Originally Posted by
veganbikes
Vibram still makes five fingers and I still have all my pairs. Hiked in them, walked in the city with them, no issues with broken glass or thorns that I wouldn't also have in my regular running shoes (Brooks and Altra). Vibram has been making outsoles for a long long time so no reason to believe they are low quality and just let in glass easily. I stopped wearing them as often because my employer asked I stop wearing them in the shop and also standing all day on tile and concrete floors was not great for my feet at the end of the day so I didn't fight back hard on them. I enjoy walking and hiking and occasionally running in them but standing all day not as good.
I will admit riding in them was not as fun but I like a good stiff sole for that so even normal running shoes aren't great.
Going totally naked in the city is not so good I can agree there but wearing Five Fingers not so bad.
I have been wearing a pair of Soft Star Shoes for years. I had a pair of black ones. They are leather, with a 5mm Vibram sole. That's it. The have thinner soles available as well. They have zero arch, zero support, and zero padding. The toe box is large so your toes are free. It is a very barefoot feeling. They can be rolled up. They are very flexible, more so than the Five Fingers I have. I could wear those where I couldn't wear the Vibram Five Fingers. They are much more comfortable as well, nothing crammed between your toes. On a side note, I had to modify the Five Fingers, to join the two middle toes, since mine are webbed. It worked though. I much prefer the Soft Star Shoes though.
I need a new pair now, my cat decided to pee on the floor in the entry way one day, and got the shoes too. I have cleaned them multiple times. I wore them for seven years though. I definitely got my money's worth.
https://www.softstarshoes.com/
