AIBU To want to purchase these ridiculous objects for me and my kids?

[isvibramgood]

I really like the concept of these crazy shoes, vibram 5 fingers.

Anyone know about them?

In my opinion, YABU. They're hideous looking. Of course we'll agree to disagree and it sounds like you've already made up your mind to get them. 🤷🏻‍♀️

My husband has been wearing them for years and swears by them. Only for running though.

A few things that come to mind...

They are very expensive and they wear out really quickly.

You need to build up to wearing them for long periods otherwise you could damage yourself.

Wear them with the socks otherwise they will STINK, and I mean stink like a stink you have never smelt in your life. My husband really doesn't have smelly feet, but in those things, before he started wearing them with socks... oh my!! 😱(can't find the sick emoji!)

Also, I wouldn't have thought winter was the best time to wear them, even the "rugged" ones are quite thin, for obvious reasons, so even with socks, they aren't very warm.

Get used to people staring. It was my BIL who introduced them to my husband, he wears them just out and about because he wants to show everyone how edgy, cool and alternative he is.🙄 He wears them literally for the attention he recieves. I flatly refuse to be seen with my husband if he considers wearing them at any other time than actually in obvious exercise wear, obviously exercising. They are hideous! But then he does have several very bright pairs.😂

Oh wow, are these things still around!!? I remember going to see the Wiggles with DD as a toddler, (so at least 10 years ago), and the blue Wiggle, (Anthony??), was wearing these. At one point he did a handstand and waggled his feet at the audience, whereupon the small boy next to us shrieked, "MUMMY WHAT'S WRONG WITH HIS FEET??! YUKKY FEET MUMMY!! I DON'T LIKE THOSE FEET!!" 😂😂😂. Poor kid's probably still emotionally scarred.

This!

YABU to buy them without wearing toe socks first.

Wear the toe socks for a while and then decide how you feel.

I personally couldn’t bare wearing toe socks, let alone for shoes but I know an autistic boy who can only wear toe socks and toe shoes/no shoes so you may enjoy them.

I never care what I wear or what people think of me. If I like something then I don’t care what anyone else thinks.

I do care about how people perceive my child though and depending on their ages, I wouldn’t buy my child these to wear in front of their peers because they are very obviously different and ugly.

Those are not winter shoes.

What if you tread in poo?! (all stuck in the grooves 😲) or something sharp? Glass? God forbid a needle .... ?

If you have to wear toe socks inside toe shoes surely that's too much material between your toes? More stuff all round your toes, in the name of being 'minimalist' than just being bare foot in flip flops!

I mean i love being bare foot indoors and in my garden (in the summer) and shoe wise i'm most comfortable in my fitflop flip flops (which are thick but soft rubber) - but the idea of these don't attract me at all.

And I thought crocs were bad…

I saw a runner tread on a bolt in them. It didn’t end well.

Wtf?

THIS!

Wow I’m trying to imagine these on the school run, in the supermarket, on a dog walk, on the train etc….. my brain just can’t accept it 😄

I like them and have several pairs. They're a bit fiddly to fit (sizes seem to vary between styles). I prefer boots in winter though as there are no waterproof VFFs.

There are a few Facebook groups (including a buy/sell one) if you're interested.

There were lots of people wearing them here
Five years ago, haven't seen them for a long
time. I hate wearing shoes, really hate it but they're a step too far for me.

You've sent me down a rabbit hole @isvibramgood ...

Those asking about standing on things (and even completely barefoot - this happens a lot less that you'd think!) - the soles are Vibram and quite tough and durable. I had my first pair for several years and the fabric split in The end but the soles looked almost unworn.

I would imagine those are very bad for you. If you want to wreck your knees and back go ahead.

I’m guessing the people who wear these don’t live further north than Glasgow. I wore a pair of thin soled trainers in Aviemore last month and thought I was going to expire from cold feet. 🥶

Quite the opposite for the vast majority of people as they allow feet to strengthen and not require 'support' by enabling natural movement.

I always wonder how long the soles last, but I've also heard the claims about them being beneficial, so I'm equally intrigued.

I'd probably get just one pair and see if you like them before splashing out for everyone. I don't even know how much they cost, but it's your money, you spend it on what you want. Go for it...

Ugh

A barefoot runner I know swops to these (or something v v similar) when it's icy, or when they expect the terrain to be too hostile to literal bare feet (yes he normally runs with literally nothing on his feet)

Barefoot running is a skill - rather than learning to do it, you have to unlearn your bad habits and get back to the biomechanics that nature intended, which should improve/prolong good functioning of the muscular-skeletal system. Or that's the theory anywhow

My SIL wore them, she was a runner. However she wore them to a nice restaurant and looked like a frog, they weren't hideously bright but she did look weird. That was about 17 years ago. No one stared for long, they looked and then pretended she wasn't there.

@isvibramgood oh right.

wouldn't do for me. I'm a sketchers GoWalk kinda girl these days. Keeps the plantar fasciitis at bay.

but why not try them yourself & decide about the kids later?!

I've seen a few people wearing those.
I don't know why the majority of them are so garishly coloured, they might as well come with a t-shirt saying "Hey look at me and my crazy toe shoes"

Also I am not convinced on how good for us being barefoot actually is. I was almost always barefoot until I started school at 5 and by that time I was walking right on the inside of my feet. I've had so many issues with my feet, heels and knees. I have been told that while we are designed to be bare foot we're not designed to be barefoot on completely solid terrain all the time.
If you consider the support your foot gets from walking on sand or soft earth versus the zero support it gets from walking on a pavement or concrete floor it makes sense that we need something to replace that for modern living.