Vibram 5 fingers

^ yea, it all depends on the terrain I wore them on a trail hike, enjoyable 6.3 miles logged and they felt great but you do feel everything beneath your feet so aside from trail hiking, i would'nt try these on any rocky or gravely terrain but for climbing they are great, I was able to climb up big rocks and boulders with ease, and the feeling is great, much more feel than any other shoe. Again, depends on the rock face, they felt great on relatively smooth rocks that i climbed but i would'nt try them on a jagged natural face or anything like that (I'll be going on a cruise in a few weeks, and the ship has a rock wall so i can't wait to try these out on that!) kinda common sense lol but yea, definitely a great shoe to bring on a camping trip, I also used them for canoeing/fishing and they were great

That's what I wanted to know. Thanks.

I guess I'll be off to the store down the street to check them out in person.

Why do VFFs have those queer toe separations?

Allows your feet to "grip" onto the surface using your toes. The VFFs are great if you're looking to get the benefits of barefoot running without the risk of cutting up your feet. I've gone through 3 pairs since they came out.

I found that it helps a bit with balance. Either your toes spread to cover more area or the appropriate toes are touching something you're trying to walk on. The pic on the site shoes what I mean http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/barefooting/index.cfm

It looks like cheesy marketing that's deleterious to comfort. Toe formation is pretty different among people and I find it weird that they stick to some kind of uniform style (or don't they?).

They do, and my toes don't fit quite perfectly. This hasn't hampered their usage for me in any way. I've found that the separation is not uncomfortable after the first 10 seconds of wearing them.

Maybe they'll do MTM someday

Originally Posted by why

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It looks like cheesy marketing that's deleterious to comfort. Toe formation is pretty different among people and I find it weird that they stick to some kind of uniform style (or don't they?).

i don't know about on a longer run, but in my limited experience there was no discomfort while running. i think i happen to be one of the lucky people with what they consider to be average toe lengths.

Yea the toes are not suppose to fit perfect, with my pair Only my big toe is snug and fitted, the rest are not like that (they are shorter then the shoes toes) however my heel fits perfectly so the fit/rit is comfortable and snug, and like adversity and js4 have said it isn't a bother at all
and yea i agree adversity, I love having the ability to spread my toes and strike with the ball of my foot/ mid foot, so liberating

I would think a solid shoe would be more effective. Something more along the lines of track spikes without the spikes.

Originally Posted by why

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I would think a solid shoe would be more effective. Something more along the lines of track spikes without the spikes.

That reminds me, I thought that there were shoes that were made for runners for only one race and VERY thin?

Similar to the 5 fingers but without the separated toes.

I think I know what you're talking about
The nike Mayfly is a super light wieght racing shoe with an avg life span of 62 miles, and many consider it disposable
They dont have a super thin sole per say, but yea ridiculosly light...
I dont think it would be a good idea for a runner who normally would wear regular running shoes to switch over to a thin soled type shoe that would mimick barefoot running, because it does take some time to get used to and would probably be more of a hinderance than any help

I saw a guy at the gym wearing the low cut classic version of these and was a bit shocked, having never seen them before. He was evidently the uppity/yuppity type, so I decided those shoes were the ultimate statement of oneupmanship to which white people are prone ("I'm so cool I can wear ballet slippers to the gym"). Can't wait for http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/ to get in on this.

Those of you suggesting they have a thicker sole or a single toe compartment clearly don't understand the ******* point. They are intended to give barefooters a level of protection from glass and other sharp objects they might encounter. That's all.

Originally Posted by unjung

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Those of you suggesting they have a thicker sole or a single toe compartment clearly don't understand the ******* point. They are intended to give barefooters a level of protection from glass and other sharp objects they might encounter. That's all.

+1