Kick Back and Relax! Hammock-time in KSO Vibram Five Fingers

By Justin Owings on Mar 13, 2010 | In User Stories | Leave a comment »

Josh kicks back and relaxes with his son on his hammock in his black KSO Vibram Five Fingers.

Vibram Five Fingers fan and black KSO VFF wearer Josh sent in the above photo capturing a moment of relaxation on a warm Texas day in February on Josh's ENO Hammock.

Apart from being able to kick back and relax on a hammock in his Vibram Five Fingers, Josh has found he has a hard time taking these "barefoot shoes" off (because they're so comfortable, of course!). Here's Josh on his black KSO Five Fingers:

Justin,

I've been enjoying all the pictures, reviews, and comments you send out regularly regarding VFF's and figured it was time I contributed too.

I originally heard about VFF's reading Tim Ferriss' review on them and started to research them. I've always been a big Vibram fan since they supply the soles for many of the hiking boots or Chaco's I've owned and after reading about the barefoot study they did regarding the damage shoes can do to your feet (looking at those black and white pictures of native's feet compared to dress shoe wearing "western" feet was really eye opening!) I knew I had to get some.

After getting turned on to the VFF's I learned about barefoot running and the book "Born to Run" and started to research that. I did probably months of researching (or maybe "daydreaming" is a better way to put it!) off and on and was trying to convince my wife that spending $80+ on a weird pair of shoes like this was REALLY going to be good for me. I finally was able to score a pair off of a relative that worked at an outdoor store at a discount, so it made the financial sting a little less.

So I got these originally for running since I needed a good excuse to spend the money, but quickly have found that I have a hard time taking them off! I had knee surgery several years ago (ACL replacement) and running with shoes is kind of hit or miss for me. Sometimes I'm fine, but other times my knee is in so much pain I can hardly even walk without a limp. I have found that the stride adjustment from barefoot running or running in my VFF's has really helped. Yeah, I did deal with the "calf burn", but it wasn't anything compared to the knee pain I had before.

As I said before, I have a hard time taking them off, so I've been using them for almost any activity I can think of:

Running
Doing errands/shopping
Yard Work (they were AWESOME when it came time to clean the gutters. I felt like spider-man on my roof!)
Work
Church
and so much more! I can't wait to use them on the boat this summer.

My 2 year old son calls them "daddy's silly shoes" and my wife, though she still thinks they are ugly as all get out and can't believe I need to spend $10 on a pair of socks to wear with them (Injinji's), has started to take the barefoot thing more seriously. They are super comfortable and I'm sure as spring and summer are upon us I will wear them more and more. The only discomfort I have found is (1) cold weather, (2) and (3) my right pinky toe is a little out of wack and I've had a few times where it will actually slip out of the toe pocket if my Vibram Five Fingers catch on something and once the other day it actually started to cramp up on me a bit, but this was the only time I've had that cramping issue. Most of the time I don't even think of them being on my feet.

I have black KSO Vibram Five Fingers and I've actually found that most people don't catch that I'm wearing them, but every once in a while I will get comments on them — mostly positive ones asking what they are and where they can get them (and if they come in different colors). I'm sure that once I start wearing shorts for the summer people will notice more.

I'm excited to try some more of the VFF line and also some of the other "barefoot" shoes I've found on line and through this blog.

Josh

There are so many applications for Vibram Five Fingers apart from their obvious benefits for running, walking, and general fitness. And maybe I'm just too close to the subject, but I'm starting to hear more and more VFF fans talking about wearing their Vibram Five Fingers all the time to run errands, go to work, or even go to church (Sometimes the latter two at the same time!). By the way, for slightly dressier black KSO Five Fingers, check out Tim Butterfield's dress mode mod!

Josh, here's hoping you convince your significant other to pick up a pair, soon! I'm confident that once she gets them on and experiences being so close to barefoot while outdoors, she'll surely be a convert! Hey, Mother's Day is coming up — Vibram Five Fingers might be the perfect gift for the skeptical mom out there!

Thanks for sharing!

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.
Justin Owings+ has written 754 articles and 302 comments.