I'm looking to pick the brains of all of you guys out there! I'm regularly barefoot when I can and take every opportunity to free my toes whenever I can. However, it's now getting cold in the UK and I'm wanting to minimise my shoe wearing during the winter months. I want to keep my toes warm, but still have the barefooting sensation and feeling without spending lots of money on expensive Vibra Fivefingers or other such shoes. Does anyone have any experience or ideas of how to get the barefoot feeling during the winter months?
My mom, when she first came to Canada, never wore shoes and she was fine, she barely felt it. That said, maybe you can just not wear shoes, and go barefoot, and adjust to the feeling like our bodies are programmed to (to an extent though).
1. Go barefoot. (it's never uniformly cold; when it's tolerable for you, give it a try; "coldfooting" can be quite amazing!) 2. No socks (depending how much your feet may perspire) 3. Dream.
I live in the UK and barefoot all year round, have done for years. I find that my feet have the same reaction to the chill as my hands. However when it gets really cold as it often does I tend to just wear longer leg-wear rather than my usual 3/4 cords and wear woolly ankle warmers when its freezing.
Hey, Mom ALWAYS said, "Wear a jacket!" Sometimes, Mom WAS right! If you're warm up above, down below shouldn't be a problem. Frostbite IS a problem---so stay in on those days (unless you have to go to work! bosses tend not to sympathize overmuch about "Well, it was just too cold to come out barefoot, and I just don't care to wear shoes.")
I saw my first pair of Vibra Fivefingers yesterday at the Denver airport. I was waiting (barefoot as it was warm enough) for my flight and there was a woman with these interesting shoes/slippers with individual toes. She was busy tending to her two children, both less than 4 years old I'd guess, so I didn't want to bother her. Eventually she did pass in front on me, and I commented that her shoes looked eally comfortable. She said they're great and she does everything in them - she just loved them. I asked her what they were and thet's when she told me they were Vibra Fivefingers. I told her I wasn't fond of shoes and she glanced at my bare feet. Somewhere in our brief exchange I believe she said they cost about $80 - ouch, but I'd be tempted to try them. As she walked away, it appeared they flexed naturally with her feet, so they appeared to be comparable to going barefoot. I don't know how stuffy they'd be. If my feet sweat, they get cold, and usually they get more cold than if I was barefoot. The only way to get them comfortable again is to take off my shoes and socks, dry my feet, and then let them warm. Anyhow, I wanted to pass along that observation, but I agree, Vibra Fivefingers are pricey!!
80 bucks for those things? Wow! I'll bet if some other company decides to produce a copycat of those things as often will be the case, the price will come down. Those five fingers can't possibly give you the l feeling that barefooting provides, warm or cold. I'll think I stick to my trusty rubber flip flops. At least my feet are still exposed.
Having gone two winters in a row with my left leg in a cast and my bare toes exposed, I have worn nothing more than my trusty Havaiana rubber flip-flop on my good foot. The heel is worn right through on it, and if the going got slipperey on my crutches I would kick it off and put up with the cold on my bare foot. Snow and mud on crutches are much easier with a bare foot. Those toes are great for getting a grip or even seeing how slipepry the ground is before putting my full weight on my crutches for the next step.
Yeah, I just searched and found them at REI (www.rei.com). They run $75-$85. The user's reviews rated them at 4.7 out of 5 - not bad. Now they've got me intrigued! I was just thinking of how someone would react on one of those very rare occasions I get hassled if I slipped those on! They couldn't argue, but I doubt they'd be happy either. Oh well, we'll see!
Back in the days before I fully understood the futility of living in cold places, I used to wear Moon Boots in the winter, because they were the only warm shoes I could find that were comfortable without socks, making it very fast and easy to slip them off once inside. Of course, 20+ years ago, they were totally out of fashion and were available at garage sales everywhere for around US$5, an additional incentive to use them. I can't fathom spending $85 for shoes. Then again the last pair of shoes I bought was a pair of Moon Boots for $5 back in 1989...
I'm doing well this year cos I'm still shoeless well into November, after my lurgy few weeks ago which my partner was convinced was down to my excessive barefootin. Mind you it has been quite mild these last few days, probably due to the rain and I love barefootin it in the rain See how things turn out weather wise, usually I get my flip-flops out once it's too cold underfoot, then when it's properly cold, freezing and below, then the ughs, sorry Uggs come out. Mind you I still slip into em barefoot, I don't own a single pair of socks or tights and can't remember last time I did. And,shush, dunno if I should be saying this on a barefoot forum but they're comfy as fuck.
I think Barefoot-boy is right, the five fingers can't possibly give you the feeling that barefooting provides, and your feet will probably be colder than barefoot or in flip-flops, because they will be sweaty as hell, I think. And why spend 80 bucks for shoes that claim to approach the barefoot feeling as closely as possible? Going barefoot comes much closer to the barefoot feeling and is much cheaper, too!
How about these I found on the net! Gotta be one of the weirdest things I've seen. Imagine going into a store or somewhere and the manager asking you to put some shoes on and coming back in these! View attachment 44131
Where I live it frequently goes below 0 F and snows like crazy. Hi top Converse All Stars make the best winter boots - when absolutely needed - no socks of course! Pretty close to that barefoot feeling (no sweating at those temperatures). I have tried the Vibrams - they are soo.. cool - but, unless you have perfectly proportioned toes - they are not a perfect fit. Their website tells you wher you can try them on.
I agree. Predictably (based on my earlier comments) I went out and bought a pair of Vibram Fivefingers yesterday. If you choose to buy them and can get to a store, I strongly recommend trying them on before buying. I followed their sizing guide and ultimately the measurements I made at home proved to provide the correct size. When I tried on the first pair, one of the toe pockets was a bit too slender for my fourth toe. The saleswoman brought out another pair of the same size that fit fine. I was debating between the "Classic" (no strap over the top of the foot) and the "Sprint" (strap across the top). A customer about my age saw my dilemma and said he has a pair that he bought for workouts, etc. and he strongly recommended the "Sprint" model. He said the strap helps keep his foot from sliding out. That's the same model the woman was wearing at the airport the other day. The customer also went on to say he loves his pair of Fivefingers. I agree with the comment about needing proportioned toes. I'm not sure the Fivefingers would have worked had I not had my toes straightened surgically. Even so, they were a challenge to put on the first couple of times. The customer also commented on this. He said after wearing them a few times you figure out how to spread your toes to put them on. He said he can pop his on quickly now. They fit fairly snugly at first, but I had to go with women's sizing because I'm small, and women's sizes tend to be more narrow. I put them on in the car, wore them to run an errand, and then back home. I probably had them on about 2-1/2 hours. The longer I wore them, the more comfortable they felt. I really didn't want to take them off, but I was going to take a shower so... Despite the all-synthetic construction, they did seem to stretch a bit over time and didn't feel snug at all by the time I took them off. I did try the next larger size. In the larger size, my big toe was coming up a bit short of the end of the toe pocket. In the "FAQ" section of the Vibram website, it suggests that the tip of your toe should graze the end of the toe pocket. In the larger size, my big toenail was catching on the rubber sole (the sole comes up just over the tip of each toe), and I could tell that would be uncomfortable over time and/or my toenail would rip through the synthetic mesh that comprises the top of the Fivefingers, so I stayed with the smaller size (the size I determined using the website sizing guide). They're great!! Don't get me wrong, I still prefer my bare soles on the floor, but once the temperature drops, I prefer something on my feet. By the way, I was concerned my feet would sweat in the Fivefingers, but they seemed fine.
Ok, these alternative shoes are starting to tax my interest. Do you find them more comfortable than a pair of flip flops?
No, my preference is definitely bare feet. After that it's flip flops. My next choice is the Vibram Fivefingers; they're comfy but enclosed. When it's cold, enclosed toes are my choice for keeping my feet warm, but I know some people are pretty hardcore about staying barefoot even below freezing. Based on the past couple of days, I think the Fivefingers are my favorite cold weather option, but nothing I'd wear when it's warm. They're not a good choice for snow either. I found that out tonight when I wore my Fivefingers to a friend's house. It was lightly snowing when I left my house, but I was adamant I wanted to wear them and the snow wasn't sticking. By the time I left my friend's, there were about 4-5 inches of snow on the ground. Actually my feet stayed relatively warm stepping through the snow in my Fivefingers, but I wouldn't recommend them routinely for that. When it's really cold or snowing, sneakers or hiking boots make more sense to me.
The vibrams are like wearing biking shorts. No way near barefoot or flip flops. I think the vibrams will be a flop until they come out with anatomic variants - ie long second toe, short fifth toe etc and make the bottoms even thinner.
I'm confused. Do you consider them soo... cool (1st quote) or a flop (2nd quote)?? Personally I like the Vibram Fivefingers, but I agree bare feet are the way to go. I agree that anatomic variants would be great, but I'm not aware of any conventional shoes go to that extreme either - at most any price. When the temperature drops below about 40 deg F (~4 deg F) I forget about bare feet or flip flops and do whatever it takes to keep my feet warm. I just think the Fivefingers are a nice option when it's chilly.
