Footwear With Toes

FiveFingers footwear with toes improve your performance and the health of your body by helping you move naturally while you run or take part in other activities. Since your feet aren't encapsulated inside a stiff shoe, flexibility and strength are increased. The thinner sole allows you to feel variations in the ground; the added neural stimulation awakens the connection between foot and brain, improving your balance, body awareness, and agility.

Without the unnatural cushioning under the heel, FiveFingers shoes align your body properly to spread body weight evenly. As you adjust your stride and learn to land on the forefoot instead of the heel, the force of your weight upon landing is lessened. You can run farther more efficiently and with less injury.

The Vibram FiveFingers Sprint hugs your foot and adjusts to a secure fit through hook-and-loop closures at the instep and around the heel. With a specially constructed rubber sole to provide grip, the Sprint is great for running, climbing and water sports, as well as general fitness wear. Take the time to slowly adjust to the new way of moving in these shoes, and your old work-out pains will disappear.

Studies have shown that barefoot runners land on the forefoot instead of the heel, naturally aligning their center of gravity and reducing the amount of impact to the entire body. Modern running shoes, with their raised heel, force a runner to land on the heel which leads to injury. Vibram FiveFingers footwear with toes don't have a raised heel, so they don't interfere with the natural biomechanics of running.
Vibram FiveFingers Bikila is designed especially to simulate barefoot running. Its minimal insole padding is thickest under the forefoot, where the foot strikes the ground first. The outsole spreads the impact for injury-free running. The collar of the Bikila is more padded than the other FiveFinger models to protect from abrasion, and reflective surfaces help keep you visible after dark.

When switching to barefoot running shoes, it will take some time for your muscles to adjust to the new body alignment. It is best to make the change gradually, but most people make the switch within a couple of weeks.

Barefoot runner Christopher McDougall set out to discover the secret to pain-free running. What he discovered was the ancient Tarahumara Indian tribe, whose age-old postures and techniques allow them to effortlessly run hundreds of miles. Studying this tribe convinced McDougall that everything we've been told about running is wrong and gave him insights into the way the human body was designed to run. Click the link below to read hundreds of rave reviews of Born To Run, as well as an interview with the author...then buy the book to learn the techniques for yourself.

A FiveFinger shoe for just about any sport, the Vibram KSO quickly became a favorite with men. An upper of stretch nylon and mesh that covers the entire foot keeps debris out of the shoe, making this the shoe of choice for trekking and trail running. Non-marking outsole material provides grip, and a hook-and-loop closure keeps the fit snug.

Some men may hesitate to wear footwear with toes, because they look so "different." But all it takes is a little time to get used to them. The benefits soon become more important than any odd looks you may receive. They allow you to feel the ground under your feet, and the light weight lets you go farther with less fatigue. In fact, as one reviewer stated, "... my running times are better, my distances are farther, and my recovery times are lower."

Footwear with toes is becoming wildly popular, but there are some people who may feel they are excluded from enjoying the experience of minimalist shoes. Syndactyly is a condition in which two or more adjacent toes are fused together. Since FiveFinger shoes have separate compartments for each toe, those with webbed toes can't wear them as is. Many people, though, have had success with altering the shoes themselves.

FiveFinger shoes with toes are pliable, so it's possible to alter them by hand. Simply remove the stitching which separates the toes corresponding to your fused toes. Then stitch the toes together along the top, end, and bottom without including the piece that formerly separated the toe compartments. Now you have a single, larger compartment to accommodate your fused toes.

Image courtesy Theo Schlossnagle