Rubber bottom wearing out?

[supermario]

FYI.

Since I had Aqua Seal (neoprene/rubber repair glue for wetsuits) I tried that on the holes on the bottom of my pinky and next toes.  It failed. Quick.

About the running form reply that someone posted...  Wouldn't it be a good sign for your form if the VFF's were 'wearing' on the outer edge/forefoot/toes, but a bad sign of the quality of the sole if it wears out prematurely?  There is a lot of friction going on when your foot hits the ground.  You have a rubber sole hitting concrete/asphalt then pushing off in a split second...thousands of time.  Shouldn't the soles wear out at some point?  Car tires wear out and that's not a sign of bad driving... 

[theyurtingyeti]

In terms of the running, proper form does not have you pushing off with your feet. Forward momentum is created by the lean your body has (the lean forward almost as if you were falling over). In this case the shoes do nothing more than support your weight vertically which would not put as much stress on the shoe.

[supermario]

Sorry, but there is "push off" when we run.  If leaning forward was the how we propelled forward, then we would be Segways.  Ok, I don't want to argue--I want to post up that the Shoe Goo is failing.  Next, I think I may put a thin bike tube patch using the Shoe Goo to glue it on. I'm thinking the patch will not come off, but will probably be a matter of wearing thru again.

[taylordmd]

I tried using some contact cement that specified "for shoes" to glue bike tube patches onto my VFFs.  The bikila's patches came off in less than 4km, the KSO's lasted about 15km. Other suggestions?

[Hawkeye]

I tried using some contact cement that specified "for shoes" to glue bike tube patches onto my VFFs.  The bikila's patches came off in less than 4km, the KSO's lasted about 15km. Other suggestions?

Softstar runamocs.

[supermario]

I guess we could just let them wear thru all the way.  We would gradually get more and more used to our actual foot hitting ground and we'd be barefooting.   

[PopSmith]

Just thought I'd tune in on my similar experience. Sorry the post is a bit long!

I got my first pair of VFFs (KSOs) at the beginning of April and used them as my daily "shoes" after a week of transitioning from "regular" shoes. In addition to using them daily I did about a mile or two of running on concrete (the sidewalk) or asphalt every week with no real noticeable wear. To keep the smell from knocking someone out (!) I also usually washed them every other week with cold water and powder detergent in the washer. I never put anything else in the washer with them and I would just hang them up to dry.

Sadly, about two months ago I noticed the sole on both feet was really soft where the ball of my foot has been contacting the ground. The spot is between my big toe and the one next to it (on the ball of my foot). About a week later the soft spot became a dime-sized hole in both soles, then, around October 10th, I noticed (while running) that both holes had enlarged to about the size of a quarter.

I washed my (old) KSOs last night and went to REI today, exchanging my old ones for a brand-new pair. The soles on the new ones didn't look much different based on my quick side-by-side comparison. I showed the salesman my old (worn through) KSOs and he said he'd never seen someone wear through a Vibram sole like that.    As for the new pair, I'll have to double-check the sole thickness tomorrow to make sure they're OK before I actually use them.

As a bit of a side note, I jogged barefoot around my neighborhood and noticed that my body seems "trained" from wearing the VFFs to strike the spot were my KSOs wore out instead of a heel-strike. With the exception of the holes in the ball area both shoes showed very little wear despite me using them daily, maybe that means I was striking that same spot while both walking and running? While I'd much rather go through VFFs than develop bad knees from a nasty heel-strike I'm hoping a bit longer barefoot run I'm planning on doing tomorrow can help me see if my stride changes itself when I'm barefoot so I don't ruin my replacement KSOs quite as quickly.

It's too bad that society doesn't currently "accept" being barefoot, for the most part. I do love my VFFs but it's going to annoy me if I'm having to replace them every six months. I would really love just going barefoot, in most situations, hopefully a best-selling book will appear soon so being barefoot almost anywhere starts becoming more widely accepted.  

[helgatheviking]

I realized that i had a hole in my toe rubber after about 100 days.  classic, post-warranty failure.  might have been a little earlier, but i didn't notice b/c i don't wear them all the time.  i barely ran in them, used them more for walking and not even that much at that.  i've continued to wear them and now have 2 other spots that are 'thin' and will be holes soon.  that is ridiculous.  you can't charge $80 for shoes and have the soles wear through in 3 months!  every time people ask me about them i tell them how much i love being barefoot, but with shoes.  or how i dont get foot pain after a lot of walking.  btu now i think i will have to tell them beware, barefoot is great, but these shoes fall apart. 

very, very disappointed.

[Hawkeye]

I realized that i had a hole in my toe rubber after about 100 days.  classic, post-warranty failure.  might have been a little earlier, but i didn't notice b/c i don't wear them all the time.  i barely ran in them, used them more for walking and not even that much at that.  i've continued to wear them and now have 2 other spots that are 'thin' and will be holes soon.  that is ridiculous.  you can't charge $80 for shoes and have the soles wear through in 3 months!  every time people ask me about them i tell them how much i love being barefoot, but with shoes.  or how i dont get foot pain after a lot of walking.  btu now i think i will have to tell them beware, barefoot is great, but these shoes fall apart. 

very, very disappointed.

Did you get the "too thin toes" defect? That defect is when the rubber on the toes are only about 1mm thick instead of 3mm. The toes would be super flexible.

[helgatheviking]

idk.  i'd have to look at them closely, but i sent them home since it is too cold to wear them where i live now.  but i dont remember the toes being super flexible... however, my toes (being somewhat crooked) didn't fit especially well into the toe pockets.

[dimini]

My experience with VFF is that quality control is so bad, I have never owned a pair long enough to show any sole wear.  I'm waiting for my 3rd KSO warranty replacements.  The concept of VFF is great, but the 2010 production reality is HORRIBLE.  I was unaware that among the myriad VFF defects, there are also thin-soled culprits out there.  Amazing.  This is from a company who has made the soles for nearly every hiking boot for the past 3 or 4 decades!  Why can't they friggen figure it out with VFFs?

Ranting aside, I would expect KSO's to wear quickly if used for running on pavement because they have ultra soft soles, which like high-performance car tires, do not last like daily driver tires do.  Its the super supple soles of the KSO that makes them my favorite all-round VFF-if only I can get my hands on a pair without defective stitching.

I'm new to VFFs and to actual bare foot running, having only begun in August 2010.  I typically warm up in VFFs and then take them off and run barefoot.  There's a huge loss of sensory input while wearing VFFs and I find myself either scuffing or shuffling at times in VFFs.  I take off the VFFs and the form improves dramatically, instantly, because my bare feet won't let me use bad technique, which would otherwise go undetected until eventually looking at the soles of my VFFs to find holes worn through--but that's not been a  problem for me  since my KSO's stitching blows out well before the soles show any wear.

[barefootin]

I know I'm tagging onto a pretty old post here but felt the need.  Yes VFF seems to be having some QC issues....  BUT a lot of people are trying to use them as conventional footware.  If you are going to wear barefoot "foot coverings" then you need to walk or run in them like you are barefoot.  If your conventional footwear is worn in places expect the same and worse with the VFF's.  It is a mindset and physical change, but it essential to reap the benefits and see what their product can do.  I only wear VFF's.  My Grey Palms (my favorites) are well over a year old and have many miles of running (road and trail) on them but except for the fabric pulling away from the sole at my second toes they still look new and have very little even sole wear.  All 3 pairs of my Trek's are about a year old and have little to no wear on the soles either.  These are my everyday shoes and a pair that are my yard shoes.  It's in how you plant your foot and learning proper barefoot technique.  I have over 30 outdoor miles and many treadmill miles on a pair of Injinji socks (yes socks) that I run in when the temps are under 36F and above the upper 20's before I'm forced to put the VFF's on.  They aren't worn through either.  If a person can run barefoot (me and many more expierienced than me) without wearing off the skin on the bottom of our feet running mile after mile, that same form will cause little to no wear on the sole either.