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Bikila EVO, KSO Evo, Spyridon MR FiveFingers!

It’s that time again?time for the latest and great Vibram FiveFingers to hit the market.

The Spring 2014 Vibram FiveFingers introduce the “EVO” line by way of the Bikila EVO and the KSO EVO. The Bikila EVO has a brand new sole structure that is built…

It’s that time again—time for the latest and great Vibram FiveFingers to hit the market. You can find them for sale here. Via Travel Country (Read to the “Bonus” below for a code to get a gift card!)

Bikila EVO and KSO EVO

This is the men's Bikila EVO FiveFingers in screaming blue and neon yellow.
This is the men’s Bikila EVO FiveFingers in screaming blue and neon yellow.
The Spring 2014 Vibram FiveFingers introduce the “EVO” line by way of the Bikila EVO and the KSO EVO. The Bikila EVO has a brand new sole structure that is built off a platform of EVA with pods of Vibram rubber. Tim has already done us a favor and reviewed the Bikila EVO FiveFingers here (If you’ve not yet seen it in detail). And thanks to the fact that the already-released Youth EL-X LS that hit last year, we’ve also gotten a fantastic review of what we can expect from the KSO EVO (Read that review here).
This is the men's KSO EVO FiveFingers in black, which if you'll recall was the most popular KSO color of all time for men.
This is the men’s KSO EVO FiveFingers in black, which if you’ll recall was the most popular KSO color of all time for men.

Spyridon MR

Vibram has replaced the original Spyridon LS with the Spyridon MR. It’s not fundamentally unlike the original Spyridon LS but the Spyridon MR removes some of the excess paint that covered the insoles. It’s a nice improvement if you ask me.
This is the men's Spyridon MR FiveFingers in olive green.
This is the men’s Spyridon MR FiveFingers in olive green.

Women’s Vi-B

Also, you’ll find that Vibram has put out a women’s-only VFF called the “Vi-B” that has the “maxfeel” sole and a super airy upper—thanks both to the holey fabric and the “Classic” cut.
Above is the women's Vi-B FiveFingers.
Above is the women’s Vi-B FiveFingers.
Again, you can find all of the above* in men’s and women’s sizes for sale at the following links: BONUS: TravelCountry looks like they are offering a $20 gift card for every $100 spent that you can use on a future purchase. The coupon code is “GiftMe” and eligible dollars towards meeting the threshhold come from regular price merchandise. Since all the 2014 FiveFingers are regular price, if you were to get the Bikila EVOs, for example, you’d get that $20 eGift card for some future purchase. * excepting the women’s Bikila EVO, which hasn’t shown up anywhere yet.

By Justin

Justin Owings is a deadlifting dad of three, working from Atlanta. When he's not chasing his three kids around, you'll find him trying to understand systems, risk, and human behavior.

14 replies on “Bikila EVO, KSO Evo, Spyridon MR FiveFingers!”

The women’s Spyridon MRs are gorgeous. Way better looking than the olive green men’s. Really like those all black KSO EVOs for men as well. They look beyond comfortable and very sleek

M50?! Those are some crazy big feet. I guess basketball players are actually starting to wear these shoes!

I just checked the Vibram site, they are indeed showing M38s and M39s for some styles of the Bikila and KSO EVO. Sadly, nothing below an M40 for the Spyridon MR, but I’m not grumbling. The W40 in the Spyridon MR comes in a nice black version! 🙂

Time to start saving…

Do you know what the sizing is like on the women’s Vi-B? It looks like Vibram hasn’t updated their sizing chart to include it.

We just donned our Spyridon MRs — mine in the military green and my wife’s in intense blue. They are fitting well, though my wife struggled getting them on due to her high arches and the very limited opening afforded by the short, (captured), laces.
On mine I hadn’t expected the panels on both sides, below the ankle, to be such an oddly different shade of green from the muted green covering most of the shoe. I imagine that it’s supposed to reflect the little flecks of the same brighter and more saturated green on the tops of the toes, but I find it jarring. The color matching is much better for all the other colorways, men’s and women’s.
Slightly disappointing is the lack of a bellows on the tongue. A shoe billed as a mud runner should incorporate features to keep out mud rather than inviting it in. As I recall this was one reason that I never purchased the laced version of the earlier version of the Spyridon, instead opting for the version with the velcro closure.

We just took our new Spyridon MRs on our most challenging local hike – five miles each way on a mountain path with a thin layer of coarse sand covering a steep hard surface (grade exceeding 20% in places). Going downhill on this hike is sometimes scary because it is easy to go into an uncontrolled slide. This is what we’d experienced that last few times wearing either the KSO Trek or a worn pair of the Spyridon.
This time, with the new Spyridon MR, downhill was very secure. We never felt that the shoes would start to slide.
I hope this sense of security lasts for a while. I don’t know if it’s due to having new shoes, with new lugs on the soles that bite into the surface, getting below the layer of slippery sand, or if the compound from which the soles are manufactured has more grip.
I’ve looked at Vibram’s descriptions of their compounds and I am left confused. Most of their FiveFinger soles, except for watersport models, have used a rubber that they call TC-1. The Spyridon, by contrast, has had something called XS Trek. This has held for the original Spyridon, the Spyridon LS, and, in the spring/summer 2014 catalog, the Vibram MR. To confuse the issue, in the fall 2014 catalog, the compound is listed as MegaGrip. TC-1 goes away, and most other models get the XS Trek compound. It’s impossible to know if this is just the marketing department playing games with names or if these are actual changes in the compounds used in the soles. If it’s an actual change, then I wonder if the soles on our pairs of the Spyridon MR have the XS Trek compound or the Megagrip.
On a web posting of their sole compounds, http://www.vibram.com/index.php/us/B2B/Technology/Mescole,
Vibram indicates that TC-1 is a “production compound” of XS Trek. This indicates to me that nothing has likely changed except the label. But Megagrip does seem to be a new compound, which might or might not have already made it’s way to the current Spyridon MR.

Vibram totally lost it. Barely any classic colors anymore and now laces everywhere. And Five Fingers look horrible with laces. So far, the EL-X might be the last model I bought.

I know i’m an odd one, but it really wish they would resume releasing classic-styled vffs for men. This is the second generation that i’ll be skipping because the style(s) i really want has been slated for women only, and they don’t make them big enough for me to wear.

I just got a pair of black Spyridon MR in size 43 (same as my green Spyridon LS).

These things seem shorter than my 43 Green LS ones. All my toes are up against the bump guards & not in a gentle way. I just put in for a pair of 44s to see how they fit.

The speed laces are also way to short & make the MRs tight on my foot with the laces set to max length (with the clip up against the suede velcro patch).

I’ll probably be hacking these to use Keen bungee laces like I did my LS 43s when I find the right size.

AGAIN Vibram is not making open five fingers for guys.
I love my classics but they are running out.

this SUCKS! really. those are my favourite shoes.
expecially in spring and summer.
also indoors or for training in winter.

but vibram has some clever maketing guys that tell them they are to feminine and men were sweaty closed up shoes.
the Vi-B are interesting but again for women only.

WHY? I kept my first classics until the sole had holes.
I patched them and ran until they fell appart.

so I am going to buy chinese fakes.
I have no other choice.
what shall I do?

My Fivefingers Speed XCs are wearing out(I bought them at the end of October 2012),and I’d like to find a newer waterproof pair of FiveFingers.

(I think Vibram discontinued the Speed XC.)

Are there any 2014 model Fivefingers that are waterproof,like my old Speed XCs?

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