Interesting. I have no issue or complaint with my 5 fingers, but wondering if I should claim so I can afford my next pair
Much as it is good to mix up running speeds, surfaces and terrain, I am sure it is also good to mix footwear as well. The minimalist/barefoot approach clearly takes some adjusting to as it can be a radically different running style for many
This is complete bullshit. Anyone who has even half a brain accepts their own responsibility for their footwear. I have several pair of Vibram Five Fingers that I use for a bunch of outdoor activities and think they're awesome. They do what they're meant to do, keeping you from cutting yourself whilst maintaining close contact with every feature of the terrain.
Only in America do you have lawyers circling like vultures to "protect the innocent" from safe products.
I'll take my chances in minimalist shoes rather than walking through a ghetto with people armed to the teeth with firearms.
It is a bit like filing a suit against an establishment that has the nerve to serve a coffee hot, then spilling it on yourself
I have never tried the bare-running shoes, my Asics Kinsei (replaced every 8-10 mos) have helped keep me injury-free going on a 5-yr stretch now. I have tissue damage in one of my legs due to septicaemia soon 10 yrs ago, I am just happy to be out running and think the cushioning doesn't hurt. I have plenty of friends that swear by the 5-finger shoes, but adapted to them gradually.
I attempted to move from Asics to INOV-8s last year..all was going reasonably well until I was on holidays and the only surface I had was concrete. After 2 weeks I quite badly injured my Achilles tendon high up, and was off running for 6-8 weeks.
I'm not going to sue INOV-8. The shoes are great and a joy to run in. Simply, I attempted to do too much too soon, especially being a strong alpine cyclist (an activity that inherently shortens your calf muscles). I take responsibility for this.
Right now I am back in Asics, as I wish to lose some weight before re-attempting barefoot. I will try again, once I've completed a 7-day cycling event in July, but then I will ensure a more gradual conversion.
The only Inov-8s with a wide toe box are the Terrafly - and to be honest, they are stunningly good trail shoes if you live around Zurich. The downside is that the rubber is pretty soft - and it will scrub down fairly quickly.
Four years on, I now live in a 500 acre university campus, with a 5 km perimeter road of quality comparable to Zurich roads. We also have a grass field with 400m running tracks. Lately I have become almost all-day barefoot, because I just love the idea of stepping out of my house and start running or walking or go to the swimming pool without bothering about footwear. I run about 5km alternate days on the grass field and road and I just wanted share my personal experience that it does not make your feet ugly callused like I had read it would. In fact the concrete or asphalt acts as pumice and shaves off dead cells, so as you can see, my feet, although unshod for 23+ hours a day, doesn't look any worse than shod feet (not to mention the beautiful spread out shape of the toes )
Sure, one has to keep your eyes open and not step on the occasional debris on the road, but I think that's the whole point of running, keeping connection with the surface and environment, "mindful running", and not listening to i-pod music while running. Guess that's a matter of personal choice, but just thought of sharing my experience anyways.
@Chandra: Top marks to you for being able to do that. I'd love to give it a go but doubt the feet would come away unscathed after forest trail running!
@Assassin: I hope and am sure the risk of being sued at some point was factored into Vibram's overall risk assessment planning/strategy and contingency funds set aside accordingly. It was bound to happen at some stage...
Still, hasn't put me off the idea of getting a pair at some point and the relevant comments/links on this thread are really helpful.
That's fine if you're running on roads but not really possible while trail running, at least for me. I like looking around not just down, and I find avoiding every small rock or protrudung root downright impossible. I like barefoot running on grass, sand, or dirt, but I hate running on roads and avoid it like the plague, shoes or no shoes.
I'm surprised that Vibram went this far, considering they're not exactly the first company to be a little too liberal with the truth when promoting their own product. But, they did settle, so clearly there was a fear that they'd actually lose. I did lose a little respect for them as a company who'd long produced soles I always liked, I think McDougall is a psuedoscientific snake oil salesman and Vibram was a little too eager to join him and offer easy and apparently untrue solutions to common problems.
Love mine, love them. I read a little about the suit and it seems that it concentrated on runners that moved from standard running shoes to five fingers. I can see how that could cause huge problems if the runner didn't concentrate and train correctly to change their stride. Someone who has been running their whole lives heel first has trained their bodies to run a certain way and their muscles move automatically. The shift to a mid or front foot stride is huge and would take very deliberate effort and if not done correctly could cause serious damage to joints and bones. I never ran more than 1/2 mile before I had my vibrams and so my stride is very specific to the shoes. (I never ran because of knee pain, side stitches and shin splints, which I never get now). My muscle memory isn't there for heel first running and I really can't get far in regular shoes without being totally annoyed...
Oh a tip for you all. When I started running it was on a tread mill (w/ socks) and once I got to 5K moved to the road w/ my Vibrams. I first had knee pain when I went out with the shoes which surprised me. I went back to the tread mill and noticed that when I ran my socks would rotate. I fixed my stride on the treadmill so my socks didn't move, put my shoes back on and with my adjusted stride solved the knee pain.... Conventional shoes tell you how to run I guess while the Five Fingers give you more leeway in movement so little things like pushing off with a slight sideways motion matters.
Love mine, Vibram might have gone too far in their marketing but that is no excuse for stupid lawsuits. If it wasn't for them I would still be on my couch... Hmm, sunny outside, I think I will go for a jog