the woods and walks around town. I wear them kayaking and gardening and shopping.
EVERYONE notices, and asks where I got them. Then I have to explain about VibramFiveFingers.com. I sound like a commercial.
After walking in the FiveFingers, I'm no longer afraid of going barefoot. Gravel on the driveway? Whatever. I just step carefully.
I have a greater appreciation of soft ground like dirt, moss, grass, and playground padding. Mmm.
The Flow is good in cold weather, but doesn't keep you dry. FiveFingers in the rain = waterlogged. I wonder if the R&D people are looking into gore-tex?
To clothes/shoes by Beth on
2008-06-22.
They're fun but I can't say I'm too impressed with them. They're super comfortable and I like the super thin soles and the "barefoot" approach in general. The separate toes thing though seems gimmicky. I don't feel like it actually helps with anything other than making them look odd and take longer to put on. I don't think it helps with grip/traction.
I totally understand the feeling like a commercial thing too. That actually really bugs me too. I find that I avoid wearing them out around new people because I'm tired of that conversation. Again, it's really the separate toe thing that makes them really noticeable in that way and initiates all the conversations.
The lack of any kind of water resistance makes them problematic for me in NYC. If you step anywhere near a puddle in them or even just on damp ground, your feet get wet. That makes me very hesitant to wear them into the subway where the puddles you might accidentally step in are, well... probably not water.
I've definitely been happiest with them wearing them out in nature. Walking in the woods or on the beach in them is pure foot joy. In the city, not so much.
So I've decided that my new ideal shoe is the fivefingers with more water proofing and without separate toe compartments and an upper that looks a bit more like a conventional shoe. So I'm mostly still wearing my Nike Free's and waiting for Vivo to get their barefoot shoes back in stock so I can try a pair of those (fairly normal looking sneaker style uppers and kevlar soles that are supposed to be as thin as the vibram's).