Finally, after almost 6 months of waiting...
I finally got my Vibram Five Fingers! And boy are they comfy...
The above picture are my actual feet wearing actual VFF Sprints. The colors are... not typical for me. I really wanted black KSOs, but this was all that was available. I don't regret it; it's forcing me to add a little color, and some bombast, to my wardrobe.
Another benefit to the (in my fashion-sense, or what there is of it) outlandish colors is that people -really- notice it. I've been approached by several people in the past few days asking, "What... what ARE those?" Genuinely interested, especially after I explained to them what they are and why I'm wearing 'em. Actually
Why AM I Wearing These?
Other than the fact that they're extremely stylish? Do I NEED another reason? Well, actually, yes I do. As a rather frugal minimalist, I am hesitant to spend $2 let alone drop $80 on footwear when I have some perfectly acceptable (falling apart) Chuck Taylors at home.
Well, I do enjoy how they look, but it's really about how they FEEL.
Almost like second feet. I will admit, I am quite aware of them - they're a bit snug - but it's.. different. These are more akin to foot-gloves than actual shoes (though the bottoms are quite rugged - I can step on broken glass and wouldn't sweat it). Though their presence is definitely felt on mah feets, its nowhere near the toe-crushing invasiveness of traditional shoes.
I am 'plagued' by having wide feet, and conventional footwear confounds my tired old dogs sorely. I walk or bike quite a lot, and a fair portion of my workday is spent on my feet. Usually by the end of the day, my foot are sore, my back hurts, yadda yadda yadda... not so much with the Vibram's!
Much more studious and eloquent men than I (Mark Sisson for example) have already commented on and collated a lot of information on the benefits of going barefoot over being shod (or working with a reasonable facsimile), so I'm not going to get too much into it, other than to conclude I think they're pretty awesome.
