[darklajid]

I recently (after my move to TLV) bought me a pair of these Vibram (five finger?) toe thingies. Yes, if you try them in the store and are used to ~30~ years of wearing regular shoes, they are 'funny' at first. What a surprise..

I still bought them, convinced myself that I'd give them a decent try and at least wear them on the awful hot beach or something if they suck completely.

I love them. I only wear regular shoes now on rare occasions. The first two days were a constant source of laughter and I tried to walk on every type of ground (and - stuff) I could find. Childish? Hell yes, but fun!

Now they are comfortable like no pair of shoes that I owned before. While having no proof I do believe that I walk more straight with them and you relearn to roll your foot instead of stomping around.

If anyone wants to try this experiment and thinks about shoes like this: Don't give up after 5 minutes in the shop..

[joshkaufman]

Agreed. My story is similar, with a medical twist: years of chronic lower back pain disappeared once I stopped wearing "normal" shoes.

If Vibram ever makes a shiny black leather version, I won't have to wear anything else.

[rbrcurtis]

I use my vibrams primarily for running and have also found that my knee problems have almost completely vanished since I started running in them.