Fila Skeletoes vs Vibram FiveFingers: Toe Shoe Supremacy

While most BirthdayShoes readers are likely already toe shoe aficionados who own at least one pair of Vibram FiveFingers and often a whole closet full, at least a few readers stumble on our neck of the web looking for information about Fila Skele-toes.  You'll recall that we've covered the original Fila Skele-toes and the Skele-toes 2.0.  Most interestingly, Vibram is suing Fila for patent infringement around their implementation of toe shoes.

You might say things are a little dicey in the battle for toe shoes supremacy.

And it's kind of funny in that, as I've talked about at length in the above-mentioned reviews, Skele-toes really aren't quite up to par with FiveFingers.  Sure I'm biased just like anyone, but I've now tried the Skele-toes, the Skele-toes 2.0, the Skele-toes Bay Runner, and the Skele-toes Voltage (now there's an interesting beast — stay tuned!) and across the board, none of them really hold a candle to any pair of Vibrams when it comes to flexibility, ground feel, upper comfort, or overall "barefoot" feel.  Note that I want Fila to put out a competitive product because I see competition as the lifeblood of innovation.  It's just that in my humble opinion, Fila hasn't done it (yet).  At least not when it comes to competing on design or function.

Where Fila has kicked some tail and taken some names is in the marketing and distribution department.

Fila has massive reach and distribution of their toe shoes: they did a nationwide billboard campaign asking, "What the heck are those?" Since Filas are pretty cheap compared to FiveFingers and they already have their shoes in all kinds of mass merchants and department stores, they were "out there" to be seen in the malls and shops at large (as compared to say specialty running stores or outdoor stores — places the couch-loving, desk'ed populace are less likely to venture to).  Fila's marketing and reach created a huge awareness around toe shoes — awareness associated with Fila. And as FiveFingers fans, this was just a little bit frustrating — how could our beloved Vibram brand get identified with "Those four-toed imposters!"?

If we could all let out a sigh, throw a fist to the sky, and yell aloud about the injustice of it all, let's do it — and then step back and see the big picture.

I'd like to briefly pass on a comment that I got on BirthdayShoes yesterday from reader, Sean.  Emphasis mine.

I bought my KSO's about a week ago after wearing Fila's Skeletoes for a few weeks. what a difference. I quickly ousted my Filas and have been wearing these everyday since.

What is the big picture you ask?  It's two-fold.  One, I'd never opt for a pair of Fila Skele-toes over a pair of FiveFingers to wear around town, to the gym, or to go running — because the Skele-toes are just downright inferior shoes.  I'd guess any FiveFingers fan would feel the same way.  We're already converts.

But Skele-toes customers don't know what I know (or you know) when they buy their first pair of toe shoes.  Most all of them do not realize there are better options out there.  They simply lack awareness.

What Skele-toes customers do discover with their first pair of toe shoes is that, well, toe shoes exist, they are incredibly comfortable, and they are remarkably functional.  Being closer to barefoot via thin-soled shoes with articulated toes, even when poorly implemented, works wonders.  A bad toe shoe is still massively better than most regular shoes out there.  That's somewhat remarkable, don't you think?

What more, just like Sean above, once a Skele-toes fan discovers the world of Vibram FiveFingers, there's a high probability they'll ditch their Skele-toes and grab a pair of FiveFingers next.  Sorry Fila.

So at the end of the day, while it is frustrating to have toe shoes assume the Fila branding thanks to some large-scale distribution and marketing, I think Vibram should probably see Fila as helping them out in the long run (no pun intended for you barefoot-style, distance runners, I swear).

That is for now, anyway — if Fila ever puts out a truly competitive toe'd shoe to Vibrams, well, you can just about guarantee you'll hear about it here first.