Another fit question (VFF Speed)

[Clambake]

Hi all--

I have been reading about VFFs for a while, and figured I would head over REI today and try some out.  I wasn't totally certain about fit and the employees were not particularly helpful, so I decided to hold off on my purchase.

The first thing I noticed when I tried them on is that my toes did not want to sit well in the toe pockets.  Rather, they kind of pressed up against one side or the other.  Does this get better when the VFFs break in?  Or will my toes adjust to the toe pockets over time?

Second, the rubber sole that wraps around the front of the toe pockets seemed to kind of wrap on top.  Bad fit, or do you just get used to it?

And lastly, there was a lot of room in some of my toes (but the big toe fit fine).  I assume this is not a problem?

To summarize, I basically would like to know if the general discomfort goes away with use.  Will my feet adjust to the VFFs / the VFFs to my feet?

Sorry for being so "noobish".  Thanks in advance!

[UberC5]

All of what you described is fairly normal.  Your toes will definitely adjust over time and spread to fill the toe pockets.  The toe rubber does go over the top of the toe.  I have a slight Morton's Toe(2nd toe longer then big toe) so my length is based on fitting that toe vs the big toe.

I think you might be trying on "too much" shoe.  Start with some KSO's.  Get used to the whole VFF feel at a much lower price.  To me, the Bikila sole(Speed) is a bit more specialized, as it almost forces the outer toes to be higher off the ground at rest(I think to keep them out of the way when running) and thus you need to have more experience with VFF's in general to pick out whether the Bikila/Speed fits right.  Try on some KSO's at REI, get your size, and then order from one of the super deals that are available on the web right now.

VFF is an acquired taste.  It took me quite a while to go from my first pair of KSO's to my next pair of KSO Treks.  Then within 3 months I'm up to 6 pairs.

Start slow, grasshopper

[acc]

You might want to start barefooting more before getting VFFs (in and around the house and indoors).

When I started wearing my KSOs I had been running on the beach barefoot semiregularly and walked around barefoot in my house for ages. Still, my pinky toe (like many other people's) needed to adapt