"barefoot" shoes for touring

[thedonduck]

Is this a problem for those of you who use these shoes regularly?

Sadly, yup! My DH's started to get thrown in the washer after about 2 months. But it super easy to wash them and they are good for a few weeks before needing it again!

 

[kirrrby]

I absolutely love my Vibrams, they've trained my body to have better posture. I wear them often going between those and flip flops. I'm one who absolutely hates closed toe shoes and I was weary about transitioning from flip flops to the vibrams. I've yet to walk Disney with them, but I did a trip to Busch Gardens with them and even on the beach.

Is this a problem for those of you who use these shoes regularly?

I've never had a problem with the Vibrams smelling. I wash them regularly (every two weeks or so). The Vibrams have an antibacterial padding (Aegis) in it which deters the smell. Fila Skeletoes do not.

 

[tiggermurr]

My husband bought new five finger vibrams for our trip we took 2 weeks ago. He wore them everyday for a couple months and loved them. Thinking the type of material they were, he thought they would be ok wet, so that was the only shoe he brought for the trip. Big Mistake! They were perfect till the rain came. Once they were wet it was like keeping your feet in a pool and walking around for 8 hours. You know that soreness you can get from wet wrinkles. Well do that for three days in a row. Lol. He ended up buying Mickey sandals and got 4 blisters from them. Bring the five fingers for great weather, but bring waterproof Keens or Merrill's or tevas or something for the rain!

 

[RMulieri]

I have vibrams and It does take alot of getting used to.I wouldn't wear them to disney without wearing them awhile first.I can run in them( which is why I bought them) but after 1.5yrs with the vibrams shoes I still can't run long distances in them.Part of my problem is I have very flat feet from being an RN and on them 12+ hrs a day so I need the supportive shoes at work, and it is hard to transition back to vibrams after being in supportive shoes

 

[mountdew1]

My silly DH wore his BRAND NEW 5-finger shoes for a week long trip in January! Literally out of the box and no other shoes. Once he got them adjusted properly, he was fine! He said his legs felt funny by the end of the long day, but his feet were fine. I don't think he will forget a change of shoes again!

If you have a pair to trade off with and they are broke in, you should be fine! Donald btw LOVED them!

I did the same thing last January. Brought a brand new pair of Five Fingers with me, did the Goofy Marathon in my normal running shoes. And then spent the rest of the week in the parks in my Five Fingers. Outside of one hot spot that I corrected by adjusting the shoe, no problems. Now admittedly this is my 3rd pair, so I am used to wearing them. The shoes themselves are comfortable brand new, but you need to be used to the difference from normal shoes.

Not to hijack OP's thread but for those that have experience with these shoes, how do your legs and back feel at the end of the day? I can imagine your feet are comfortable and blister-free, but with zero support, I would also have to imagine your legs and back must be achy from walking "bare foot" all day with no cushion or support? That would be like working at a cash register in the grocery store with no mat under you I would think. I could see where these shoes would be good for an hour run or so, but I'm skeptical for how good they are for an all day leisurely walk on pavement around the parks

I wear them for whole days. No problems. Beach, woods, pavement, trails, everywhere. The problems from standing at a register all day don't come from lack of support from your shoes, they come from humans not being meant to stand still for 8 hours. If you move around you are using different muscles, parts of your leg and foot, but standing still doesn't change it at all.

OP here. I didn't realize barefoot shoes were so controversial. Mine are not the five toe shoes but the merrells that look like regular running shoes but light. I figure I am barefoot most of the day unless I am outside and then wear flip flop 6 months out of the year (with appropriate pedicure because I know that matters to some people), so these might work for me.

I wore them most of yesterday and other than getting use to having something on the back of my ankle, they were great. I'll probably wear them every other day or so until our trip to make sure my foot is use to them.

Any GOOD minimalist shoe will at a minimum provide warnings that you cannot just start wearing them as your normal shoe. And many provide training and workouts on how to make the shift over without injury. Merrell has a free iOS app with workouts to help make the transition.

Much in the same way you cannot be given a pair of heels for the first time and expect to walk around in them all day. Getting to the point where you can wear them comfortably takes a gradual process and retrains your balance. (I'm assuming, never worn a pair personally, they don't go with my legs.....) Minimalist shoes are the same way, just in the polar opposite direction.

 

[basketlacey]

This thread is very interesting. I love those Merrells that were linked. I couldn't do the 5 finger style as it would drive me crazy to have something between all of my toes.

So my question is - are you doing more harm to your feet than good if you go back and forth between something like the merrell and a regular running shoe? I am comfortable walking in my running shoes all day but they can be soooo hot. I bought some really comfortable flip flops from the running store. I can do 2 miles in them comfortably but more than that and I start to get a hotspot. I would love to have something I could wear comfortably without socks.

 

[tiggermurr]

My husband bought new five finger vibrams for our trip we took 2 weeks ago. He wore them everyday for a couple months and loved them. Thinking the type of material they were, he thought they would be ok wet, so that was the only shoe he brought for the trip. Big Mistake! They were perfect till the rain came. Once they were wet it was like keeping your feet in a pool and walking around for 8 hours. You know that soreness you can get from wet wrinkles. Well do that for three days in a row. Lol. He ended up buying Mickey sandals and got 4 blisters from them. Bring the five fingers for great weather, but bring waterproof Keens or Merrill's or tevas or something for the rain!

My husband wanted me to add that they were fine being a little wet from water rides. They dried fast in good weather. It was the monsoon days were it poured all day that they were not good touring shoes. And I will also add to what a pp poster said..... They do STINK!! Get odor eater spray!! Lol

 

[staceyatdisney]

I'm glad to see the OP is getting good advice from the minimalist crowd.

I see some mentioned the "Vibram Funk". Yup they can smell pretty bad. This is caused by colonies of bacteria which grow every time you sweat in the shoes. They make toe socks which help a lot but I hate them.

For what it's worth, I use a two part approach to keep the funk away. I wash my Five Fingers every 2-3 weeks in a detergent called "Win" which is designed to remove the sweaty smell from athletic apparel. I also spray the inside down after every run with Biokleen Bac-out which contains live cultures that digest the colonies of bacteria....lol pocket protector science stuff.

 

[brer rabbit 28]

My DH bought a pair of Vibrams last year. He found he couldn't walk in them around the parks all day but loved them for the water parks, not a single blister and his feet dried within 10 mins of sitting in the sun. He said you have to be sure you buy the right size as slightly too big or small will cause blistering.

Not for me though, I can't stand the sight of them!

 

[GreenCntryGirl]

I have plantars warts and noticed when I wore certain types of shoes, like Skechers, it aggravated them. I switched to New Balance...the traditional type...and had no problems.

Recently, I purchased a pair of shoes similar to Toms and was surprised to find that I have had no problems even though there is zero cushion. I thought these would have to be a once-in-a-while thing but they have been the only shoes I have worn for almost 2 months. (Except when mowing grass.)

I said all this to ask this: Would this type of "barefoot" shoe be better and if so, why?

 

[BELLEDOZER]

I've had my Vibrams since March and I love them. It did take awhile to get used to them, but now that I have it's them that I wear most of the time. Sometimes I alternate them with my Fit Flops, but now find that I perfer my Vibrams most of the time. It is an adjustment to learn how to run with them, and it takes awhile to get used to the way you run with them. But now I actually enjoy feeling what I'm walking on.

 

[lilsk8nmac]

Hate to break it to you, but me too.

Barefoot shoes are ONLY good for you if you know how to re-adjust your stride. And most people don't. Thus the strain on certain body parts, which over time leads to injury.

Hate to break it to you, but shes walking in them not running, they tend to be find for walking without stride changes. I've had mine for over a year and I never changed the way I walked, and I dont prone in them. I dont wear vibram barefoots. I wear the answer to them...
OP Look into these
http://shop.reebok.com/US/search?t=...ks-_-shop_realflex&cm_mmca1=us&cm_mmca2=Exact

These are what I would suggest for the parks. You dont have to readjust your stride, trust me I wouldnt have been top salesperson for almost a year running now w/o knowing what I'm talking about.

 

[capeseal]

This is a fascinating thread. You guys have me reconsidering my anti-barefoot stance. I thought it was just a fad.

Question for the Reebok salesperson: are those comparable to the Nike Free? That's what I'm currently running in.

Also looking at the New Balance Minimus now. I need to find a barefoot shoe expert to help me.

In terms of day to day walking though, I don't think I can give up my Naots.

 

[MindyDean]

I am looking for a new pair of sneakers/running shoes for our september trip. I figure this gives me plenty of time to break them in slowly over the summer. I will alternate with my reef flip flops which is live in during the spring/summer.

I tried a pair of the merrell version of the barefoot running shoes and find them very comfortable. I like them a bit better without socks than with. And like that you can wash them.

However, I'm concerned about walking all day in the park with them. Anyone have success using them in the park? Like I said above I will spend some time breaking them in this summer and use them for long walks etc.

thanks

I wore Barefoot Water Hylidae Wrap Merrell sandals everyday on my last trip rain or shine and had no problems. Love those shoes!

 

[staceyatdisney]

Hate to break it to you, but shes walking in them not running, they tend to be find for walking without stride changes. I've had mine for over a year and I never changed the way I walked, and I dont prone in them. I dont wear vibram barefoots. I wear the answer to them...
OP Look into these
http://shop.reebok.com/US/search?t=...ks-_-shop_realflex&cm_mmca1=us&cm_mmca2=Exact

These are what I would suggest for the parks. You dont have to readjust your stride, trust me I wouldnt have been top salesperson for almost a year running now w/o knowing what I'm talking about.

With due respect for the top sales, Realflex is not the answer to Vibram Five Fingers - it's in a class b'tween regular and minimalist shoes. If you said it was the answer to Nike Free, you'd be correct. I tried the Realflex when I purchased the New Balance Zero. The Realflex is loaded with padding. There's also a heel-toe rise which I could not find the spec on - salesman couldn't either. Anyway, heel-toe raise and padding put the Realflex in a different category than VFF. Realflex is not a barefoot shoe. Maybe a minimalist....and that's a big maybe. The fact that Reebok says you can run AND heelstrike in the Realflex says it all. You can NOT heel strike running in barefoot or minimalist shoes without injuring yourself very quickly.

That's not to say the OP (or anybody) wouldn't have an excellent experience walking the parks in Reebok Reafflex - the may be excellent for that. They just are not a barefoot shoe.

 

[mountdew1]

I have plantars warts and noticed when I wore certain types of shoes, like Skechers, it aggravated them. I switched to New Balance...the traditional type...and had no problems.

Recently, I purchased a pair of shoes similar to Toms and was surprised to find that I have had no problems even though there is zero cushion. I thought these would have to be a once-in-a-while thing but they have been the only shoes I have worn for almost 2 months. (Except when mowing grass.)

I said all this to ask this: Would this type of "barefoot" shoe be better and if so, why?

Barefoot/minimalist shoes are becoming a larger category than they once were. Some people look at them from a more purist standpoint, basically something that has just a thin covering to help protect your foot from debris on the ground. The Vibram FiveFingers are probably the most popular example of this. Those have basically a 2-5 mm sole, with a thin layer of a velour type material to keep the sole of your foot from getting irritated. The Merrell road glove and trail glove are similar, but a little more complexity to the sole pattern, and a little bit of traditional foam undersole (very very slight).

Other people look at that as a shoe that has a slight, or non existent heel to toe drop. Typical running style shoes have more padding in the heel than the toe, so your foot has a slight incline from toe to heel. So the many of the running shoe companies, are basically leveling out this drop for their minimalist lines. However, they may or may not take away most of the padding. For instance, the New Balance Minimus line, some have a 0mm drop, others have a 4mm drop. And depending on the particular model, some have minimal padding (basically foam in the areas of the sole that don't usually strike the ground) and others are closer to a normal shoe.

And some companies are doing soles that have a split between the big and second toe, to allow for more flex, but still have a more traditional sole type.

Will any of them help with your personal foot issues? Hard to say. Each company tends to have their own last (the mold around which they design the shoes), and one last may cause issues, while others don't. Your foot doctor should have a much better idea as to what might aggravate your feet, and can help you to determine is a thinner sole/minimalist shoe would help, or if you just need to find a last that works.

 

[GreenCntryGirl]

Barefoot/minimalist shoes are becoming a larger category than they once were. Some people look at them from a more purist standpoint, basically something that has just a thin covering to help protect your foot from debris on the ground. The Vibram FiveFingers are probably the most popular example of this. Those have basically a 2-5 mm sole, with a thin layer of a velour type material to keep the sole of your foot from getting irritated. The Merrell road glove and trail glove are similar, but a little more complexity to the sole pattern, and a little bit of traditional foam undersole (very very slight).

Other people look at that as a shoe that has a slight, or non existent heel to toe drop. Typical running style shoes have more padding in the heel than the toe, so your foot has a slight incline from toe to heel. So the many of the running shoe companies, are basically leveling out this drop for their minimalist lines. However, they may or may not take away most of the padding. For instance, the New Balance Minimus line, some have a 0mm drop, others have a 4mm drop. And depending on the particular model, some have minimal padding (basically foam in the areas of the sole that don't usually strike the ground) and others are closer to a normal shoe.

And some companies are doing soles that have a split between the big and second toe, to allow for more flex, but still have a more traditional sole type.

Will any of them help with your personal foot issues? Hard to say. Each company tends to have their own last (the mold around which they design the shoes), and one last may cause issues, while others don't. Your foot doctor should have a much better idea as to what might aggravate your feet, and can help you to determine is a thinner sole/minimalist shoe would help, or if you just need to find a last that works.

Thank you for the feedback. I think I may give them a try.

 

[nkereina]

I wear them for whole days. No problems. Beach, woods, pavement, trails, everywhere. The problems from standing at a register all day don't come from lack of support from your shoes, they come from humans not being meant to stand still for 8 hours. If you move around you are using different muscles, parts of your leg and foot, but standing still doesn't change it at all.

I see your point about standing still, that makes sense. But I liken these barefoot style shoes to my same pair of cheap rubber Old Navy flip flops that I've worn almost 5 summers now. They are so broken in and comfortable, it's almost like I'm wearing nothing at all - like I'm walking barefoot. While my feet are fine at the end of the day, my upper legs and mostly my lower back are achy. I don't have this problem with my sneakers, because there's support for my arches. I feel like that's where my skepticism comes in.

And while I've obviously never tried these, I have a pair of Puma ballet flats made from the same material and I can attest to the fact that they get stinky. They make my feet sweat a lot too. I always spray them and my feet with Odor Eaters stuff after I take them off and it takes most of the stink away, but not entirely.

 

[lilsk8nmac]

With due respect for the top sales, Realflex is not the answer to Vibram Five Fingers - it's in a class b'tween regular and minimalist shoes. If you said it was the answer to Nike Free, you'd be correct. I tried the Realflex when I purchased the New Balance Zero. The Realflex is loaded with padding. There's also a heel-toe rise which I could not find the spec on - salesman couldn't either. Anyway, heel-toe raise and padding put the Realflex in a different category than VFF. Realflex is not a barefoot shoe. Maybe a minimalist....and that's a big maybe. The fact that Reebok says you can run AND heelstrike in the Realflex says it all. You can NOT heel strike running in barefoot or minimalist shoes without injuring yourself very quickly.

That's not to say the OP (or anybody) wouldn't have an excellent experience walking the parks in Reebok Reafflex - the may be excellent for that. They just are not a barefoot shoe.

In my second post I never claimed Realflex was an equal to Vibrams. Secondly there are several different styles of Realflex, some have more padding and some people use them for crossfit. Honestly, you must have had a really bad salesman at Reebok if he didnt know the shoes. I knew each style of shoe in my store inside and out.
Mine in particular are the RealFlex Run. Not the Realflex optimal, speed etc. The ones I use have a very thin insole in them and you can feel the ground when you walk/run. This is the most natural sneaker that I could suggest for her that I think would be good for WALKING in the park. I dont seriously think she needs a vibram. If she wants a Nike that is supposedly similar to the Reebok Flex, then fine. That's up to the purchaser, though I cant say I have tried the Nike.



I was making a suggestion on what I know has worked for me.

 

[staceyatdisney]

Barefoot/minimalist shoes are becoming a larger category than they once were. Some people look at them from a more purist standpoint, basically something that has just a thin covering to help protect your foot from debris on the ground. The Vibram FiveFingers are probably the most popular example of this. Those have basically a 2-5 mm sole, with a thin layer of a velour type material to keep the sole of your foot from getting irritated. The Merrell road glove and trail glove are similar, but a little more complexity to the sole pattern, and a little bit of traditional foam undersole (very very slight).

Other people look at that as a shoe that has a slight, or non existent heel to toe drop. Typical running style shoes have more padding in the heel than the toe, so your foot has a slight incline from toe to heel. So the many of the running shoe companies, are basically leveling out this drop for their minimalist lines. However, they may or may not take away most of the padding. For instance, the New Balance Minimus line, some have a 0mm drop, others have a 4mm drop. And depending on the particular model, some have minimal padding (basically foam in the areas of the sole that don't usually strike the ground) and others are closer to a normal shoe.

And some companies are doing soles that have a split between the big and second toe, to allow for more flex, but still have a more traditional sole type.

Will any of them help with your personal foot issues? Hard to say. Each company tends to have their own last (the mold around which they design the shoes), and one last may cause issues, while others don't. Your foot doctor should have a much better idea as to what might aggravate your feet, and can help you to determine is a thinner sole/minimalist shoe would help, or if you just need to find a last that works.

You have done a nice job describing the current landscape. It's funny how the the marketing guru's are trying convince us we need this or that in a shoe. I used to buy in to all that myself - I chased after the latest "revolutionary cushion design" with "ultimate stability...blah blah."

My story is more about barefoot running, but since the OP is considering barefoot shoes, I think there's something in my experience that may assist. I'll keep it to the "cliff note" version....lol. After 25+ years of heal-strike running I had many injuries - toe, foot and finally my knee. When I began to rehab my knee, the doc said do not run again.....ever. Well I met a PT at my gym who suggested trying barefoot. Of course I thought he was out of his mind, but I was desperate to run again so I tried it. I started barefoot with nothing on my feet - no knee pain at all. However, my feet were hamburger after 3-4 times out. For me, complete barefoot was impractical so I bought Vibram Five Fingers. I started with 1/8 mile runs and built up very slowly to 5 miles which took like 3 months or so. That was in '09 and I'm still going strong. Also, I walk around in minimalist shoes when I'm not running.