Gear Review: Vibram Five Fingers KSO Trek

Since discovering Vibram's Five Finger lineup back in 2007, my wife and I have been big fans.  We've been wearing our classics on a regular basis (for me, almost daily) for the past two years.  My wife's are even in great condition still, since she does not wear them or use them as aggressively as I do.  VFF's are great, and they are of good quality, but that quality does come at a price.  Especially for my Trek's, it took a bit of a surprise gift for us to have the money to spend.

Fit
Having both come from a pair of classics, we were excited about the better fit from this different style.  My size 44 classics were actually the wrong size for me, and moving down to a 43 also made a big difference.  Both my wife and I have never enjoyed how the classics feel when we tighten them onto our feet.  Eventually they start to dig in, or rub the top of our feet wrong.  Because the KSO's wrap around the whole foot, and strap higher up near the ankle, they are much more comfortable and secure.  We both like how easy it is to slip into the classics, but the KSO's are much more comfortable for extended use.

Heat & Moisture
Not only are the KSO's more comfortable, but they also keep feet warmer during the winter.  Obviously the KSO's are still prone to soaking up moisture, but they are still warm enough for most occasions.  If water is a serious concern, there is always the option of the Flow model which won't let any moisture in (or out).  Since running was my main focus for this purchase, I opted for the Treks.  The Kangaroo leather has proved to be a great balance of moisture resistance, and comfort.  They do allow water in somewhat easily through the synthetic portions between the toes, but otherwise they stay dry.  Water can flow right in (but just as importantly: out) the synthetic pieces, and the leather does a great job of not soaking up melting snow.  I think that they are a very good balance, and do just what they should.

Traction
While the KSO's do not offer anything spectacularly new beyond the whole-foot fit, the Treks offer a whole new tread design. The kangaroo leather is cool, and the new tread is a real bonus on bad terrain.  Trundling over snow, mud, and ice is not always the best experience with the basic tread design.  The lugged out bottoms give excellent traction, and even provide a bit of cushion from stone-bruising.  With the added thickness, they feel almost too similar to regular shoes, but they are meant for extreme trail situations not walks on the beach.  Some times the ground is punishing enough that I'm happy to have the 'volume turned down' so-to-speak on the sensory input coming in from my feet.  Adding traction and protection requires thicker soles, and the trade-off has to be made somewhere.  Hopefully they will remain the thickest soles in the VFF lineup.  I'm very happy to use them for their intended purpose, and will happily keep them on standby during all the runs I do not need them for.

Complaints
The body of the Trek's are actually built out of multiple leather and synthetic pieces.  This means that there a billion seams running in every direction.  Seams tend to result in friction and blisters. I ended up having to get a pair of Injinji socks (review to come) to help keep my feet happy.  Most times everything feels fine, but it is frustrating that the problem surfaces at all.  There is one spot between my toes that hurts a great deal if the seam turns and jabs into my skin.  For the time I wrap a small ring of duct tape around my toe, or throw a pair of socks on, but it should not have to be this way!  I do not want to be half-way into a race, and suddenly start developing out of control blisters because a seam started to scrape between my toes or on the top of my foot.  I also don't want to have to run out and add another layer between my feet and the road.

I was disappointed that my wonder-shoes didn't turn out to be as perfect as I had hoped for.  A less expensive pair of cross country spikes could have carried me through the winter months, but I am content with my purchase.  Although they are not perfect, they still do a great job of what they were made for.  The quality is solid, and over time the investment will pay itself back.  Hopefully with time I won't continue to have blister issues.  They do make a great balance for extreme trail conditions.  If my issue with the seams could be taken away, it would make for an absolutely fantastic setup.

These shoes have been around for a little while, and have racked up a few great reviews elsewhere  Birthday Shoes has an excellent review of the KSO Treks up on their site.  If you are at all considering the Treks, you should definitely hop over there and catch that review as well!

Wintertime Thoughts

Shoving my toesies into shoes (be they minimal or not) has caused me to become a tenderfoot once again.  I'm almost used to throwing shoes on for my runs!  For the foreseeable future I'm planning on keeping my feet warm and safe inside shoes.  It is funny to see how soft my feet have become, but I know that I will be able to build my way back into good form faster now that I know some of the basics of running without shoes.  (The other day I noticed that my feet are less muscular... it was an awkward moment of realization.)

With the weather as cold as it has been, and my schedule being oddly busy, I've been watching my hope of running 20 miles at WyCo next month dwindle.  But even if I can't run the full distance, it will still be a great start to my year.  This is the first year I have trained through the winter!  I'm almost looking forward to getting past this first race so I can start slowly building regular mileage, instead of spending almost all my time recovering and feeling out how far I can push one big run.

The growing excitement over barefoot running is really interesting to watch.  I've been busy with things like my son's school projects, and church, but I've managed to take note of some discussions, and studies that seem to add more buzz to the idea that humans are designed to run just the way they are.  It is fun to watch the opinion pieces, and flame-warring carry on between the radical opinions on either side of the issue.  Getting past the extremism, it has been fun to follow the stories of some people who are finding great success (or the beginnings of) in a compromise of the two extremes.  Later in the year I am looking forward to finding that balance for myself as well.  As the Trail Nerds leader Bad Ben recently noted in the group's forums:

[...]Barefoot running can be a means to an end to improve your running form.  It can also make you more aware of your body in relation to its surroundings. But, in the long run (pun intended), you will probably still need to have your feet shod, at some time or in some capacity.  This is especially true for snowy/icy weather conditions, and rocks and "sharps" protection on the trails and roads.  Find out what's right for you, whether it's a pair of super-light 3.8 oz Universe, or a pair tire tread huaraches.  [...]

God seems to have blessed me with the ability to run without shoes, but as this winter has shown: that doesn't mean I can go without shoes ALL the time.  There is a time and a place for both types of running (and that balance is incredibly different from person to person).  I still need to find out where that balance is for me.  Maybe I can push it out to 100 miles on broken glass and never need to worry about it, or maybe 10 miles of trail will prove to be my limit.

Running barefoot is awesome, and I look forward to discovering just how far I can go without shoes.  I'm also looking forward to exactly what I can accomplish with shoes.  There is definitely room for both concepts to flourish together, and the best balance will only come out of some time and experience.  My guess is that shoes will become my solution for carefree, ground-pounding, lusty speed on the rare I-wanna-go-really-really-fast days.  Maybe if I train enough, I can actually run a race with the intent of winning it... and that sounds like shoe territory as well.  All of that is too far into the future to know.  Right now is the anxious part of the year where it is all talk, and no action.  Next up is the hard part, where I have to do all the work.

First Race Of 2010

If all goes well, it looks like my first race of the year will be Run Toto Run, which is put on by the KC Trail Nerds.  I'm looking forward to this run, even though it is going to be brutal.  Hopefully I can get to training soon.  I am sick.  It has not been fun, but I'm still alive.

Not only have I been sick, but the weather has also been awful.  I'd bet that it is throwing a wrench into a great deal of runner's plans.  Secretly I was hoping to take a stab at the 20 mile portion of the race next month, but I may have to switch down to the 10 miler.  I guess I'll just have to see how things go once I can finally start running.  Having had to put off real training for two weeks now may have already done me in, though.

Hopefully I'll be able to start knocking out miles soon.  There is training to do, a shoe review to write, and socks to complain about.  Anyone else having a bad start to their new year?