Hiking through the Andes of Peru in Vibram Five Fingers Sprints

My girlfriend and I wore our Sprints in Peru and loved them! We were considering hiking boots for the 9 day trek in the Andes from Choquequirao to Machu Picchu but ended up choosing our Sprints instead. They were lighter, more agile and felt more safe than wearing enormous hiking boots. They performed great at 15,000ft as well as at sea level crossing rivers. I loved feeling the trail beneath my feet…I was connected.

Pros:

• Lightweight
• Agile
• Can feel everything beneath you.
• No chance of rolling an ankle.
• River crossings were a dream…didn’t have to take off shoes like the rest of the group.
• Conversation starter. Everyone pointed, laughed, smiled then asked were can they get some.

Cons:

• Dust and Dirt: The Sprints allowed dust and dirt to get in the shoe and act like sandpaper. The new Trek Sports or KSO would have been preferred. (Weren’t available at the time)

15hr days and thousands of feet in elevation changes on intense terrain will abuse almost anyone’s feet. I’d strongly recommend training your feet to get used to the abuse. We trained for a solid month with running and hiking…looking back I would have doubled it.

It was a bummer the Vibram Trek Sports were not available yet when we did the trip…I think they would have worked great! Overall, we loved the VFF and will never use hiking boots again for trips like this.