Feel the Earth in Vibram Fivefingers' KSOs

As a person relying much on public transportation, I find that I spend a lot of time walking around the metro.  Hoping to get the most of out of walking, I got really curious with the new footwear around the market that will supposedly enhance your walking experience by toning, shaping or improving your health overall.  From Skechers’ ShapeUps, ToneUps, to FitFlops, I wondered for months until my love gave me her Christmas present.

I got my first Vibram FiveFingers pair.

I took my Vibram FiveFingers, KSO (Keep Stuff Out) model, for a stroll on the way to church in order to test the new footwear out.  Nothing like a real life walking experience to break in the new shoes and simulate the way I plan to eventually use them.  It was also a good way to test it out on different types of roads as the path to the church had paved cement, dirt and even granite setts.

Felt like the Princess in the Princess and the Pea.  I can feel the pebbles!

The first type of road on the way there was a dirt road composed of soil, puddles as there was rain the night before, and a lot of stones.  It was a challenge walking on this terrain as each step felt a bit comfortable as you can practically feel all the stones, pebbles and sometimes even sand prodding on your feet and shifting underneath them.  I felt a bit off-balanced at certain periods especially when I stepped on some round stones.  However, the Vibram KSOs were able to provide enough protection against these earth elements as they did not hurt at all.  No blisters, nicks or cuts here!

Walking on uneven granite setts

The granite setts came in next and this was indeed a better experience compared to the dirt road.  I could not feel the roughness of the ground, but could sometimes feel the uneven spaces between the granite pieces.  Similarly, when it came to the concrete road, it just felt like walking on any ground with normal rubber shoes on.  Apart from not having that soft, squishy feeling you get from a cushioned sports shoe, you can hardly feel any difference.

On the way back, I tried a few short bursts of sprints and found that the shoes did change the way I ran as I landed on my forefoot more often than the heel (and I believe that I often land on my heel as my shoes always wear out at the outside of the heel area).  I can’t fully tell if it’s true as I’m not a runner, at least not yet, but I felt faster and lighter on the run.  This method is supposedly much better for your body as it generates less impact on your skeletal system.  After all, our hunter ancestors did run barefoot as there were no shoes back then.

Ahhh... flat concrete!

As it is my first time wearing these, I actually felt a dull ache in some places as I probably activated some muscles that I haven’t used for a long time.  The spaces between my toes ached a bit and my calves felt a little sore, but other than that, there were no other qualms in walking in these barefoot-type of shoes. 

I’ll post probably another review of the Vibram KSOs once they and my feet get to know each other more, but so far, I love them already.

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* Captured with a Nokia X6