Study: Vibrams Carry Bone Injury Risk

[Zone-5]

otherwise I am sure that it is not as black and white as you purport.

I'm totally ok with that, it's buyer beware.

Just as long as it does not become a 'bushwalking' entry requirement!

[wayno]

a while ago a member of the forum posted photos of his trip over the three passes in the himalayas near everest.... one of the people in the group did the entire trip in vibram five fingers...

[Zone-5]

Hey buddy, yeah I found that amazing thread..
viewtopic.php?f=43&t=11416&hilit=three+passes#p151692

Holy moly, amazing that these skin things are able to stave off frost bite at altitude above snow line.

"I'm sure Pete will chime in regarding footwear, but you can get away with pretty lightweight gear, and don't take almost mountaineering boots just for the walk to EBC and back, It's an easy track."

"I was using the Trek Sports, found them excellent, and for other walks I have done, you may remember a report I posted up a earlier this year about doing the Eastern Aurthur's in them. I have a pair of KSO's also, but find them too slippery underfoot, particularly on loose over hard. My only gripe is their longevity, the fabric tops and stitching areas are a little fragile, a sacrifice you make for weight I suppose. The current pair have lasted about a year with some tough walks in there, so I guess thats ok... if they were not so damn expensive."

I'm too old fashioned to risk a bleeding stubbed toe 3 days out, so no piggies to market for me.

Wow!

[Peter C]

Hehe, that's me! I have been wearing the Vibrams for quite a while now, done an Eastern Aurthurs and a Fedder summit in them, Southern Ranges/PB trip, recently did a Mt. Ann circuit. Overseas I have done the pictured 3 passes/Everest trip and Mulanjie Massif/Mt. Malanjie in Malawi. Also done many many walks in SE-Qld in them (Barney, the Steamers etc). I like them, they feel awesome on the feet. Definatly not for everyone, but if your accustomed to them they are great. They only complaint I have, and its a big one, is that they are too lightly made, a couple of real tough walks and you need to replace/repair them, and at 160-180 bucks a pop its not fun.

[pazzar]

I've been up Mt Anne in mine, and thought they were great, until the descent off Mt Eliza at least. I was coming off 9 days in the Southern Ranges though, so my legs were maybe a tad weary by this point.

Where are you paying $180 a pair Pete? Surely you know your size and just buy them online now?

[Peter C]

Bought the last pair at MD, the Trek Sports are usually 180, but I always talkem down to mid 160's. Most online-from-the-us stores won't ship to Aus at the cheaper price unless they have changed since I last looked. Stupid Vibram regional pricing bull-crap.

[wayno]

use a mail forwarding company like shipito or myus in the states to receive them

[Peter C]

Yeah I would, but it seems like so much trouble. The one time when you want globalization to work....

[wayno]

pretty straight forward, i use them regularly, they give discounted shipping rates, they give you an address in the states you use, they notify you when the package arrives, your address in aus is with them, they notify you when your goods arrive and you specify your choice of shipping, your address is lodged with them and all done... the savings can make it well worth it, i've saved $300 in shipping costs alone, lost count of how many hundreds i've saved on buying the goods overseas.

[Zone-5]

gladly call me seriously old fashioned.

Gottas take the opportunity. "you are seriously old fashioned." If walking long distances in minimum footwear is not old fashioned I am not sure want we did 150 years ago.

As has been said endlessly on this forum it is about what works for you. If you are willing to recondition your feet/legs to a barefoot style of walking then it can be very comfortable and safe for bushwalking. Where this trend goes only time will tell. But like other glib statements let see where we are in a decade, otherwise I am sure that it is not as black and white as you purport.

P

Ok then whatever floats your leaky boat, three corner jacks, bindii and snakes! No problem then, I'll just ignore them then...

Why not go the whole hog and we all just go naked:

http://fatcanyoners.org/2013/03/11/nude-yoga-walk/
[img]http://fatcanyoners.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/1.jpg[img]

At least the flies won't get in our eyes...

[zebee]

I went barefoot as a kid as much as possible, to the point the school complained to my parents. Who ignored them. This does mean I have tennis racket shaped feet and have a hard time finding shoes wide enough.

the Five Fingers I have now are the most comfortable shoes I have ever worn (with the slightly-too-large VivoBarefoot boxer boots a close second).

When I first got the FiveFingers I discovered that after about 30 mins walking on pavement my feet got a little sore. But now a year later they no longer do despite much longer walks on hard ground.

I suspect how much you like such things depends a lot on your normal footwear. I only wear shoes when I'm paid to do so or I am riding the motorcycle or bicycle. Even then I'll take them off as soon as I can. So moving to FiveFingers wasn't much of a move.

I have no idea how I'd go on a decent bushwalk wearing them but I think I'd prefer them to a heavy rigid boot, especially one that didn't give my toes a lot of room.

Wasn't aware of Unshoes, time to do more shoe research!

[Zone-5]

Well I can't disagree with you as everyone here says that these 'feet gloves' are great and I'll have a look at them at some time in the future. I do like a rigid boot and one that gives plenty of arch support for my high arches. I get sore feet and my current hiking boots are very comfortable when carrying my usual day pack.

A friend and I got stranded with a flat Tojo battery in mid January near Broken Hill. It was a killer heat wave and we had to trek out in one night to the ranger station some 15 hours away following a creek. All I had were sneakers and my feet hurt from the rocks for weeks afterwards and so rigid hiking boots became my staple. I don't know how anyone could do a pack hike on stones in these 'feet gloves' as I surely won't...

I don't envy you 'feet glove' lovers as it's a high laced rigid boot with a chunky Vibram steel shanked sole a for me...

... but it's what you believe is best and works for you...



(Photo above by: Shea Standefer)

[Son of a Beach]

It's also what is suited to the surface you're walking on (or in). Clearly boots are not required for street walking, but many people find them the best thing for scrub/mud bashing. However, there are a lot of bushwalking tracks with a surface that is somewhere in between hard flat street and scrub/mud/rocks.

I wear ankle-covering tough leather boots on most of my serious walks. I wear cheap crappy sneakers on some walks when I know the track is easy and clear. I go barefoot on some walks when I know its not excessively rough and I know I'll be walking with slower people anyhow. (Actual barefoot, not glove-shoe "barefoot").

[Zone-5]

I go barefoot at the beach despite my fear of needle sticks, does that count?

[slparker]

Maybe it's just me but painful feet in footwear do not form any part of my 'enjoyment' of bush walking. 'Crocs' worn at the beach, in boats and after work at the bar are ok but on the trail with foreign objects like snakes, painful prickles and stones causing blisters and bruises, no way!

If by being a 'serious bushwalker' you mean deliberately exposing myself to a preventable injury by way of divesting my personal safety into what is purely just a stupid 'indie' fashion statement, well then... gladly call me seriously ol' fashioned.

My Vibram bushwalking solution; LOWA Renegade GTX with Vibram Evo outsoles:

You have it the wrong way around. Why splint your foot bones with a rigid steel shank when we have evolved with a natural shock absorbing and grip mechanism. Are you sure that you aren't promoting a 'fashion statement'?

[Zone-5]

Why splint your foot bones with a rigid steel shank when we have evolved with a natural shock absorbing and grip mechanism. Are you sure that you aren't promoting a 'fashion statement'?

Oh hardly, well made boots augment natural foot movements to well beyond the evolutionary standard...

[tekkado]

Just with this discussion I have a question.
I'm looking into some new shoes and can't decide because I think I want to much in one thing. Im looking for something that can go in the water, provide support but also let me be nimble over rocks and in canyons with my pack on (generally ~11kgs). I'm keen on some five fingers because they look like nothing would stop you except days of waking with your pack on. And then getting something else for when the walks are longer and heavier. But with all this talk of 'retraining' your feet is it that big of a deal? Will wearing normal shoes become that uncomfortable? I know it hard to recommend a shoe but if someone could point in the right direction it'd be much appreciated. (At current I wear slip on crocs not like the traditional style for creek hikes etc and joggers for longer hikes so I'm not fussy and these shoes go alright just looking to upgrade)

Moderator edit, a topic also started by this poster to discuss this at viewtopic.php?f=15&t=19958