You’ve probably seen runners wearing Five Finger Shoes, the minimalist runner shoes with toes. Are Five Finger Shoes Worth Buying? These eye catching shoes have proved popular with runners, offering the sensation and freedom of being barefoot with the protection of a sole.
The latest rage in footwear is the design of shoes that help with fitness, posture and overall well being. While many brands have developed shoes and sneakers that tone with rocker bottom or negative heel technology five finger shoes footwear takes a different approach by making shoes that let you feel the earth beneath your feet.
Five Fingers footwear may look like shoes from another planet, but by letting you feel mother earth with every step, they are as close as it comes to walking and running barefoot.
Are Five Finger Shoes Worth Buying? Let’s talk about top brands five finger shoes.
1. Vibram
Five Finger Shoes are designed by Italian VIBRAM company. Vibram five finger shoes are available for men, women and children, Vibram make shoes for both casual wear and sports. FiveFingers KSO is the most popular series. Choose from few styles (all dark series) with high price.
2. Fila Skele-toes
Fila, known for their superior sport lifestyle gear, now brings you their line of Skele-Toes. With these advanced shoes runners are able to duplicate the feel of shoeless running while still having support and protection. The EZ Slide Drainage features a lightweight high performance four-way stretch fabric and air mesh upper, EZ Slide feature combines the two smallest toes for easy wear, bungee with hook and loop closure at front and back for a secure fit, and a synthetic outsole with texture for traction.
The price is not too high, but I found only four styles are sold on amazon.
3. KK five fingers
KKFiveFingers.com is committed to provide a wide range of trendy and high quality Five Finger Shoes (for both men and women)at best price along with professional customer service. KK’s Five Finger Shoes are suitable for running, watersports, training, hiking, climbing, yoga and more. 60+ styles and affordable price.
Having run in Nike Free Flyknit for the past few years, I decided to switch to five finger shoes to see Are Five Finger Shoes Worth Buying?
So what did I make of Five Toe Shoes?
- More Grounded
Toe Shoes definitely makes you feel closer to the ground, on a trail I could feel every rock and that took a little getting used to.
I think that awareness helps improve your balance and posture, so my running form was probably much improved by switching to five finger shoes.
- Increased Flexibility
One of the really cool things about five finger shoes is that they help to increase your ankle, your foot and your toe flexibility.
When I first started to wear them, I felt like my feet were really stiff, but within a few weeks I’d gained more flexible.
- Foot Strength
Just like any other muscle in your body, you want your feet to be strong. Switching to minimalist running shoes allows your feet to move naturally, working muscles that aren’t used when you’re wearing traditional running shoes.
I felt that over a few weeks I gained strength in my feet and ankles which wasn’t there before.
- Comfort
I wasn’t sure what to expect from five finger shoes in terms of comfort, would having my toes in little pockets feel weird? But I found them to be very comfortable.
- Transitioning
five finger shoes work different muscles to your regular running shoes so transitioning takes time.
Five Toe Shoes recommend that a runner starts by only doing 10% of their running in five finger shoes and then build up over 13 weeks.
I was really surprised by the work it took to transition across and how sore these muscles that I hadn’t previously needed were as they built up.
Five Toe Shoes come in a variety of styles with the main difference being that some come with laces, some are more flexible than others and the thickness of the sole.
- The Bottom Line
If you are thinking about switching to barefoot running, then these shoes are certainly a brand worth looking at. They’re a great product, but you have to be willing to put the work in to transition successfully.
Have you tried these five toe shoes? These shoes are designed with individual slots for each toe, these shoes might strike you as slightly bizarre-looking at first, but once you get used to wearing them, they will make other shoes feel strange. I think you should know if five finger shoes are worth buying now.
Know more information about five finger shoes, checkout KK FIVE FINGERS.
