going barefoot...

While I don't buy into these stupid modern footwear fads, I did spend most of my childhood summers barefoot in the forest. My feet tend to harden up after a week or so of going barefoot. Barefoot is fine for running around the backyard or up and down the shore, but I wouldn't risk it on an extended hike. Too easy to put a hole in your foot with bad step placement, or to roll your ankle and end up with serious injuries, if you're not conditioned to be barefoot all the time.
 
I wear appropriate footware for the occasion, but sometimes when I need to run outside for something, I just go barefoot. Bad habit from when I was growing up, I used to visit cousins that lived a few houses away all the time, and I wouldn't bother with shoes or sandals.
 
Qeth said:
I wear appropriate footware for the occasion, but sometimes when I need to run outside for something, I just go barefoot. Bad habit from when I was growing up, I used to visit cousins that lived a few houses away all the time, and I wouldn't bother with shoes or sandals.
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I hear ya. Still got the same problem myself when in a hurry for something that is outside in warm weather. Just the memories of the tar on the bottom of my feet from walking down a road when I was a kid, the gravel between my toes, steppin on a friggin nail...yeah, those were the days.:rolleyes:
 
Ellocomotive said:
Right now the research doesn't show if five fingers are really all that beneficial. Over the long term, you will stretch out our ligaments in the metatarsal region of your foot. This in turn will increase the space in between your metatarsals, and could result in calcius deposits forming in between each joint, and could cause serious problems when you reach an elderly age. This is all speculative though-research should be coming down the pipe soon. I highly recommend you see a podiatrist, or pedorthist before committing serious time to walking barefoot, as many of us did not grow up walking without shoes most of the time. As a result, our feet are "conditioned" for footwear, and a radical change like that (going from shoes to barefoot) "could" be detrimental.

As for me, I have a flexible arch that results in a 3rd degree flat foot-the worst you can have. I've also got Plantar Fascitis. I wear five fingers, but ONLY at the gym or during periods of instruction. If I wear them for too long, then I get problems in my metatarsals for a few days. As for my education, I'm a certified MCMAP instructor, and am currently working on attaining a Certified Strength and Condtitioning Specialist cert. Seriously, ask an expert like a podiatrist on their take. Too many companies out there thrive on snake oil.
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I would beg to differ. Military doctors are prescribing them to help soldiers with lower extremity injuries heal faster. Doctors from all branches of the military are seeing the benefits of soldiers, seamen, and airmen wearing them for running, and at least one branch of the military has outlawed them for physical fitness tests because people who performed the runs with the five-fingers were testing remarkably better than those in regular running shoes.

All that being said, I wear shoes, or Keens, or at least moccasins (my favorite). Five-fingers do not look comfortable to me, and I'm not concerned with military fitness tests (other than academically).
 
I'll be honest, if I saw some fiver-fingers at a local store, I'd try them on and if I found a decent fit, I'd get a pair at least to try them out. At worst, I'll have a very expensive pair of novelty footwear. At best, I find some footwear that I like to use for circuit training at home. If they do turn out hokey, they could always be my house slippers, and I'd actually have something to cover my feet when I accidentally "forget" to put on my slippers when I step outside for something.
 
To answer one of you questions, Cody says one benefit to walking barefoot is that is forces him to take things slower than the average person and in return makes him pay greater attention to his surroundings. Every step is taken with precision and makes him notice things that other might not.
 
perchjerk said:
To answer one of you questions, Cody says one benefit to walking barefoot is that is forces him to take things slower than the average person and in return makes him pay greater attention to his surroundings. Every step is taken with precision and makes him notice things that other might not.
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Stopping to smell the roses is cool but I guess you have to look at the situation at hand.

If I happened to piss off a wild animal or something similar and needed to haul ass I'd be screwed.
 
ive been wearing five fingers as my primary foot wear for 4 years now, and you couldnt pay me to go back to regular shoes. I have no back pain anymore and when i go trail running i no longer have bad shin splints. Ive done 20 mile backpacking trips in them with no problems. I live in arkansas and for those of you that have visited arkansas you know it is a rock farm. I wear them all day at work. I work on concrete for 10 hours aday and have no problems. as far as the the stinky problem if you wash them once a week they will look and smell like new as long as you own them.

y
 
missed said:
ive been wearing five fingers as my primary foot wear for 4 years now, and you couldnt pay me to go back to regular shoes. I have no back pain anymore and when i go trail running i no longer have bad shin splints. Ive done 20 mile backpacking trips in them with no problems. I live in arkansas and for those of you that have visited arkansas you know it is a rock farm. I wear them all day at work. I work on concrete for 10 hours aday and have no problems. as far as the the stinky problem if you wash them once a week they will look and smell like new as long as you own them.

y
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ive considered wearing mine to work...but im not sure how it would go over...it may even be against co policy...
 
i live in FL and pretty close to the atlantic ocean, no rocks here only sand and shells (can be sharp)
as a kid i was never with shoes on.. now im old and soft. we have these hitchhiker type bur things people call sandspurs, as a kid i think i could spot them out better, or maybe my feet use to be tougher

sandspur.jpg
 
man, i hate those things! they sure do hurt. as far as shells being sharp, i stubbed my toe once on a barnicle covered rock in clearwater as a kid and sliced my toe right open. luckily, there was plenty of sand and salt water around.
 
I WEAR BIRKENSTOCK SANDALS IN THE SUMMER, MERRILL SHOES & ROCKY BOOTS. I went barefoot when I was a kid but I grew up.
 
Wearing my Five Fingers KSO's right now. Didn't have to turn in my Man Card when I bought them. I haven't put them on since it got cold. Last weekend I hiked several miles in them, and I did my first outdoor run of the season wearing them yesterday. I'm sore, but it's not an "on your feet all day" kind of hurt.

I find them to be comfortable, plus you get a lot of looks when you wear them. Best of all, my kids and their friends think they're cool.

My next pair is going to be the Bikilas. They're more of a running platform and give more sole protection.
 
I bought a pair of five fingers when they first came out (still have a man card btw), and I only have one gripe with them. Its the model that has the elastic to keep them on, no velcro, and after a while it really digs into my feet and starts hurting. Been thinking of getting a pair with velcro instead, because they are really comfortable to wear.

To those who think going barefoot can cause life long problems, why do you think we are born without shoes? Evolution just doesn't work that fast, we're still made to walk barefoot.

All that said, I do wear (comfortable working) boots most of the time.
 
monsterdog said:
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To those who think going barefoot can cause life long problems, why do you think we are born without shoes? Evolution just doesn't work that fast, we're still made to walk barefoot.

All that said, I do wear (comfortable working) boots most of the time.
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We're also born NUDE! But tell me how well that works for you when winter rolls around! Granted, going barefoot is an option if you want to take that route, but shoes (of some design) just shield the feet from a lot of wear and tear. To each his/her own. I still prefer shoes, if only a sandal.
 
I wear aqua socks and water booties when I kayak.

I'm going to give Fivefingers a try though.
 
I ran barefoot on the public streets of Houston, Texas. I did 2 miles in the rain w/o shoes. It was completely dangerous. I could have stepped on a piece of glass, slicing my foot up.
My back was sore for 2 days after, but other than that, it was pretty cool.
inb4Ihavejointproblemsin20years.
 
Boots for me, but I enjoy barefoot walks in familiar areas from time to time. A compromise might be something like Rikio- or other quality-branded tabi boots might make sense. These ones have toe caps for extra protection. From what I hear, tabi boots are commonly worn by traditional Japanese carpenters when building beam architecture so they can be more sensitive with their footing.
 
I always considered Cody's being barefoot to be a personal choice that occasionally hindered them in survival situations, just like if he had made a decision to be vegetarian. I'm also sure the producers of the show were psyched that he (for the most part) stuck with it for the whole season. It made it easier to push the little arguments between him and Dave, and it let them advertise Cody as a "crazy bush hippie."

Also, holy crap those 5 Finger shoes are popular here in Orange County, California. I'm always checking trails for interesting tracks and see practically nothing but 5 Fingers and dog prints.
 
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