Vibram FiveFingers Attack San Francisco – Day 0

Monday, March 22, 2010 | 23:52

I was first turned on to barefooting by Tim Ferriss last May.  And while Tim is an excellent writer, marketer, speaker, and lifestyle designer, the FiveFingers just look CREEPY.  Toe socks seriously creep me out.  I wanted them, but couldn’t get past the heebies.  But nothing sells a product as well as a stamp approval from a real live friend.  If Besologic gave the nod I was definitely willing to give them a shot.

If you haven’t heard of barefooting, it’s exactly what it sounds like.  You + Feet.  People have been wearing shoes for centuries.  It has destroyed our arches, our posture, and children in third world countries.  God didn’t create us to have flat rubber soles or high heels, despite what Christian Louboutin may tell you.  The perfect sole was designed when man was formed with barefreakingfeet.

Major problem.  San Francisco is a city filled with broken glass, cigarette butts and urine, both canine and human.  Major solution: Vibram FiveFingers KSO.  KSO stands for Keep Stuff Out.  My dad figured that age 25 was the age that he should stop buying me birthday and Christmas presents.  One of the few benefits of smothering mothering is that my mom believes in no such rule.  So armed with some birthday cash I set out to find some Vibram FiveFingers.  If you’ve never seen or heard of them, they’re basically wetsuit gloves for your feet, with a rubber sole to keep your feet protected.

I was informed by Besologic that those of us looking for FiveFingers have Chris McDougall’s “Born To Run” to thank for the nationwide shortage of Vibrams.  I believe it.  I called one of Vibram’s official retailers, Redwood Trading Post, around 1pm today.  It seems they were just sorting through a new shipment of FiveFinger KSOs.  ”Great! Can you put a 42 in all black on hold for me until the end of the day?”  They were reluctant do so, but did it anyway.  ”Well, we just got 3 in, so I guess we could do that for you.”

After getting my mouth cut open (more on that later), I headed down to Redwood City to try on the FiveFingers.  When I entered the store I mentioned I had a pair of FiveFingers on hold.  ”Which one are you?”  Apparently all 3 pairs of sz 42 black KSOs had been put on hold through the end of the day.  Those very same pairs they had just received around lunch time were pretty much sold.  In the time it took me to sit down and test fit the shoes, 3 more people had come in asking to try on some FiveFingers.

The Vibrams are sized in european sizing and I apparently am a tweener.  The 41s are just a little too snug, and the 42s make me wonder if they’re too big.  I somewhat solved that by doing something I vowed neverevereverneverever to do.  I, dictator-for-life, bought a pair of toe socks.  Horrible, heebie-inducing toe socks.  GROSS.

Day 0 : Down The Street
So here’s a log of my barefooting escapades.  Normally one buys a pair of shoes and immediately wants to try them out.  I, being a normal guy, would have loved to do the same.  However, I visited my dentist’s office for some oral surgery today after which they told me not to brush and floss for a week and not to engage in any strenuous activity.  ”Be a bum, just for this week, and just enjoy the fact that I told you not to brush or floss.” Sweet. Kind of.

So instead of going on a run.  I went on a walk to grab dinner.  I have two key initial impressions.  First, they feel like they are supposed to.  I did my undergraduate at UC San Diego and, as such, know full well the joys of walking around barefoot.  The FiveFinger KSOs do their job of keeping stuff out and feel surprisingly natural.  Second, they’re still very creepy looking and quite embarrassing.  Do expect to become somewhat of a spectacle.  I intend for my FiveFingers to be used strictly for running duty, so I won’t need to worry too much about that.

Overall, the construction looks great and they seem to be great for barefoot walking.  I look forward to my very first run in them.

posted in life