Vibram Five Fingers

[Flesh Thorn]

It has been two months and I am still running and hiking in the Trail Gloves and liking them. My arches and over pronation have improved. I am not as fast as before, but I enjoy it more and don't have the odd aches and pains that I used to have. I was diagnosed with arthritis in both big toes as well as bunions. It may seem counter-intuitive, but wearing less on my feet has actually improved how my feet feel and I do not suffer from the aching and inflammation any more. Yes I do feel the occasional sharp rock, but I have yet to injure my feet. When I do have to wear normal boots, I have noticed that I walk softer. I have ordered some custom Mukluks for this winter and will probably be getting rid of most of my normal footwear as they no longer fit right. I have to question why modern shoes have such narrow toe boxes and WTF are the heels raised ? If I kill a deer early enough in the season, I will be tanning the hide and making moccasins.

[Sleepy Doc]

To further confuse things, up until NIkes were invented running shoes were little more than leather gloves for the feet. They had absolutely no cushion and from the ball of the foot forward was basically a rigid platform to attach spikes. Professional runners used them for years. In fact, the first "modern" running shoe was very similar to the Merrill's

I guess everything old is new again..

[Flesh Thorn]

These are the Mukluks I ordered: http://www.arrowmoc.com/muk-8.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Yep, I am chucking out $250.

[goon175]

For your reading enjoyment...

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases ... 13248.html

Also, I think I am gonna get a pair of New Balance's Minimus shoes for the winter time. VFF's are a little to cold for upstate NY, and the pair they make for colder weather doesn't come in my size.

[snafu]

I have seen a lot of the guys here just doing either the Rippie appearance (Tan shirt with the army shorts) or even going ranger panties with their unit shirts and getting around the rule all together.

I don't know if you're in Bragg still, but I haven't seen anyone wearing anything like this. Unit specific shirts, maybe, but definitely no Ranger panties. The only time I see VFFs is when guys are doing their own PT in the gym. I have yet to see guys running in formation with those on. Also, since it's the topic of the thread, if you wear VFFs on any day other than legs or cardio, you're suspect and probably a fat guy pretending to be in shape like someone else said earlier.

[Flesh Thorn]

I am coming up on my one year mark for running in barefoot style shoes. My legs from the knee down are totally transformed. I have muscles where none existed before. My distance and pace are better than when I last ran in traditional shoes and I find myself looking forward to the next run. I have experienced none of the speculated injuries. In short, I am still drinking the Kool-Aid and loving it.

[rangertough]

You know back in the mid-90's when Camelbacks came out we adopted them off the shelf at BN. I went to BNCOC at Benning during the hottest summer in 90 years. During a Heat cat 1,000,000 road march the only thing keeping us Northerners upright was our Camelbacks. 10th MTN guys didn't have them and they were dieing by mile 2. Of course some douche instructor tried to have us drop them. He got a mighty "F-OFF" from us. You know Camelbacks right? There issued to every Soldier in the Army now as part of their basic kit. Hell even the Reserves have them.

Evidently that douche became CSM of the Army. He thinks they present an unprofessional appearance. Whereas the pink and purple NB running shoes are totally professional on a dudes foot.

My Vibrams are black with an aggressive tread (my words not theirs) like you find on the bottom of every boot that has Vibram soles. I wear them when I'm PT'ing in civilian PT's at home or on JBLM. I don't use the gyms because I don't want to compete with octogenarians or have yet one more CSM who was lobotomized at the Academy eye fucking me during my workout. If CSM's were doing their real jobs (taking care of Soldiers) the Army wouldn't be in half the state it's in.

I have eliminated back, knee and foot pain from my runs. I've only changed one thing about my workout regimens MY SHOES. The cost is worth it for that alone.

As to the "We don't need to change our equipment" crowd...

Really glad when we conducted the transition from muzzle-loading smoothbore rifles all the way to cartridge based high powered Combat rifles you were in the minority.

Tough

[goon175]

Not only do I drink the kool-aid, I swim in the kool-aid - VFF's, crossfit, and paleo. It may draw criticism from some, but it works well for my wife and I. The benefits from these methods far outweight the criticisms.

[Flesh Thorn]

The first down side, I have had to replace some of my favorite footwear with a half size bigger and wider. The muscles in my feet have grown that much.