FitNish.com Review: Vibram FiveFingers Seeya

“Vibram FiveFingers free you to experience life without restrictions, to experience a connection with nature and your environment that is simply not possible in conventional footwear. FiveFingers not only bring you closer to nature, they deliver a number of positive health benefits by stimulating muscles in the toes, feet and lower legs.”

The Vibram FiveFinger shoes are quite an unusual sight, and definitely do not have that ‘normal’ look of today’s shoes. All you have to do is put a pair on and see how many people’s eyes immediately turn straight downward to your shoes. Or just show them to your friends and see what their comments are. Yes, they may not be the norm, but nothing innovative ever was.

The idea behind these shoes is to give you a sense of being barefoot whilst still giving you ample support to be comfortable.

There are many different models of the Vibram FiveFinger shoes, each suited to different sports. For example there are thicker more padded models for trail running, or thinner and tighter models for sprinting and normal training. So depending on what you want to do you can find a model suited to your needs.

This review is done on the Vibram FiveFingers Seeya, which is suited for general training in the gym and road running.

“The ultra-streamlined Seeya is our newest performance option for serious minimalist runners. Designed to bring you even closer to the barefoot sensation, we’ve radically reduced overall weight and material with a more breathable mesh upper to deliver true, performance-driven footwear. Minimum rubber thickness in the outsole maximizes “foot feel” and flexibility, while a soft midsole further reduces thickness and weight for natural movement. A stitched-in insole protects skin and foot tissue during longer runs. For a snug fit, the lightweight, stretch mesh upper has a seamless collar and adjustable hook-and-loop closure.”

First Impression:

My first impression was that these are slightly peculiar looking shoes, but there is definitely something cool and intriguing about them, maybe the interest came from the unusualness of them. Now I love being barefoot, so that was also a factor which added to the excitement. Honestly I wasn’t too sure what to expect though. When I felt them and saw them up close for the first time they did feel slightly thin, which made me question whether they would provide enough support. I also wasn’t sure if they would last long or get worn out quite quickly.

On a side note, they come with a warning to only wear them for a limited amount of time when first purchased because your feet and legs have to adjust and build strength to get used to them.

Anyway let’s take a look at the pros and cons of these shoes. They were used for gym/weight training.

Pros

Durability

At first glance the shoes do look a bit flimsy and don’t look too strong. But once you have a closer look at them and the bottom side of the shoe, you see that the rubber grip is pretty strong and durable. You also can feel that they are actually quite sturdy and snug once you fit them on.

Comfort

The shoes are very comfortable once you get used to them and provide great flexibility, range of motion and feeling in the entire foot; there were times where I even forgot that I had shoes on.

Grip

They provide extremely good grip. This is due to the rubber material they use, as well as how they have strategically designed and shaped the underneath of the shoe.

Leg Training

Perfect for training your legs and calves. Normally when doing some leg and calf exercises such as squats, I like to do them barefoot as I feel more grounded and stable. It’s not such a pretty thing to remove your shoes in the gym as you can imagine, so with the fivefinger shoes that problem is eliminated as it does feel as if you are barefoot. The same goes with an exercise like calf raises. With these I like to have feeling from my toes to my calf throughout the exercise to really feel the calf muscle, and with some training shoes it’s not as pronounced as when using the Seeyas.

I have also read and heard that wearing some shoes causes reduced movement in your ankles as well as your stabilizer muscles weakening (to the point of switching off) as well as a lack of proprioception in your feet.

Road Running

These shoes are great to use for jogging or sprinting on a flat surface (road or grass) as they really force your calves to work much more than with normal shoes which I love. Initially I thought me feet would feel a bit painful because of not having that support as is the case with conventional shoes. But it actually felt better and I was able to run just fine and it felt more ‘free.’

Lightweight

They are very light and do not have that heavy feel, weighing your foot down.

Cleaning

Vibram FiveFingers are machine washable. Use gentle, warm water cycle with liquid or powdered detergent. Hang to air dry.

Cons

Initial Use

At first it does take a bit of getting used to. There is a bit of a physical adjustment period so be prepared for that. I think you do need to build up a bit of strength in your legs, (more so just to get used to it) because I found that the first time walking in them does put a bit of strain on your lower legs, (the shin and ankle) just because it’s something that you are not used to, even if you’re the strongest person out there. This is especially the case if you walk outdoors over rocks and terrain but not really the case if you just wear them to the gym or indoors.

Toe Sensation

What also takes a bit of getting used to is having your toes so free. Don’t get me wrong, it is comfortable, but sometimes my small toe on the end feels like its being spread like a webbed foot, which is a somewhat strange feeling.

Outdoor Running

With this specific model, the Seeya, road running is fine, but I wouldn’t use them to go running outdoors, on a trail run, because if I stand on rocks or stones I do feel it slightly in my foot since these shoes are relatively thin. But then again this specific shoe is not designed for rocky terrain off road running and there are better more thicker models for that exact purpose.

One small problem I find with these shoes is that the back of the shoes above the heel of the foot, tend to slip off sometimes, or feel like it is going to slip off. Although, it’s only during certain exercises where it happens. So during normal walking or running it stays on just fine. I think this is due to the fact that the material stretches slightly to fit your foot, so it can overstretch a bit.

Affordability

These shoes are quite expensive, ranging anywhere between 800 to 1600 Rand. These Seeyas cost +- R1400.

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Conclusion

If you enjoy being barefoot and you’re looking to try something different, I would definitely recommend these. They make a great addition to ones shoe collections and you may just end up loving them so much that you forget about your other shoes.