Kevin's KSO Vibram Five Fingers and a Pregnant Lori gets Comfy in Classics

By Justin Owings on Jun 10, 2009 | In user stories | 4 comments »

In the mailbag from Kevin (KoffeeKev in the birthday shoes / five fingers forum) comes a few photos of black KSO Vibram five fingers, grey KSOs and Injinji socks, as well as a couple shots of Kevin's pregnant sister-in-law Lori, who is wearing the lilac five finger Classics. Here's what Kevin had to say about the shots:

[My sister-in-law] Lori loves her shoes and wanted a pair from the first time she saw mine ... so I finally bought her a pair. Bob is my wife's brother and Lori is his wife ... She really does love them.

The wearing out of my black kso's is all over. The straps are deteriorating near the loops on the sides. The velcro is starting to fall apart. The soles behind my outer toes (pinky and ring) are worn smooth. This is all good because the shoes get thinner and more comfortable with each passing day. I will be disappointed when they finally blow through. The new kso's seem much more rigid and thick. I don't know if it's my imagination or someting to do with the gray rubber compound. We'll see as they break in.

I think I bought the first pair about this time last year and the kso's a couple of months later. I wore them all through the winter, not to work but just about everywhere else. The only weather I didn't take them out in was wet snow and puddles and long outdoor outings. I'm not a winter sportsman so it wasn't a problem. I did get caught a couple of times with soaked, frozen feet. Not fun.

Kevin also posted in the forum that both of his black KSOs weigh a full ounce less than when he bought them due to the lost rubber from wear-and-tear.

My wife is about 32 weeks pregnant and has had a bit of foot swelling, so I've been trying to figure out if VFFs would be a good way to make her feet more comfortable (And thus be the tipping point to get her to finally get some!). Thus, I asked Kevin if Lori had experienced any of the same, but she hadn't (You're lucky, Lori!). My worry on the Classics and swollen feet would be that the elastic would feel tight and uncomfortable.

Any other pregnant VFFers out there care to opine on swelling feet and Vibrams?

About the Author — I founded BirthdayShoes.com in April 2009 on realizing just how much I enjoyed having "free feet" - I mostly wanted to use them for weights, sprints, and plyometrics (I'm not much of a runner!). I'm a Googler by day and minimalist footwear aficionado by night; you can find me 'round Atlanta. If you want to catch up with what I'm doing outside of the site here, follow me on twitter @bdayshoes or @justinno or check out my personal site JustinOwings.com.
has written 712 articles and 260 comments.
Tags: black kso, classic, kso, work

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« Something's Missing on these Vibram Five Finger Classics ..."Improv'ing" your health with Kilts, and Five Comedians in Vibram Five Fingers »
Comment from: Megg [Visitor] Email
MeggDid you get any feedback for your wife? Came across your post when looking at five fingers -- I'm 24 weeks pregnant and curious about the fit.
06/07/10 @ 21:07
Comment from: Maddona Person [Visitor]
Maddona PersonI know whats it is like to not know i was pregnant back last july i was diagnosed premature ovarionfailure
07/25/10 @ 17:19
Comment from: Josephine [Visitor]
JosephineI can't speak to the swelling feet but I am almost five months pregnant with twins and have been running daily in my KSO's. I've had them for over a year and have worn them in every season and every weather condition from blizzards to sleet to rain storms. I love them! I ran through my first pregnancy as well and wish I had had Five Fingers then. I feel great, am strong and fit, and as light on my feet as I can be with two babies inside!:) No injuries and no complaints- only obsessive, raving praise! I wish I could share some photos of my big belly and crazy feet!
01/31/11 @ 19:19
Comment from: heterosexual woman in comfortable shoes :) [Visitor]
heterosexual woman in comfortable shoes :)this comment was posted a while back, but I'd still like to comment. I recently purchased a black pair of kso's. I went to a store to try them on, and all the ladies sizes were too small or in a color that i wasn't too fond of. i ended up trying on a man's pair and they fit great. well, it turns out that they are a size too big. I am only noticing that now after owning about a month and wearing to the gym. I just noticed yesterday that my foot was sliding forward a bit, but it wasn't bothersome and it forced me to concentrate more on balancing - not a bad thing. But anyway, when I first got them I wore them all day for two days, on the third day I lounged around barefoot all day and towards the evening when I went to put them on I felt like my feet were swollen and they were tight. This problem went away after about an hour or so. They didn't hurt, they just felt extra snug. And oddly enough, the longer I wore them, the more comfy my foot got, like the swelling was going down. I would recommend that if you have issues with swelling, or are pregnant, that you get a shoe that's 1 size bigger. The kso might be a bit bothersome for a pregnant woman, but even 1 size larger in the classic would be ok because you can adjust the band. And yes I know because I am now the proud owner of 3 classics and 1 kso ... but that's a story for another blog post.
10/14/11 @ 08:47