Vibram FiveFingers: Sprint

I love my Vibram FiveFingers Surge model shoes (read about them here and here) and ever since last autumn I have wanted to get a lighter pair of FF's for warmer weather, especially since the heat generated by my foot muscles (insulated by the Surge's neoprene) can make my feet pretty sweaty. This spring they actually did away with the old Surge model and added two new models, one of which replaced my previous desire for a pair of Sprints: the new KSO model (short for "Keep Stuff Out"), which is a lot like the Sprint except the whole foot is covered in order to, well, keep stuff out.

Unfortunately, the KSOs have proven to be so popular as to make them difficult to obtain so it was back to the Sprints. I decided this was fine since the Sprints come in more jovial colors anyhow. Maybe by the time I have money to get another pair of FFs next summer, new KSOs will be out in more vibrant color schemes. ;)

I ordered a pair of red Sprints. Now, let me tell you, the 'red' on the vibram site looks rather orange but in reality the shoes are cherry-hotrod RED. I was bummed about this, particularly since I tend to avoid wearing red but in the end said to heck with it and kept them. (Too much of a hassle to return things through the mail from Alaska). I also ordered a pair of Injini toe socks from the Vibrams site to help insulate my foot and keep grit out.

Fitting
Whoa, this was a big surprise. Before I ever got a pair of FFs I recall reading about how all these people had all these problems getting their toes in the slots but I never have any such problems with my Surges. Of course, the Surge model was made of thicker stuff - these thinner Sprints are TOUGH to get your toes into! And my toes were prepared! Not a big deal - the time it takes to sort out my toes is time that would of been taken by tying the laces on my running shoes. The heel is much more spacious than on the Surge - and I don't need the extra room (who has heels this bulbous?) and some of the material in the inside back of the heel rubs a bit. I read about this; I may have to tape them (wearing the Injini socks takes care of this as well). Otherwise, the fit is great, the straps are well placed and I can't see the main top strap ever chafing.

Comparison to the Surge
I am blown away by the difference between these and the Surge model. The Sprints are SO much thinner than the Surges - and I already thought the Surges were thin and tactile. Gravel hurt more than 'usual' with these; textures and edges were even easier to feel and to grip than in the Surges. Enhanced gripping was particularly notable while walking the rails of a train track. There is much more flex for individual toes, too. The material itself is a great change; my feet actually breathe! Worn with the Injini socks, my feet still overheated on this, a cool day in the 50's, but they did not get clammy with sweat like in the Surges.

I haven't worn these in water yet or done any serious hiking but I look forward to putting them through the paces and temperature tests. Overall I am happy about the lighter, thinner, more flexible nature of these shoes, though there are some rough edges here and there that aren't existing in the Surges (the Surges envelop the foot like a perfect glove). Don't get me wrong - I still love my Surges but they simply either need to be worn in water or in cooler weather.

I see with the Sprints that FiveFingers are not for everyone. The KSOs may have taken out some of the rough edges, looking more shoe-like for one, and perhaps being a tad more comfortable. However, if you are at all interested, I highly recommend looking into trying out a pair of any model.

Vibram FiveFingers Surge: winter update

Back in August, I made a post about my new Vibram FiveFingers shoes (I loved them). Last fall in the 50°F+ temperatures, my feet would completely sweat through the Neoprene lining, prompting me to plan on buying a pair of Sprints later this spring. Because the Surge model insulated so well I decided to test them out through an Alaskan winter and spring.

Conditions
I tested them on ice, in snow, and down to temperatures as cold as 12°F (-11°C). I kept my feet dry and I got my feet damp. I tested them walking and jogging, on pavement and on rougher, natural surfaces. I never went further than a mile at a stretch, though, as I wasn't keen on risking frostbite.

Findings
If your feet get wet, you are screwed - your feet will get cold no matter what.

Now, as long as I kept my feet dry...
When I would first leave the house, the wind or cold would go right through the Neoprene making my feet cool, but not yet cold. About as cold as feet on wet grass on a summer morning. Standing around on a cold surface is no good at all, the cold seeping right through the soles. If I kept moving, my feet were fine - by the time I half-jogged, half-quick-walked to my destination a mile away, my feet were actually making their own heat and felt just fine.

It was a wonderful sensation to have my feet feel so light, not weighed down by heavy snow boots, and to still be warm, although it took some excercise for my feet to keep them warm. Better yet was the feel of snow, particularly frozen road grader leavings on sidewalks. It is one thing to run around barefoot in summer or to wear these shoes on dirt, woodchips, grass, and rocks and to know what it feels like barefoot, but a totally different thing with snow because most of us aren't crazy enough to go barefoot on snow. So we don't have a good idea of the true sensations of running around on crunchy snow. And let me tell you, it feels *good*. I felt sneaky, too, like a kid doing something they ought not to. I purposely left 'barefoot' prints in the snow on the sidewalks. I wonder if anyone ever saw. ;)

Ice. These shoes are no good on ice. Great on rocks, great on wood and grass and dirt, horrid on ice. Unless you like to skid a lot.

As far as temperatures go, and being mindful that I am a woman, I was comfortable anywhere above 22°F (-5°C) - the warmer, the better, of course, as long as my feet stayed dry. And keeping my feet dry was impossible in fluffy snow of any depth. Drifts and hard-pack were fine as long as I didn't sink into it at all. 18°F (-7°C) is about as cold as I will personally go if I am desperate to wear my FFs. Colder temps would probably be do-able if I went a longer distance to have more time to get my feet temperature up but it just wasn't for me.

Damp feet were fine above freezing (32/0) though I still have yet to try completely WET feet. I predict, however, that wet feet can stay comfortably warm in temperatures above 40°F (4°C) easily as long as they are kept moving.

Conclusion
Obviously I wouldn't wear these all winter but after growing to love them in the fall, I found any excuse to wear my FiveFingers in the winter. As soon as the thermometer got up above 22°F (-5°C), I had my FFs on to jog to work or to the store. Even though I only got to wear them every few weeks, my feet loved it and *I* loved it (wearing my FFs and running around makes me feel like a kid again and gets me out of most bad moods). Now that it is spring here, I am finding I wear them more often than not if I am going to be active outdoors. I still don't wear them if I am going to end up standing around a lot as they aren't warm enough for that. So:
• Keep DRY in colder temps
• temps as cold as 18°F (-7°C) bearable if staying in motion
• bad on ice
• snow feels fun on the feet

My final conclusion is that in dry conditions, these shoes excel in active motion in temperatures between 18° to 55°F (-7° to 12°C) - any colder is just plain cold, and any warmer my feet sweated through the shoes. I am constantly amazed by these shoes and look forward to really putting them to the test this summer. I hope to obtain a pair of Sprints to go along with my Surges and test them both in water. Keep an eye out for future posts. :)

Vibram FiveFingers: Surge

My Vibram FiveFinger Surge shoes got here Tuesday. I was very excited about these shoes - I originally read about them on BoingBoing.net and then scoured the internet for reviews of this peculiar footgear. This link in particular was very interesting in what it had to say about foot health and how we are NOT built to wear shoes - how going barefoot is the healthiest thing to do for our body. If only we had a way of protecting our feet from modern day debris...

Enter the FiveFingers. They protect the feet allowing for them to move as if you were running around barefoot. Because the shoes act as a protective glove, all of your normal foot muscles are activated when you walk - muscles that atrophy from wearing shoes. FiveFinger fans tout the benefits of the shoe, saying they have increased foot strength, cured foot and leg pains, better balance, better posture, and more. Beyond that, the shoes sounded like fun to wear - they are so light you hardly notice you're wearing shoes at all.

Now, as a kid I grew up in the countryside where I could run around barefoot quite a lot and I love to go camping where there's no danger of glass or metal to cut my feet on so I can run around without shoes and feel the dirt beneath my feet. So these shoes sounded pretty awesome to me.

As I said, I got the Surge model (the middle, grey ones in the picture). They are the thickest pair with neoprene fabric to keep your feet warmer in cold water. The extra fabric also provides the feet better protection from stray branches and thorny things on trails, which is why I chose these. That and Alaska is cold.

I'd read all about people's first time wearing these shoes so I was prepared. Putting on the FiveFingers (FFs for short) for the first time was interesting - getting each toe into its slot was weird but once in the toes felt fine and I didn't feel strange about having 'stuff' between each toe. In fact, I didn't really notice much at all - which is saying something as I'm one of those people who detests anything being between their toes. Overall, the FFs literally fit like gloves, nice and snug around the arch, around the toes, and around the heel. I was a little worried about my smallest toes as they didn't quite reach into their slots but I found that as I wore the shoes around my feet spread out a little and so it wasn't an issue at all.

For the first two days of owning the FFs I wore them indoors only since they can't be returned if they've been worn outdoors. There's not much variety in surfaces in a house and office to show the worth of these shoes but it was enough to make me confident that they at least fit well.

This evening I finally took 'em outside. I ran around the backyard lawn and it was like I could feel the give of the ground beneath my feet, wheras if I were wearing normal shoes it would of been... well, the way hardpacked ground feels in shoes. I immediately was aware of how you have to move differently in FFs - you stay up on the balls of your feet just like if you were barefoot. It takes some getting used to because you're aware that you have something protective on your feet so you're wanting to put weight on your heels, but that causes jarring to the bones just like if you were barefoot.

Next I had to take them down to the river. I hopped on my bike - that was strange, too. I don't ride my bike "properly" in that the pedals rest beneath the arches of my feet when I ride (I don't use toe clips). So just like if I were barefooted, I had to use the balls of my feet and kind of grip with my toes a little to pedal.

At the river I experienced all kinds of terrain. Dirt trails with tree roots, sand, gravel, mud, water, cement blocks, boulders, tree stumps, turned earth and woodchips... All of it was so sensual. There's no way to experience it than to wear FFs. You simply do not get any sensation of texture wearing regular shoes but most of this terrain would shred and bruise bare feet. It was amazing and felt so wonderful to sense the give and texture of everything I walked on and yet have my feet protected. The woodchips and turned earth were a particular delight - and just like I've read everyone say I felt more a part of the environment I was in. The river gravelbed with its golf ball sized gravel was uncomfortable to walk on causing a bruising feel, just as it would barefooted, except did not cause any lasting pain. And the neoprene in the shoes insulated my feet well enough against the cold Matanuska water. I didn't spend much time in the water as I honestly didn't want wet feet. I'll have to try these out specifically for water at a later date and report back on drying time and things like that.

As far as balance and motion go, I haven't felt this agile since I was a kid. I was leaping up onto treestumps and logs at odd angles that I would of slipped and fell from had I been wearing shoes. I could feel the specific angles, textures, and edges of everything through the FFs and grip a lot of it or dig my toes into it. The closest thing to it would be to be totally barefoot.

I was gone for about an hour and now that I am home already I can feel the muscles in my feet starting to ache from being used. Vibram reccomends taking it slow with this footwear and slowly increasing ones usage of them in order to build up and strengthen the foot muscles.

The only cons I have with these are that the neoprene isn't very breathable, but there's no in-between model so I'll suffer. Also, the seam down the back of the ankle kind of rubs awkwardly on my left leg sometimes - I'll have to tape it.

Other than that, the straps work great, the Surges are very lightweight and kept my feet warm. Also, I'm having an easier time putting them on the more I wear them - my toes know where to go now. :D

Conclusion
The FiveFingers were everything I thought they'd be and I'm delighted to own a pair. I'll be wearing them as much as possible before the snow flies. If you think any of this sounds fun and you spend any kind of time outdoors and generally want or like going barefoot but can't then I totally recommend these shoes.