Thanks for the tip Pete!
I haven’t tried them yet but will as soon as I wear out my saucony grid type a6.
What I did try was cutting of the top of the toes and all the floppy zoidberg extra space from my vibrams. Then I tried a 7 mile run to work. Guess what – no probs. It felt so good I ran home in them too! Now I have my FREEBRAM FIVE TOES!!. And they breathe better too. I recommend trying this mod. I wish I could attach a pic but it seems it’s not possible.

Cheers.

Try the Mizuno Universe

A little late but,
dude you nailed it. I ran in my vibrams for a few months without problems. Then I went through this phase some experience when your feet get a bit longer. After that my left 2nd met was beeped. Then the right. I couldn’t figure out what was wrong. After a month without (yes, it sucked) running I started running in my old shoes (boring). No probs. Then I tried the vibrams again. Before 1k I had this problem again. Then I stumbled into a pair of saucony hattorI lc. No probs and they’re lighter than the vibrams! The sole is just a bit too thick for some runs. Does anyone have a suggestion for something similar to the hattori with thinner sole? I like’em light and zero drop.

Testing my memory, no idea where my Bikilas are! Pretty sure I took the same size in all Vibrams.

I feel similarly, not sure I find any benefit in toe pockets.

I’m about to become a newbie in barefoot running. I’m in the research process, and I thought Vibram Five Fingers were the only shoes that approached the bare-foot experience…

Since this is going to be my first experience, it’s probably that any pain, damage, blister, hurt, etc., that I will suffer I will think it was made because I’m a newcomer to this kind of running and that I have to adapt.

Now that I read your posts, I see that there are some models that causes pain, abrasion, blisters, etc…

What would you recommend to start running “almost barefoot”? I will want to know for sure that all the pain is for the transition to running “barefoot” and not because I chose a wrong model…
Your advise is very appreciated…
P.S. It doen’t have to be Vibram five fingers… any good brand.
Thanks!

Another thing I should mention after I got to thinking about it is that part of the offloading of the 1st met may take place because many of these shoes the sole is not present in the arch area and so there is a length fit with a width fit that has to be spot on or the shoe will push your foot one way or another. I find that with the Merrells and VFFs that my first met sits on the sole edge where it cuts in toward the arch and this seems to have the potential to push it toward the 2nd met a little and I think not allow it to load on the medial side as much as it does in other shoes not designed this way. I don’t think the suspended arch is the problem, it is the edge of the sole hitting my foot in the wrong spot (i.e. still touching part of my 1st met instead of completely behind it).

I bought a pair of Bikilas a few months ago that have since been relegated to yard-work shoes. More on that in a moment.

Prior to buying the Bikilas I seriously considered the original SeeYa but had serious reservations about the durability. They felt great on but seemed too flimsy to hold up. So, I bought the Bikilas instead.

When trying the SeeYa I was wearing a 41, and they seemed perfect. This in spite of most of my toes, first and second especially, touched the ends of the toe socks. When trying the Bikilas I was in a 42, which had a little more room but not a noticeable amount.

Having just worn through a pair of Trail Gloves I was not a newbie to minimalist shoes. Nonetheless, I chose to be conservative on my inaugural Bikila run and kept it to two miles. This was a good thing as by the end of the two miles I had a large blood-blister on the bottom of my left first toe. I had not had any such problem with the Trails Gloves.

After a few more short runs where my first toe continued to take abuse, plus general discomfort between the fourth and fifth toe on my right foot the shoes got relegated to the yard.

I struggle with the whole concept of individually wrapped toes. In my limited experience there is little flexibility for the toes to splay naturally, but for inside each toe sock. Ultimately I concluded my feet are just not built for 5 Fingers shoes.

It’s frustrating that abrasion is an issue in shoes like this since they are meant to be worn barefoot – not fun running in a shoe that tears into your skin.

—-
Pete Larson’s Web Links:
My book: Tread Lightly – http://ow.ly/bdUO0
Blog: https://runblogger.com
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I wasn’t crazy about the 233, the 155 is better in my opinion. The slope of the sole in the 233 felt weird to me.

—-
Pete Larson’s Web Links:
My book: Tread Lightly – http://ow.ly/bdUO0
Blog: https://runblogger.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/oblinkin
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Runbl…