Jason Lancaster

Today someone from Vibram emailed me to checkup on the status of my recent encounter with the Five Fingers and I thought I’d let everyone know that I have a working version of the Sprint model. They’re very cool and I can’t wait to take them backpacking with me. The best part is how comfortable they are on regular pavement. I really thought it would take some getting used to but I’ve been able to stomp around here all day without any worries. I have not tried working on my house with them but that mainly stems from a worry I might drop a 2×4 on my foot more than they’d be uncomfortable walking around in.

Most interesting about the shoe is how my arches feel after a long day wearing them. Usually, after being on my feet all day my arches ache. If I put these on after wearing normal shoes all day, my feet feel completely free and relaxed. Not only that, but I have yet to get any arch aches standing around in them. I think my only complaint is how they want to push my little toe outward from the rest of my toes when it really doesn’t want to bend that way. That has taken some time to get used to.

Vibram gets an A+ for their customer support. I’m completely satisfied and they really went above and beyond what they “had” to do. If you’re into thinking a bit different, give them a try!

Adam gave me a pair of Vibram Five Fingers for Christmas. I was really excited to try them out but they were way too big. The odd thing was that he ordered me european size 41, which should be somewhat smaller than my actual foot size. I’m a US 9 for those wondering.

I sat on them for a while because Adam couldn’t find his receipt and I figured Vibram’s policy would be no receipt no return, however after contacting them last month they graciously exchanged the shoes for a smaller pair, a set of women’s european 40.

Unfortunately, I still can’t use them because the 40′s are entirely too small. I had forgotten about righting this situation until I read an article on how modern shoes really aren’t that good for our feet a few moments ago. I’ve initiated the email support process with Vibram who I hope will continue to be as great as they have been in the past and help me figure out what has gone wrong.

My initial thought is that the first pair was improperly manufactured and the sizing was wrong. The 41 was about 3/4 inch too big on my heel. That is pretty significant. The 40 is about half an inch too small (although estimating this is hard since I can only hold the shoe against the bottom of my foot) and ends up making my toes curl. There must be some sort of in between!

The other possibility is that somehow my feet just aren’t cut out for the model I’ve received. I think I could deal with a shoe that is too large if I had a strap across the foot like one of their new models, the sprint. At least with that model I’d have the strap as well as the heel chord holding my foot in.

I hope I can get this straightened out soon. I keep forgetting about it and placing it on the back-burner, but it would be so wonderful to take an outing in these shoes that seem to get such rave reviews everywhere. If you have a pair and enjoy them, I’m curious if you felt the sizing was true-to-size.

Update: Through Vibram’s great customer service I was successful finding a pair that fit perfectly. Thanks Vibram!

I just have to say, my friends and family are great. I got some sweet gifts for my birthday, including a backpacking/camping hammock from Eagle’s Nest Outfitters (Emily) and a brand new black 80gb iPod (Adam). My grandfather gave me a cedar chest my grandmother had years and years ago, so now I can be a bit more organized with my not-in-season clothing. It’s big and smells great! Dom and Jaimie, knowing me so well, gave me some animal crackers and other knick-knacks, but it’s probably the animal crackers that made my evening.