Vibram Fivefingers

[trevbo]

http://www.rei.com/product/811202/vibra ... shoes-mens



Saw a chap wearing these in the park last wkend. Real funny looking, although a couple of jogger-types I know swear by them...

Probably better than sandals or flipflops cuz they at least prevent you from stubbing your toes! Anyone use these thingamajigs?

I sometimes bring flip flops or sneakers along on hikes for stream crossings and for trail approaches on long scrambles... these might be suitable alternatives.

[llholmes1948]

I saw a young man wearing these on the Hunt Trail up Mount Katahdin in Maine last Friday. They must have a good grip because he seemed to have no trouble going across a rock face at a good angle.

[dorf]

Or save yourself a boatload of $$$ and get a pair of knock off crocs for $10. I did 40 miles off trail and on in mine through the Teton wilderness last year with nary a problem. SJ in Cal can vouch for their rugged durability

[Pocketlint]

I saw a guy with those things on going up Glacier View peak a few weeks ago. Much of that trail is comparable to anything in the park as far as roughness, scree, etc. It looks like you could still stub your toe with those things. Clumsy as I am I know I would.

dorf...did you mean to say you hiked 40 miles in croc knock offs or just the stream crossings in those 40 miles?

pocketlint

[Tiz]

I have the 5fingers classic and I also own Crocs.

5fingers classic: In my opinion, it's just a cool gadget. You can hurt your toes. They might be slippery (snow, mud). You cannot use crampons. You might hurt your ankles. Your feet might freeze. The mozzies might get to your feet. I cannot even imagine what else might go wrong. But I would never ever use them for serious backpacking.

Crocs/Waldies: quite light, will dry fast, good for river crossing and good for walking on tarmac or very hard/flat ground

[dorf]

dorf...did you mean to say you hiked 40 miles in croc knock offs or just the stream crossings in those 40 miles?

I did 40 miles off trail and on in mine through the Teton wilderness last year with nary a problem. SJ in Cal can vouch for their rugged durability

[Pocketlint]

That just freaks me out.

I believe the durability of the shoes. What about your feet? Gotta be getting wet in that environment, don't they? Just change socks and keep on truckin?

My poor feet couldn't take that these days. I tried some actual crocs a couple years ago. I never seem to get them to do right. Mostly they felt a bit sloppy on my feet...like I could never get my foot to "fill the space" right. Lame description, I know.

And up there in that environment of boulders of every size and description from what I saw in all your reports....I think I would need the support from a good sturdy hiking boot.
Assuming I will be able to go at all....

pocketlint

[dorf]

Wore socks, walked through water, no problems at all. The sponginess of the "sole" actually allows your foot to form around rocks and provides a pretty good grip.

[JWB475]

I picked up a pair of Vibram Five Fingers just before my recent GNP trip to wear as water crossing sandals. They were 50% off otherwise I probably never would have purchased them.

They are pretty light (not as light as Dorf's Croc's though), and once you get them on they are pretty comfortable as well (they take some extra time to get on, some of my toes just won't go in the right spot). I wore them on numerous water crossing and around the campsites. By then end of our trip, I really started to like them, and would recommend them to someone looking for a lightweight alternative to sandals.

The model I have is the 'Flow', which has a neoprene boot (it kept debris out and kept my feet warm for a few extra seconds when crossing streams)

Here they are on the shores of Cosley Lake...


PLUS, as an added bonus when stepping in mud, you leave a footprint that resembles a Sasquatch...

[trevbo]

PLUS, as an added bonus when stepping in mud, you leave a footprint that resembles a Sasquatch...

LOL... have you ever seen that reality show Mantracker? http://www.mantracker.ca/ If the contestants had a pair of shoes that could leave prints that looked like they had claws it might confuse 'em!

[brooks_mcclintock]

I personally enjoy using my vibes. What you don't see/feel when you are observing other people wearing them is the strength you achieve in your legs/feet after a month's use. Yes, they give you a massive callus at contact points with the ground, but if you're that big of a ... you shouldn't be walking anyway. How did the first humans ever survive w/o shoes...haha duh they just had the mental capacity to not give a ... . I already had strong legs, but after wearing them for two seasons of hardcore backcountry travel in Utah and Montana I can testify that they are worth the money.

I can use them w/o socks in approaches, river crossing, muddy trails, etc. And then strap them to my pack when I need to use boots for the rocky/slippery scrambles to summits. You don't get any sort of heel blister or toe blister because they don't give a lot of friction to the back/front of your foot. You have almost the perfect amount of ventilation too. Get the KSO because they are washable and have soles made for wet or dry environments.

So if you wanna be a weak whiny human keep the crocs, and if you want to ... be an animal get the vibes!

[trevbo]

I'm gonna start using these (or flip flops) for some of the reasons listed. As a substitute for sneakers, not for replacing boots while scrambling in talus/scree, obviously.

I feel a deep pain in the bottom of my foot after a long day of hiking and am worried long term about blowing out my achilles. A few days consecutive of hiking in my backpacking boots feels like my heel bones are gonna pop out of the skin. So any sort of strengthening exercise in my case is probably a good idea.

I read that book 'Born to Run' and was quite taken with the concept of 'barefoot runnning'. You can achieve the same kind of strengthening by merely altering the way you run/walk, using the balls of your feet more than hammering away on your heels... but I think having really light footwear, be it lip flops or crocs or five finger shoes, helps to accomplish that as it keeps you aware.

So if you wanna be a weak whiny human keep the crocs, and if you want to ... be an animal get the vibes!

Of course, if one really wanted to be ape-manly one could just go completely barefoot!

[pitamakan]

I'm a huge fan of the FiveFingers ... I have two pairs of them now, in fact. I use them for both day hikes and backpacking, and would have no qualms whatsoever about wearing them on any of Glacier's maintained trails. Using them has definitely made my feet, ankles, and lower legs stronger, and consequently made me a better hiker.

There's definitely a learning curve with them, though ... you need to ease into them, and adjust the way you walk a little bit. And you need to get used to people gawking at your feet!

They're not appropriate for extensive oversnow travel, or for off-trail hiking involving heavy scree ... but otherwise I think they're the perfect hikers' footwear. For Glacier-type trails, I'd recommend a FiveFingers model with a little bit of a tread, like the TrekSport.

[paul]

I used them as camp shoes and river crossing in Glacier a couple of years ago. They worked well for that and are nice just to hang around in. I wouldn't use them for off trail stuff or for running.

The only issue I have with them is they take awhile to get on because it's hard to get my toes into the right slots.