VIBRAM FIVEFINGERS!

Let me start off by saying that yes, they do look a little silly. I feel a tad like a Hobbit when wearing them... but holy moly are they comfortable! 

[VibramFiveFingers.com]

Four days ago I purchased a pair of Vibram FiveFingers at REI before going on a day hike yesterday. For those of you who are wondering "what in the what is she talking about???" These are Vibram 5 Fingers------->


So what exactly are these things that look like a toe-sock with a sole? They're Heaven in a shoe! Can't you tell by looking at them? Don't focus on how silly they look or over think their purpose... focus on the aura of AMAZING glowing around them! 


Okay... so maybe you can't see the same aura of amazing that I can. So here comes the explanation.


On a recent week long trip to Mt. Whitney my brother (a caveman and the embodiment of all things wilderness, adventure, and physical fitness) wore a pair of Vibram FiveFingers while hiking. It wasn't the first time I'd heard about them (seeing as he works at REI) but it was my first time seeing them in action. He said goodbye to clunky and constricting boots and hello to the way your foot naturally works! I watched as he made wet stream crossing after wet stream crossing without having to put on any kind of water shoe to keep his boots dry. He was so much more agile than the rest of us who were hiking in heavy boots. I had already been convinced before the Mt. Whitney trip that I needed a pair of FiveFingers, but seeing them in action helped solidify it in my mind. I was going to own these and be free of my boots! 


Before I had my Vibrams I ran barefoot around my neighborhood. Crazy? Kinda. But I was annoyed with wearing running shoes and thought "hey, why not just eighty-six the shoes?" It caused me to be more cautious of where I step, gave me blisters when the cement was scorching, made other pedestrians wonder what the cuss I was doing, turned my feet black... but the biggest thing it did for me was strengthen the muscles in my feet and ankles. 


There are 26 bones (One-quarter of the bones in the human body), 33 joints, more than 100 muscles, tendons, and ligaments, and a network of blood vessels, nerves, skin, and soft tissue that make up the human foot. When you wear a shoe, all of those elements that signal your brain about your surroundings and your necessary responses to those surroundings are sheltered and prohibited from helping your mainframe out. Think about it, how much more free do you feel when you're barefoot? I'm not talking about some dumb "inner connection to mother earth" or finding your Chi. I'm talking about what God gave us and using them to their fullest. 


"When you go barefoot, your movements become the movements of a child—playful and sensitive, yet purposeful and confident. You experience the unbound joy of stepping, hopping, and running across any surface on earth, simply to get from here to there." 
             
                   --VibramFiveFingers.com--


That sounds a little "mother earthy" Vibram... so in my own words: "When you go barefoot, your movements become more natural---light and sensitive, yet purposeful and confident. You experience the feeling of freedom from constricting and heavy shoes. With every step your foot sends messages to your brain that help you get from here to there with more balance, range of motion, and agility." That's better. 


God designed our feet to work a certain way. Think about all the little pieces that it takes for our feet to do their thing. What happens to us if we lose our feet? What happens if we lose even just our big toe? When we put on shoes we toss away a portion of what our feet are supposed to be doing. 


Okay... back track. I'm not saying shoes are from Satan or that we should all go barefoot all the time and live like harry hippies or that we should have a huge shoe burning party. I love shoes. High heels, Toms, Vans, Converse, sandals, flats, stylish boots... shoes are an awesome piece of fashion! And we do need shoes to protect our feet from the elements. I wouldn't wear my Vibram FiveFingers in town if it were pouring outside... I'd wear something that's going to keep my foot dry and protected. If I were going to the snow I would wear boots so I don't get hypothermia and die. There is definite logic and style behind wearing shoes.

[My Vibrams, Martin's Vibrams, Madi's Vibram boots]
[that will soon need to be actual Vibram FiveFingers]

Doesn't that totally ruin everything I was just saying about being barefoot? No. No it does not. The things that I feel the need to be barefoot for are physical activities. I wouldn't necessarily wear my Vibram FiveFingers around town just for funskeez unless I was planning on chasing down some ninjas or battling alien parasites trying to take over Fresno. My Vibrams are for running, training, climbing, hiking, and backpacking. Those are the times where I feel that I need my feet to be able to fully talk to my brain.


Wearing these amazing shoes is like being barefoot without the worry of stepping on something that's gonna hurt your paws. So to test it out I wore them on a recent day hike. It was absolutely amazing how much more free I felt on the trail. My feet never got blisters, hot-spots, or sore. The only "problem" I had was getting sand in my shoes, which can be helped by wearing socks with them. At one point on the trip I rain down the trail and back (because I didn't think we were on the right path anymore), which is something I would not have been able to do in my boots. 


So for those of you out there who are wilderness, adventure, or physical activity enthusiasts, I highly recommend that you at least try on a pair of Vibram FiveFingers. Take them for a spin! You'll see their aura of AMAZING within seconds... and even more importantly you'll start to feel their health benefits. 

[Me, standing in front of Upper Twin lake in Kaiser Wilderness, Sierra Nevadas, in my Vibrams]

PREVIEW! My next post will be about that crazy day hike I've been mentioning... not every wilderness trip you take is going to be your 2010 Mt. Whitney-Life-Changing trip (which I also plan to post about). Sometimes, because of circumstances, the trip.just.sucks.