Comments on: Vibram Five Fingers Product Review

By: emma

emma — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 18:54:25 +0000

I started running in my vibram five finger classics in November 2011 after years of running in trainers and having so many lower back pain problems. Following a 10 mile run. my foot was so sore that I thought I had a stress fracture. Thankfully I did not and I have continued running in my Vibrams. yes, I get strange looks, especially over Christmas when I actually did run barefoot along the beach!
My last race that I ran was another 10 miles with no injuries! Now I am planning to run a marathon in vibrams, I cannot see myself running in trainers again.
However, I run in the Vibram classics. Must I change to another type of Vibrams for distances that are longer than a half marathon?

By: kathy

kathy — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 20:49:54 +0000

I’m just a keep fit type of runner, about 3- 5 slowish miles a day, some road, as much as I can on trails. I was so excited about five fingers! Since i have flat arches and normally wear a shoe that helps it, I took advice before hand. Would the five fingers eventuallu improve things footwise? The message was be cautious, and given the feet, it may not be for you…
So I went for four minutes only at the beginning of my run and ran a little slower so I could attend to the way I put my feet down – it felt great. I then finished the run in my regular shoes. Shortly after, pain up both sides of shin, very nasty to walk wit, agonizing going downstairs. Am still recovering a week later, calf and ankle pain, receding somewhat now – tried to run (ordinary shoes) today but calves stopped me half way through. Feet are fine though! I’ll visit a physio and see if I can speed recovery up. Not sure if I’ll try again (1 minunte???) – I miss my runs. Think I might be a marketing victim, and too broke to be fixed!

By: tlm38d

tlm38d — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 04:34:11 +0000

I broke 2nd metatarsal first time and 3rd metarsal second time while wearing VFFs. Both time I ran 15 to 18 miles. I have been running in them for 2 years. Maybe it’s my form. I love these shoes, but must find out what I am doing wrong

By: alexis

alexis — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 17:24:14 +0000

everyday people do use words like metatarsal. metatarsal and other stress fractures have become increasingly common with the increased popularity in both minimalist shoes like vff and with flip flops. in my experience, they’re good for the calves, bad for the feet (at least on asphalt and concrete). as for your suggestion to ‘slap on a pair and make your own decision,’ the point of reading reviews is to learn from others’ experiences, good and bad, so that you do not have to blindly spend $75 on a product that may not be a good fit for you. as for shoe companies trying to steer readers, the only obvious evidence i have seen of that here has come directly from companies trying to sell vibram five fingers (see reviews from 7/25/2010, 2/28/2011, and 4/18/2011).

By: Andy Johns

Andy Johns — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 19:54:23 +0000

I’m an everyday person who happened to pay attention in physiology class in high school I wouldn’t discount the comments here based on that. There has been a lot of great input and I am in no way affiliated with this shoe company. I’m just a runner who does my research.

By: Aubrey

Aubrey — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 16:46:02 +0000

These comments are obviously made by a shoe company or the same person.

Everyday people do not use words like metatarsal.
Vibrams are going to make your legs hurt at first but it is the same feeling when you
started running with regular shoes. The muscles have to adapt. A shoe company is trying
to capitalize on this and steer readers away.

Slap on a pair and make your own decision. My legs are sore but my form is making up for it.

By: Derek H

Derek H — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 15:10:14 +0000

It’s true. Humans have been running barefoot for thousands of years, but what everyone fails to mention is that humans thousands of years ago were not running on concrete. Running on concrete is hard on your body, no matter what shoes you wear. I tried running with the VFF’s on concrete when I first bought them, and I could tell right away that I would be receiving some injuries if I kept running on hard surfaces with these shoes, so I converted to trails and that’s where the difference came in. The minimal sole keeps you from spraining your ankles and the individual sockets help you to get an awesome feel of the trail. Not to mention, they make you feel ten times lighter which allows you to take hills and boulders with relative ease.

Bottom line is, the human foot was designed for running on dirt, so naturally the VFF’s are going to be a great investment for trail runners. We were never meant to run on concrete, so if you can avoid it, run on dirt and get the VFFs, but if you have no choice but to run on concrete or asphalt, get a shoe with a good sole and keep your distances to a minimum. Over time, it doesn’t matter what shoe you wear; if you’re running on concrete 50+ miles a week, your going to get injuries at some point or another. For those of you who didn’t have the common sense to realize that if you ran 50+ miles a week on concrete virtually barefoot without getting a stress fracture, maybe the problem is in your head, not in your shoe.

By: bcherry56

bcherry56 — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 13:01:25 +0000

The one time I stress fractured my foot was 25 years ago. My doctor, a runner, said “too far, too fast, too hard, new shoes” leads to injuries. I would like to try these shoes but worried at my age about getting hurt. I run 20-25 miles a week and walk another 20, part of it carrying my golf bag. Any thoughts? Anybody play golf in 5fingers?

By: Maggie

Maggie — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 22:10:24 +0000

I’ve had similiar issues with the Fivefingers that others have expressed. I’m a long time runner, low weight and light on my feet. 3 to 4 weeks into gradually increasing distance in the shoes I developed a stress fracture on my right foot. Very frustrating because, as others have said, sore knees and IT Band issues had vanished wearing these shoes. Now I’m out for 6 to 8 weeks. It’s back to the traditional running shoe for me once I’m back at it. I’ll wear the VFF shoes for low impact activities.

By: http://www.onitsukabyasics.com/

http://www.onitsukabyasics.com/ — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 07:02:09 +0000

I have a pair of VFF but my only problem is when I run in them my right foot tend to cramp up what do I do?