Mum is so excited!The super nice folks at Appalachian Outdoors, an online and brick & mortar store in State College, Pennsylvania, contacted us recently and wanted to know if we wanted to try out some of their products.
Mum went into action, checked out their site, and asked if we could try out some of the new Vibram FiveFingers shoes since she's been wanting a pair for a while now. They sent us a pair for free to try out and review!
So over the past couple of weeks Mum has been testing them out in various situations from running errands, to hiking with us, to a little trail and pasture running. And yesterday, she got to try them running both me and Gracie in agility! You can see her running in the blog post vids from practice yesterday.
She is loving them! Yes, it's true she's a FiveFingers convert now, just like several other agility and hiking friends we have.
At first Mum was wondering how she would feel about having individual slots for her toes, very surprisingly she says it feels great! Mum got the Vibram FiveFingers KSO Treks because they have a more solid suede upper and a nubby sole that would hold up and feel better in the different conditions that she encounters. She's really glad she picked this sturdier style.
One of the biggest questions folks ask is...don't the rocks, twigs, and debrise on the ground hurt her feet? Mum says that since the sole is so tough, she can feel the rocks and things, but it never has hurt her feet. She says she likes to feel what's beneath her feet and it kind of feels like a little massage, or like foot reflexology if you've ever heard of that. (She had a foot reflexologist work on her feet once, felt oooo so good!)
Mum says that it's really important to get a good fit with the FiveFingers. We didn't get the right size the first time we received these, but it was super inexpensive to ship them back ($4.95 with our USPS click & ship) and get the right size.
She had a difficult time getting on the ones that didn't fit, but when she got the right size, they slipped on just like gloves! Oh and if your second toe is longer than your first, you need to adjust the sizing for that as well.
So over the past couple of weeks Mum has been testing them out in various situations from running errands, to hiking with us, to a little trail and pasture running. And yesterday, she got to try them running both me and Gracie in agility! You can see her running in the blog post vids from practice yesterday.
She is loving them! Yes, it's true she's a FiveFingers convert now, just like several other agility and hiking friends we have.
At first Mum was wondering how she would feel about having individual slots for her toes, very surprisingly she says it feels great! Mum got the Vibram FiveFingers KSO Treks because they have a more solid suede upper and a nubby sole that would hold up and feel better in the different conditions that she encounters. She's really glad she picked this sturdier style.
One of the biggest questions folks ask is...don't the rocks, twigs, and debrise on the ground hurt her feet? Mum says that since the sole is so tough, she can feel the rocks and things, but it never has hurt her feet. She says she likes to feel what's beneath her feet and it kind of feels like a little massage, or like foot reflexology if you've ever heard of that. (She had a foot reflexologist work on her feet once, felt oooo so good!)
Here's a quick vid of one of our hikes with Mum wearing the FiveFingers:
Mum says that it's really important to get a good fit with the FiveFingers. We didn't get the right size the first time we received these, but it was super inexpensive to ship them back ($4.95 with our USPS click & ship) and get the right size.
She had a difficult time getting on the ones that didn't fit, but when she got the right size, they slipped on just like gloves! Oh and if your second toe is longer than your first, you need to adjust the sizing for that as well.Also, she says that she has weird ankles, sprained each of them at least two times in her life. She was very happy because she is turning her ankles a lot less with these because there's just less shoe to twist (if that makes sense). She also says that she is slipping on the trail less because of the grip on the bottom soles. But they are giving her more of a workout, that's for sure, you really need to break yourself into these.
We are so grateful to the folks at Appalachian Outdoors for providing us the shoes free of charge to try and test. You must stop by their store, they have a great selection of active gear for humans....everything from brands like North Face, Bogs, Columbia, Keen, Ice Trekkers, Patagonia, Smart Wool, Teva, Marmot, Merrell, and lots more. They even have a great selection of new styles of Life is Good! Mum wants one of these that says...Mountain Dog, :)!
Those shoes look really interesting. I'll have a look at the shop that sells them.
ReplyDeleteIve seen lots of agility people wearing these. When my ankle gets better Im going to try some too.
ReplyDeleteSomeone locally wear shoes like that. Honestly, they freak me out! Sorry, but they do!
ReplyDeleteThe first time I saw them I thought the poor woman had prosthetic feet.
But, I also have weird ankles (they occasionally just "go out" on me and I fall; my orthopedist says that my joints are all very loose) so I do like the idea of having less chance of twisting an ankle.
But I don't know if I'd like something between my toes. Plus, my toes are a little crooked - not gnarled and gross, but not straight either - so I don't think I'd fit into them well.
You made good points though, so I'm not as horrified by them as I once was. I might try them on to see how they feel. And I'll DEFINITElY check out Appalachian Outdoors, they sound awesome and it sounds like they carry a lot of products I could use. Thanks!