Just bought new VFF KSO right pinky toe pain

[3rdiguy]

I'm wondering if the pain is a result of my toes being used to being cramped in socks and mono-toe shoes for so long? I got the perfect size(40). Today is my first day wearing them and I wore them for a few hours right out of the store after purchase. Any tips or feedback?

[Mr. Leigh]

I too am a M40 in my KSO.  When I first got them, I thought I was not going to be able to wear them because the pain was so bad in both pinky toes, with the right one being the worst.  I actually boxed them up and put them in the closet for over a year.  I tried Fila Skeletoes as a solution, because they offer a combined fourth and fifth toe pocket.  This did the trick as far as alleviating my pinky toe pain, however I soon discovered that the Skeletoes were by no means a barefoot shoe.  I returned them and decided to give the KSO another try.  I wore them around the house on carpet and took them off momentarily whenever the pain became unbearable.  Sometimes just taking them off and putting them back on was enough of an adjustment to provide relief.  Soon, within a month or two I'd say, my feet adapted and I can now wear my VFFs without discomfort.  I have KSO, Classics and Speeds and none of them give me any trouble.  I think if you can push through the pain, your feet will adapt and get used to being spread out.  Prior to wearing VFFs, my pinky toes were nestled tightly to their neighboring toes.  Now, they splay out some and are not bothered by the fabric between the toes of the VFFs.

[burdger]

I had the same problem with my pinky toes when I first got my KSO's.  I followed everything I've read about the shoes, and when they would start to hurt, I would reluctantly switch to my Nikes (Yes, for a while I kept my other shoes with me everywhere I wore my KSO's).  Over time my feet became adjusted to them, and now I wear my KSO's full time and haven't had any pinky toe pain at all.

[Hawkeye]

I still have pinky toe pain after a while in my black classics and I've had them for years. I think my pinky toes are big or something because when my feet swell, they're the first to hurt in their toe pockets. They hurt less in my stormy sea classics, but those are bigger anyway.

You get use to them or you can stretch the pocket out with some heat and pulling.

[acc]

My left foot has the same issue: the pinky toe likes to rest against the 4th toe unless I am walking barefoot. After a few days of wearing the KSOs it stretched (along with the KSOs themselves) and is straighter. I read somewhere that if your pinky toe is stiff even when you try to manipulate it away from your 4th toe it's more than a temporary discomfort and you shouldn't wear VFFs.

You could get one of those toe spreaders (see http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&rh=n%3A11063691&page=1) to train your pinky toe (when not wearing KSOs) to stay put though.

I think the good determining factor is your pinky toe flexibility. If it hurts to move it away from the rest of your toes, it likely is a bad idea to wear the VFFs unless you use the web toe modification or unite the 4th and pinky toe ala Skeletoes (which suck because there's no flexibility for thee toes; I wore them in Modell's and I couldn't believe people compared them to VFFs).

I don't know your foot shape, but if your pinky toe is longer than the toe pocket and is rubbing against the rubber tip, that could be a problem. You could try these mods if you're not worried about ruining the VFFs: http://birthdayshoes.com/got-morton-s-toe-lengthen-your-vibram-five-fingers-second-toe-with-this-mod

If your pinky toe is webbed you could try: http://birthdayshoes.com/fivefingers-for-webbed-toes-how-about-vibram-four-fingers-mod

When I wore an over-sized Bikila in the running store, the saleslady told me many customer have the same issue as I did where the pinky toe and/or 4th toe don't reach the end of the toe pocket. I then bought a size smaller in KSOs from a different store.

[Paleo_geek]

I just bought my first pair of VFFs, Bikilas, and I'm having the same problem. Otherwise, I totally love them and want to get like eight more pairs!!! Hoping the Bikilas stretch a little and also that my pinky toe gets rid of it's separation anxiety...