Vibram FiveFingers Sprint - Men's (FREE SHIPPING)

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• ASIN: B002CJWXOS
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Over one year's use of the Vibram FiveFingers, January 4, 2010

By 

P. Scott Cummins "spumonibiscotti" (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Vibram FiveFingers Sprint - Men's (FREE SHIPPING)

I have been running in Vibram FiveFingers Sprint footwear for over one year now, and my opinion of these strange and amazing glove-socks continues to grow. First, my regular running course is just over five hilly miles of Seattle sidewalk and trail, five days per week. That's a lot of mileage. And they are holding up incredibly well, not needing replacement yet - but the KSO Trek does have my attention.

When I bought them I had been out of running for almost two years with achilles pain. My MD had recommended surgery. My wife instead recommended her acupuncturist, over time I got good results with that (and some other modalities) and after doing a lot of walking, was ready to get back to running.

I heard about the barefoot running movement, picked up Christopher McDougall's book Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen, did my research and learned more about improving all kinds of medical issues in the feet/ankles, low back, etc. through better running posture - and decided to give the Vibram product a shot. I also ordered the injinji Performance Mini Crew Toesocks - they make getting into the Vibram's a bit more of a process, but I look on it as an opportunity to massage the feet and toes in preparation for the run. They work very well together as a system - helping keep debris out of the footbed. I have actually never had to stop and remove a twig or pebble when wearing them together. It can happen when wearing the FiveFingers Sprint on their own. I understand that Vibram's new KSO Trek model is a big improvement on this issue.

Following the instructions from Vibram, I started out walking in them. Then bit by bit added more running into the outings. Soon I was "really" running for the first time, and found out that what people were talking about was true. Here's the big point about this footwear: it will get you into a better (and far more efficient) posture while running than you have ever experienced - "high and flying" like Kip Keino. Its a liberating feeling. I quickly realized that the heel strike from a normal running shoe requires more energy output. I'm now running faster, and feeling cooler, because of the efficiencies netted from the Vibram's ability to let me run like I'm barefoot.

Here's one other observation: it turns out that the foot is an amazing thing. I find that when stepping on a pebble, or into a hole (or some other inperfection), my foot knows how to adapt to that, even while running. We've got inertial dampening capabilities in our feet and legs which standard running shoes prevent and the FiveFingers completely allow. Early in my use of these glove-socks I was very concerned that stepping on something was going to be, well, a BIG problem. Gradually I have learned that this is not a major issue - more like a non-issue for me. No blisters, no bruises - just normal conditioning soreness (particularly in the bottom of the feet and back of the calf). I have several pairs of standard name-brand running shoes - in order to protect the foot the tendency has been to raise the heels in these shoes with more and more cushioning - to the point where traditional running shoes can actually feel "tippy" in the heel when running on trails and uneven terrain. If anything, then, it is standard running shoes which are the hazardous footwear - not the Vibram FiveFingers! So yes, I have gone from highly skeptical, to highly enthusiastic. Give them a try. Just keep your iPod on while running, people are going to want to stop you with "what's that?" questions. Just smile, and run!

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inexperienced runner's perspective, November 22, 2009

By 

MRM (Brooklyn NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Vibram FiveFingers Sprint - Men's (FREE SHIPPING)

Most of the people who get these (or start running barefoot) are already experienced runners. I on the other hand am a fairly inexperienced runner who has tried at several points over my life to begin a running program, but have always stopped because I found jogging or running for any extended period uncomfortable and difficult. This may have had something to do with my form or stride but was difficult to identify specifically. I just chalked it up to a personal distaste for running.

However, the idea of running barefoot or near-barefoot, when I first heard that people did it, immediately struck me in an intuitive way as offering more comfort. It's what I did all the time as a kid and just seemed freer and less constricted, like running in shorts for the first time might feel to someone who's always run in long pants. After doing some research on the barefoot experience (see New York Magazine article, New York Times article, Runners World forum), I decided to try the Vibram Sprint as a practical alternative to running totally barefoot, which I think is impractical in the middle of a dense and dirty city (despite the efforts of some in the online community to convince people otherwise).

My intuition about the comfort level of barefoot/minimalist running proved to be correct. Since using the Vibram Sprint (for about a month and a half now), I have finally been able to get into a regular running program and look forward to my runs. I used to associate running with repetitive and jarring pounding, because that's how it felt with shoes. Running with the Vibrams, you feel instead as if you're leaping gracefully from foot to foot, and softly landing after each fluid stride. I no longer feel the impact up my entire body - my chest and back don't hurt, as they used to, and at top speed, I feel I can't go further only because of my lung and heart capacity, not because I can't take the pounding (another change from before). Finally, I came to appreciate the incredibly strong natural springiness of my foot arch, something I never experienced in shoes. I run faster than I did in regular running shoes.

The negatives for me were only as follows: the first run felt heavenly, but the aftermath was murder. I think my calves were more sore than any muscle in my body had ever been in my life (and I lifted weighted for many years). In addition, after my run, I felt a deep painful soreness in a single tendon under my foot (the peroneal, I believe, based on internet search). That was for about a week, and during that time, I didn't run again. However, I couldn't wait to come back, hooked on the great feeling of freedom during the first run, and after a few more runs, my landings grew steadily more graceful, the foot soreness didn't come back, my calves became better conditioned, and the arches in my feet have grown stronger. The ultimate experience made these negatives definitely worth bearing.

I would echo other reviewers that these should be tried in a store before purchasing. I have no problem putting these on, despite some reviewers saying it takes them a while to get all their toes in, so I would say that just depends on the person. The shoes, though minimalist, seem reasonably durable, with no visible wear after several runs.

In general, the Vibram Sprints are an awesome intro for beginners to running who think the barefoot or near-barefoot experience may be what it takes to get them started.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Comfortable, cool, weird, great..., August 12, 2009

By 

A. Getchell (North Carolina) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Vibram FiveFingers Sprint - Men's (FREE SHIPPING)

Just purchased these running shoes, and I've done about 10 miles of trial running in them so far. The fit is very tight, but very comfortable. I was worried that I would get blisters at first, because you don't wear socks, but I didn't. You will feel the texture of whatever you are running across, but they protect your feet from the smaller sharper objects that you would normally feel. You will feel every heal strike or root that your foot lands if. They will quickly teach to you adapt your running technique to what some of the articles I've read say is a more healthier natural way to run.

The cool thing about these shoes though is that you can run in the rain/mud/water and they are not effected at all, and don't hold water the way a normal running shoe would. I often Kyak to my favorite trail running location and I love these shoes because I can get my feet wet and the shoes don't care in the least bit, and they don't bother your feet. I fully expected to get blisters from wearing them, but have found them comfortable in all conditions. If you get sand in them, it can be a little irritating while your running and the only easy way to get the sand out is blow it out with compressed air or find the nearest creek or washing machine to drop them in. When I get home from a muddy run, I just through them in with my next load of laundry.

Finally, don't expect to take off running in these shoes and do 15 miles to start with. You will need to build up the mileage you run in them, because your calves are not strong enough unless you've spent your days running in the sand at the beach barefoot.