Trekking through New York City in Vibram Five Fingers KSO Treks

By Britt on Mar 15, 2011 | In User Stories | 5 comments »

Paul and Mallory
Paul and Mallory in the Big Apple.

Mallory and Paul recently traveled to New York City in their new Vibram Five Fingers KSO Treks and sent us the following report:

A few months back my friend Paul introduced me to the wonderful world of barefoot running. He and I were planning a week trip to NYC and decided we wanted to do the whole trip in our VFF. The pair I had been running in were Sprints but my friend decided for the amount of walking we’d be doing we should get some Treks. We were surprised, being in one of the largest cities in the world, how many people asked us about them. Everyone from tour guides and other tourists to the locals in the subways were asking us about them. Whenever we’d catch people watching our shoes, but for whatever reason didn’t want to ask us about them, we would give them a "show." We’d wiggle our toes around or lift our feet up so they could see the bottoms. Once, to the delight of a man visiting The Statue of Liberty, I picked up a piece of trash of the ground with my toes and dropped it in a trashcan. The Treks ended up being perfect for our trip. I only wished I’d have conditioned the bottoms of my feet a bit more before we left due to the amount of cement pounding we did each day. Our last day there we went for a run through Central Park, a perfect way to end the week. The VFFs not only made our feet lighter and packing lighter, but also helped us meet a few friends along the way.

Thanks for letting me share!

Mallory

Thank you Mallory!

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About the Author — Hailing from College Station, Texas (Home to Texas A&M!), I grew up running cross country. Believe it or not, I gave Justin the name for this site back in early 2009 but I didn't jump on the toe shoes bandwagon until a year later.
Britt has written 162 articles and 67 comments.
Tags: kso trek

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Comment from: Ghost [Visitor]
GhostGrat story and great way to see NYC!

I too have a habit of wiggling my toes or something when I see someone eyeing my VFF's...I guess I'm still in the honeymoon phase with my VFF's that I like the attention they bring. I really get attention when I have my red remix KSO or orange Treksports...I can only imagine when I start wearing my new yellow/black Komodosports!

03/15/11 @ 14:24
Comment from: Jeff [Visitor]
JeffGreat picture and great fun. Looks and curiosity over your VFF in New York is something. Sounds like you enjoyed not only wearing you Treks but using them as a way to start a conversation and meet people. I can understand your feet must have been a little exhausted after long days and many miles walking through New York. I am not sure if I would not have wanted to have put on some shoes with a little more cushion to them for part of the days.
03/16/11 @ 11:21
Comment from: Brian [Visitor]
BrianHey, I live in New York and don't wear anything but VFFs--and sometimes Vivo Barefoot shoes. No cushioning needed.

Anyway...glad you had a good time.
03/17/11 @ 21:38
Comment from: kt [Visitor]
ktI also wear my VFFs every day in NYC whenever it's warmer than 50F and not going to rain (comon, I want to be comfortable). I'm a computer programmer and wear my black Treks to work in Midtown most every day. I've worn them to some important meetings and certainly gotten some looks :) I can leave them in my desk at work, and they fit easily in my backpack for the bike-commute to work. I wear my blue bikilas in the off-hours. And today I think I'm gonna buy a pair of Bikila LS to replace my now-very-worn Treks.

Pavement can certainly be hard on your feet at first. It really forces you to adjust your walking posture, but once you've lost the heel-step and toughened your feet up, they are the best thing going.

I felt a bit awkward wearing them in public, at first. My feet (and then me) got many strange looks; some people would actually say something. And sometimes they are really excited and have this look of confusion and amazement on their faces. They say "oooh those look so comfortable" and "are those shoes?!"

I live in Spanish Harlem and certainly didn't expect the 100% positive response. Everybody in the neighborhood who sees them, loves them [and people around here aren't afraid to tell you what they think]! Most have at least heard about VFFs or seen them on the news, and they usually say they want a pair :p I haven't had not a single negative remark in 2 years wearing them semi-full-time.

The publicity has become somewhat annoying after wearing VFFs for several years, but some of the comments and questions can still really put a smile on my face :)

VFFs rock!
03/18/11 @ 05:48
Comment from: Brian [Visitor]
BrianMy experience in New York is that Latinos seem especially open to VFFs. Maybe it's cultural. Maybe they're a little less uptight. Don't know.
03/18/11 @ 17:31