05.06.10 – The Vibram Five Fingers Bikila is out!
- Vibram Five Fingers Bikila (red/grey) — Review and Photos
- Vibram Five Fingers Bikila (blue/yellow) — Video and Photos
- Also see the just-released Vibram Five Fingers Speed — Review, Video and Photos
- Subscribe by email to get inventory alerts from Top Online Retailers of Vibram Five Fingers!
An article titled Bare feet or funny feet? by Paul Cullen appeared in the Irish Times today. The piece discusses the emerging trend around barefoot running, Christopher McDougall’s Born to Run, and of course, Vibram fivefingers. Here’s a great blurb about Cullen’s foray into barefoot running, a run-in with some sort of foot rash, and his first pair of Spider-man shoes:
Back in Ireland, I took my first barefoot run through the Phoenix Park on April Fools’ Day, which seemed appropriate. The ground felt cold as I padded forward gingerly. Like a bomb disposal expert, my eyes scanning the ground for danger. Your feet hit the ground with a reassuring thwack when running barefoot, and your toes come into play far more than in shoes. The coast was clear, it seemed, apart from some deer droppings, and soon I had picked up the pace and was enjoying the experience.
And so it went for some weeks, until disaster struck. Not a cut from broken glass, but a hive-like skin rash whose most likely cause was a plant (ragwort?). There was nothing for it but to stop; the rash disappeared.
All was not lost, once my FiveFingers arrived in the post from Italy.
To meet the growing demand from runners who want the thrill of barefooting without the risk, manufacturers – in this case, Vibram – have come up with ultra basic shoes that provide protection without messing with the benefits of going barefoot.
If Spiderman wore shoes, they’d look like FiveFingers; appallingly ugly but surprisingly comfortable foot gloves made of rubber and plastic. There are individual sleeves for each toe, which entails a bit of wiggling, but I found them easy to run in. I did miss the squelch of the earth beneath my soles but no longer had to keep my eyes peeled for shards of glass.
All said, another great bit of PR for Vibram fivefingers (now if only supply could catch up with demand, right?).
But it doesn’t stop there! Astute reader Noah glimpsed on the IrishTimes website a thumbnail photo of what appeared to be another color option for the upcoming, Spring 2010 fivefingers Bikila.
We’d previously only seen a gray/green version for men and a pink/orange version for women. So this was a new find!
To really go the extra mile, Noah contacted the Irish Times reporter and actually got a higher-res version of the image to share here on birthdayshoes! Check it out (click for a larger version):
As you might recall, the Bikila is slated for a Spring 2010 release — I seem to recall hearing February mentioned, so we’re inside six months!
Way to sleuth, Noah! Thank you!
13 replies on “Barefoot Running in the Irish Times (And another shot of the upcoming fivefinger Bikilas!)”
Feels good to do some detective work every now and then.
I am really digging these funky colors.
Oh yeah! Those babies are going to turn some heads.
Poor color combination. You won’t need to run in a reflective vest while wearing these. It’s the tropical fish of VFFs. I hope there are more color choices in the works.
I actually like this color combo a lot – in my opinion, it is a lot more fun than the more neutral grey version previously seen. If I had to guess, I’d say this blue/green combo is the alternate color for men (and I also bet there is a more neutral version for women than the previously seen pink/orange one).
I like how you can get a little crazy with the colors of VFFs – after all, you’re already wearing innately “loud” footwear, why not have even more fun with it?
Blue camo KSOs anyone? Red/black Sprints? So yea, I dig the tropical fish Bikilas!
That’s my point. Red and black together are a classic combination, loud and proud. The blue camo is fine and I love the green camo on the flows. I’m not questioning the colors, just the combinations. There really hasn’t been a color combo on the VFFs that haven’t worked, but I think the color guy took the day off with the Bikilas. 😉
Okay, those are freaking awesome. Sign me up because I am totally getting those! I’m a 22 year old guy and I totally dig those. Free your feet.
Okay, I am very interested in getting a pair of the Bikilas. But honestly, what are they thinking with the colours? That is hideous! I just hope they have a colour-scheme that doesn’t look like it was designed by a colour-blind toddler.
This is kinda interesting. So far, we’ve got Noah, Grok, Corin, and me (four males) digging these colors and Jennifer and Erin (guessing two females) hating them.
So I guess the moral here is that men will buy crazy VFFs and think they are awesome while women will find them hideous! 😛 Go figure.
And yes, I’m making a sweeping generalization.
Well, Justin, I guess we’ll find out what happens in the spring. 🙂 Sweeping generalizations aside, I think that the Bikila are going to be very popular VFFs.
Oh, I never said I wouldn’t buy a pair. I just think a few of the colour options are butt-ugly.
Erin
A girl last time I checked. 🙂
You never want to assume!
I will make one more prediction: It seems, by looking at pictures of the trek and bikila, that the soles on the toes do not go as far over top of the toes. My prediction is that Vibram is going to change the “original” VFFs at some point and when they do they will change the toes on those VFFs as well. It is possible that they will completely change the soles on the “originals” but no one can say for sure.
I am going to put off buying a pair of fivefingers so I can get these. I am more interested in hearing about what people think of the heel. A lot of the reviews I have read that actual compliment the lack of heel support in the shoe as it gave the foot more of a workout. I was concerned about the bottom being too thick, but it the treks aren’t too think than there is no way these are.