[pct-l] Vibram 5 fingers, foot injuries, and muscle atrophy

[Dan Africk]

As I mentioned, the biggest drawback to the 5 fingers is that they keep my
feet sweaty and moist. I don't think blisters are any more likely than with
regular shoes, and I think you'll only get blisters after hiking with moist
feet for a long time. Perhaps wearing toe socks inside of a larger pair
would work, as long as you change your socks often. If only there was some
kind of breathable rubber that could be used on the bottom, they would be
near perfect.

One of the main advantages to the 5 fingers is that it gives your foot and
ankle a very similar experience to walking barefoot- that is, it doesn't
cause your muscles, tendons, etc, to atrophy like most shoes do, by giving
your foot unnecessary support. In this way, I think it can prevent injury by
making your foot and ankle stronger, as long as you don't switch from
regular shoes too suddenly. The common misconception about going barefoot is
that it takes a long time to build up callouses, but really its the muscle
development that takes some time(Callouses build up amazingly fast, but
unfortunately not if you're wearing the 5 fingers- anything that keeps your
feet moist will prevent callouses). I should note that the 5 fingers does
provide some support to your foot, so it's not exactly the same as going
barefoot, but it is similar.

I'm hoping there will be lots sections of the PCT that are relatively smooth
and not too rocky, and I plan on hiking barefoot as much as possible. If
nothing else, I can go barefoot in camp and when I'm in trail towns. I
figure that will help prevent muscle atrophy from wearing shoes so much,
keep my feet from getting too soft, and help dry my feet and reduce the risk
of blisters.

-- 
www.hikefor.com/haiti-2010-Dan


"I'm interested to hear how the VFFs work for you. One one level I can see
how it's possible the separate toes might have prevented some of the
blisters I had. But on another level, since I think shoes are evil in the
way they tend to injure me, all I can think of is how there are so many more
places for them to come in contact with my feet and cause even more
blisters.

I have seen people backpacking in all kinds of footwear. Chacos, flip-flops,
Crocs, barefoot. I have worn boots and trail runners and both of these have
injured me so I am not dogmatic about hiking footwear. I think anything is
worth a try. Please provide a report and let us know how they worked."