Them's some weird shoes...

Over there on the right you'll see my latest pair of shoes, the beyond bizarre Vibram "Five Fingers" shoes. As you might have guessed, they're not called Five Fingers because I stole them -- as in "Five Finger Discount" -- but because each toe has its own little pocket, making these more like gloves for feet.

The "VFF" is designed to be as close as possible to walking barefoot... and that's why I decided to purchase such a goofy shoe. I've always loved walking barefoot, and would often take off my shoes and carry them just so I could walk around barefoot. On a hot summer day, I looked forward to getting home and taking off my shoes and socks so I could experience what I called "Happy Feet". Well, it turns out that there's actually some medical reasoning to walking barefoot beyond "it feels good".

The big problem with walking barefoot everywhere is it's typically viewed as "wrong". (Although, I have to say, having worn these around for a day, you'll get less stares walking just plain barefoot than you will in these arrest-me-red freak shoes) Then, there's also the problem of walking over very hot or sharp/irregular surfaces. So, that's where the shoes come in.

So, today, after buying them, I put several miles on them. They're interesting... they fit very close but not tight, so in that they are in very comfortable. The problem is, they feel like shoes, so I actually walk more like I have normal shoes on than I do when I walk barefoot, and that means more on my heels... so my heels hurt a little at the end of the day.

Still, they are very, very light, and work pretty well.

Update - I got a chance to do some very limited trail running with these shoes, and they were incredible! They protected my feet from the rocks and sticks on the trail, but since they were so light, I felt exceptionally light on my feet. (no, not light in my loafers!) I didn't go far (wasn't the time) but they worked really well and I hope to give that a try again.

Also, Grace has bought a pair (and not surprisingly, they look really cute on her, as opposed to absolutely goofy on me) and uses them often when she trains her clients.

I still go barefoot around the house most of the time, and in retrospect wish I'd bought a less obvious color scheme (like the all black "KSO") but they are a good shoe. I've even used them for working on the house, including standing on a slanted roof while we repainted the outside walls.