• About
    • Meet Joel
    • The IMPOSSIBLE Shirt
  • Speaking
  • Consulting
  • Giving

IMPOSSIBLE ®

Push Your Limits | Do Something Impossible

  • Home
  • Impossible List™
  • Blog
    • Archives
  • Gear
  • Apps
    • Running + Fitness Calculators
    • Move Well – Mobility Exercises
    • Cold Shower Therapy
  • Podcast
  • Events
  • 777
You are here: Home / Fitness / Vibrams Five Fingers Review Part 1

Vibrams Five Fingers Review Part 1

June 15, 2010 By Joel Runyon 20 Comments

This is 1st part of a 2 part series where I review my Vibram Five Fingers Shoes I bought last month. You can read the second part of the review here.

***

Relaxing on the beach

Creative Commons License photo credit: Richard Monteverde

A few weeks back I took a plunge and got a pair of Vibrams Five Finger running shoes. After using them for a few weeks, I finally feel like I’ve run enough in them to give a review of my experiences with them so I decided I might as well make it a video review.

 

[BIT] VFF Review Part 1 from Joel Runyon on Vimeo.

If you’re the type that likes to skip around here are some of the highlights.

  • [-1:08] – The VFF Community
  • [-1:57] – Conversation Piece
  • [-2:30] – Connecting With The Ground & Being Present
  • [-4:30] – Healing Powers [Only Half Joking]
  • [-5:22] – Portability

If you can’t watch the video for any number of reasons [or you just don’t like watching videos], have no fear, it’s optional. Here’s all the things I really liked about my Vibrams in good ole-fashioned text.

***

Things I Liked

The VFF Community

While VFF’s are still fairly rare to see in everyday use, the community surround VFF is HUGE. In the 48 hours after getting them, I connected with the following via twitter

  • Half Of Jess [aka Half Of Jess]
  • Colin Wright [aka Exile Lifestyle]
  • Steve Kamb [aka Nerd Fitness]
  • Stefan Schneider
  • Matt Griffin [aka Baker’s Edge – maker of awesome pans for making awesome brownies…awesome for eating, not so awesome for running]

I also found Birthday Shoes via Stefan which is a real wealth of knowledge on all things barefoot running & Vibrams enthusiasts. I spent over a few hours just digging through some of the content over there. Good stuff.

Conversation Piece

For better or worse, you’ll always get noticed if you wear Vibrams. You have to get used to it when you run in things that resemble grey camouflaged toe socks. It’s just the way it is. Now if you hate people, this might not be a good thing, but I enjoy meeting people and I’ve met a lot and had some very interesting conversations that started with them asking what in the heck I was wearing.

Connecting With The Ground & Being Present

You feel everything when you run in Vibrams. Yes, there’s protection from the ground, but it’s very little. This forced me to really pay attention while I was running. This is definitely something you learn very quickly after NOT paying attention and running over a patch of gravel and rocks. After that, I was more attentive to my surroundings and more aware of my environment. I actually really enjoyed this because it is much easier for me to BE in the present moment when I’m constantly engaging my mind and not just going on autopilot. I found I started to enjoy running more and I was complaining about running in my mind less.

Healing Powers [Only Half Joking]

I used to have a knee issue while running. It wasn’t that bad, but it would start acting up around the 1.5 mile marker and I would have to just push on through & ignore the pain. It wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t comfortable either. Since I’ve been running in my VFF, I’m cured! I don’t feel any pain in my knee anymore. While I can’t definitively point to the VFF as fixing my issues, I wouldn’t be terribly surprised if that was the case.

Portability

VFFs are super portable. They take up less space than one normal running shoe and they’re easy to throw in your bag and just go without worrying about lugging them around with you. Having shoes you can take anywhere with you is a powerful tool with the “Screw It & Do It” mindset. You can always have your shoes on you and be ready for a run anywhere. No more excuses.

Overall, there are a lot of things to like about them. I’ll be doing a post next week following up on the things I don’t like about them as much. In the mean time…

What I want to hear from you

If you use Vibrams or Run Barefoot:

  1. What’s your favorite thing about your Vibrams 5 Fingers Shoes?
  2. What’s your favorite thing about Barefoot Running?

If you don’t do either:

  1. What’s your number one question about Vibrams 5 Fingers or Barefoot Running?

Everyone:

Take 3 seconds to take this poll. I’d really appreciate it.

[poll id=”2“]

***

If you still have questions on Vibrams & Barefoot Running and want to do more research, Leo Babatua has put together a few articles on barefoot running and the philosophy behind it that would be well worth your time.

Tweet
Pin
Share
0 Shares

Filed Under: Fitness, Hacks Tagged With: Barefoot Running, Minimalism, Review, Running, VFF, Vibrams, Vibrams Five Fingers

About Joel Runyon

I started IMPOSSIBLE to push myself to try to live a life worth writing about by pushing my limits, living an adventure & telling a great story by doing the impossible. You can get free updates in your inbox via your new favorite newsletter and see all my businesses at Impossible X and our philanthropic efforts at Impossible.org

Comments

  1. Jess says

    June 15, 2010 at 4:37 pm

    I am horrible with watching youtube vids. I get too distracted and I normally have video on so I just can’t listen. I don’t do podcasts either though.

    My favorite thing about my VFFs? How it allows me to connect with the ground and my environment while getting some protection.

    My favorite thing about barefoot running? How it allows me to connect with my environment. I always feel like a stealthy predator. It’s awesome.

    Reply
    • Joel Runyon says

      June 15, 2010 at 7:22 pm

      Thanks for chiming in Jess! I’m bad at watching video too, but I usually try to bookmark things I run across during the day that I’m interested in watching and watch them all at once towards the end. It helps me handle info overload :).

      I love your imagery. “Stealthy Predator” I can just imagine you running up on some poor runner and just taking them out, running over them and going on the next runner =)

      Reply
  2. Britt says

    June 20, 2010 at 3:41 pm

    My Vibrams fit like a glove and I like the way running in them gets me off my heals.

    Reply
    • Joel Runyon says

      June 20, 2010 at 6:50 pm

      Definitely! When I wear normal shoes now, I’m starting to notice how much I focus on my heels. It’s definitely a whole different type of running.

      Reply
  3. Kate TeBos says

    June 25, 2010 at 3:25 am

    I appreciate that you like the VFF shoes too.I have a pair red that i like very much.it’s said the it’s healthier to walk and run barefoot.if you wear VFF ,it more good.

    Reply
    • Joel Runyon says

      June 25, 2010 at 7:50 pm

      Yup, i’m a fan 🙂
      You can actually see part 2 of my review and see my final thoughts on the VFFs here: http://www.impossiblehq.com/vibrams-five-fingers-review-part-2

      Reply
  4. Rob says

    July 3, 2010 at 2:12 pm

    Excellent review of the VFF’s, Joel.
    I bought my 1st pair last week. The
    only store in town that sells them did
    not have my size so I settled for 1 size larger.
    While they are still great at giving me a protected
    barefoot experience with everyday running around,
    I think I will wait to get some my true size
    for workouts/running. You are right, the community
    aspect is cool. I forget that i am wearing them
    until people point and whisper or ask me questions.
    Check out the forums at birthdayshoes.com (get it?) for posts of funny comments that people have made to VFF enthusiasts (yes, we have our own forum with
    1500 members!).
    Peace

    Reply
    • Joel Runyon says

      July 5, 2010 at 1:44 am

      Rob-
      Birthday shoes is definitely on my radar. I pop in there once a week or so to catch up on everything. I love the community aspect of it & it’s great to have a group help out when making the transition!

      Thanks for checking out BIT!
      -Joel

      Reply
  5. Nina | Castles in the Air says

    August 3, 2010 at 12:02 pm

    1. My fave thing re: Vibrams: It feels like I’m not wearing anything at all, whilst still protecting my feet from little rocks and debris on the ground.

    2. My fave thing re: Barefoot Running: Being and feeling so free and light! I feel faster (and probably run faster, as a result) and I love getting all the questions/stares! Because then I get to share with others how awesome barefoot running is and how all those professional running shoes really actually cause more damage than preventing them. Plus, I’ve always enjoyed being barefoot, even as a child, I would take off all shoes/socks 1st thing when I get into the house. I just love being barefoot, period!

    Reply
    • Joel Runyon says

      August 3, 2010 at 6:00 pm

      “It feels like I’m not wearing anything at all”

      Exhibitionist now, are we? haha.

      Reply
  6. Byron says

    September 15, 2010 at 11:07 pm

    I have been wearing Vibram off and on for 3 years or so. It was until I started training for my first ironman and streamlining my life that I have been wearing them more regularly. I like running in them because they help me focus on form, and stay off of my heals.

    Walking: the instant feedback you get from how your foot strikes the ground makes you adjust and walk properly. Because I am flat footed I notice my feet getting tired faster, but I find that a plus because it indicates that my feet are weaker than I realize (having regular running shoes prevents this kind of awareness). As they say, you are only as fast as your feet are strong.

    Reply
    • Joel Runyon says

      September 16, 2010 at 9:10 pm

      Hey Byron. You’re training for an Ironman? Have you tried wearing the shoes throughout the whole race? (specifically the biking portion?) If so, I’d love to hear how that went for you.

      As you said, I notice a HUGE difference between the running I do when I’m in VFFs and when I’m in shoes…I think I’m going to have a hard time going back…

      Reply
  7. Pete says

    December 15, 2010 at 1:51 pm

    I stumbled across your blog today. Love it. I love my Vibrams. I’m glad your knee pain has subsided. People look at me like I’m crazy when I tell them this little tiny foot covering of a shoe has “cured” my knee issues as well. I have a friend who has challenged me to run an ultramarathon this year as well as an adventure race. You might want to think about adding those to your impossible list. I should kill off my goal of 100 consecutive pushups early January. Keep up the good work.

    Reply
    • Joel Runyon says

      December 15, 2010 at 5:18 pm

      I just might :). I did a mudathlon earlier this year, but I need to get a marathon done before I start aiming for an ultramarathon. Baby steps :). Thanks for stopping by Pete

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Vibrams Five Fingers Review Part 2 | Blog Of Impossible Things says:
    June 26, 2010 at 3:53 pm

    […] This is the 2nd of a 2 part series where I review my Vibram Five Fingers Shoes I bought last month. You can read the first part of the review here. […]

    Reply
  2. Mudathlon | Blog Of Impossible Things says:
    June 27, 2010 at 1:23 pm

    […] through mud, the event required much, much more endurance than I anticipated. I did however, take full advantage of my Vibrams during the race. Thanks to them, I was able to run through the mud without them being suctioned off […]

    Reply
  3. The #1 Thing I Learned From 2nd Place In My First 10K | Blog Of Impossible Things says:
    October 6, 2010 at 4:05 pm

    […] tried to quickly mention the pros & cons of vibrams as best I could while running, but it was hard to focus on running and […]

    Reply
  4. The Indy Monumental Half Marathon: Half as hard, Twice as Painful | Blog Of Impossible Things says:
    November 9, 2010 at 1:32 pm

    […] Yes, it takes time to get used to them […]

    Reply
  5. The Indy Monumental Half Marathon: Half as hard, Twice as Painful | IMPOSSIBLE says:
    October 18, 2013 at 2:22 pm

    […] Yes, it takes time to get used to them […]

    Reply
  6. Good Morning America Explores The Paleo Lifestyle / Ultimate Paleo Guide says:
    October 9, 2014 at 9:34 am

    […] is to die for. The couple live a paleo lifestyle, by working with standing desks, walking in shoes that mimic the movement of walking barefoot, waking up without the use of alarm clocks, and wearing blue blocker glasses to block out the blue […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

the-impossible-shirt

Hi, I'm Joel Runyon


I created IMPOSSIBLE to help people push their limits by taking on impossible challenges and living a good story.

Follow @joelrunyon

My I recently finished running 7 ultra marathons on 7 continents and raised nearly $200k for Pencils of Promise. Read more about my story here.

Subscribe & Listen To The Podcast

How To Start A Blog Walkthrough

how-to-start-a-blog-guide
impossible abs

no-excuse-workout

cold-shower-therapy

The 777 Project

THE IMPOSSIBLE FAMILY

  • IMPOSSIBLE • Blog + HQ
  • IMPOSSIBLE Fitness • Tutorials & Training
  • IMPOSSIBLE Podcast • Podcast
  • IMPOSSIBLE X • Businesses
  • IMPOSSIBLE.org • Giving
  • IMPOSSIBLE Gear • Apparel + Supplements

"How To" Guides

  • How To Start A Blog: The Definitive Guide
  • How To Start A Podcast: The Definitive Guide

Looking For Something?

About The Impossible Shirt

IMPOSSIBLE®

  • Impossible X®
  • Impossible.org
  • Impossible Gear™
  • Impossible Fitness ®
  • Impossible Nutrition ®

RECENT

  • 3 New Resources To Help You Run Faster
  • Impossible Hats Are Now Available for Pre-order
  • The One Time I Accidentally Started an Antarctica Conspiracy Theory
  • Paying The Cost
  • The Longest Night Race 2020 – Recap

Inspiration

  • An Unexpected Ass Kicking
  • How Bad Do You Want It?
  • The Iron & The Soul
  • The Only 2 Real Excuses Why People Refuse To Take Cold Showers

We Built a School! (2012)

impossible-pop-school

And We Built 7 More! (2017)

777-project

| Copyright © 2021 | Built on Genesis & Hosted By BlueHost | An Impossible X Company

IMPOSSIBLE®, the IMPOSSIBLE® logo, IMPOSSIBLE HQ®, IMPOSSIBLE X®, IMPOSSIBLE Nutrition®, and IMPOSSIBLE Fitness® are registered Trademarks of IMPOSSIBLE X LLC.

The IMPOSSIBLE List™, Push Your Limits™, and Cold Shower Therapy™ are trademarks of IMPOSSIBLE X LLC.