Barefoot Running and Shoe Companies

[Joe Kuster]

>>Hydropel seemed to slick up the footbeds of my vibrams a lot.
>Is that a bad thing?

Yes, the inside of the shoes are essentially fake leather and rubber – neither absorb the lubricant and it causes your foot to slip around worse than if you get them wet. Thankfully they are a tight fit, but it leaves your feet slipping around more than normal.

[Cayenne Redmonk]

I first heard about the feelmax shoes from playing hack.

[Huzefa @ Blue Bolt Gear]

Ok, That can happen if you are not wearing socks or 5fingers are a little big.

I did lot of research to find a alternate.

A barrier cream is a topical formulation used in industrial and medical environments to place a physical barrier between the skin and contaminants which may irritate the skin and cause contact dermatitis or occupational dermatitis.

Medical application
Barrier preparations which can be a cream, ointment or aerosol spray often contain substances which repel water such as silicon, zinc oxide or dimethicone. Typical applications are in occluded skin-to-skin contacts such as body folds or flexural areas. A common use for barrier creams and ointments is nappy rash or diaper rash.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barrier_cream

Zinc Oxide is an alternative.

I studied the ingredients on many different products. In the end the Bodyglide SPF 25, Anti-Friction & Sun Formula looks great multiuse product. Footglide is similar w/o sunscreen. Google it for reviews.

Active Ingredients: Benzophenone 3 (5.5%) (Sunscreen), Octyl methoxycinnamate (7.5%) (Sunscreen), Octyl Salicylate (Sunscreen), Zinc Oxide (1%)??

Inactive Ingredients: Aloe Vera Extract, Bisabolol, C18 36 Acid Triglyceride, Caprylic/Capric Triglycerides, Tribehenin, Tocopheryl Acetate

Note: Bodyglide original anti chafe doesnt contain zinc oxide. The active ingredient is Allantoin.

I also came across old threads where use of zinc oxide as deodorant is discussed.

I think zinc oxide may not be as durable as silicone lubricant but it looks like a good alternative.

Edit: Dermatone Zcote looks even better.

The sunscreen component -Zcote is actually microfine zinc oxide. So total percentage of zinc oxide is much higher.

[Brian Strong]

http://www.feelmax.com/products.html

http://d3ck3hminio15i.cloudfront.net/v1.0/index_v2.5.html

Feelmax looks interesting. I wonder how they hold up? Do they ship to the US?

[Thomas Burns]

I wear the Neoprene ones during the cold months and add the wool toe socks mentioned above. Besides the lack of blistering and other benefits mentioned above, they also are amazingly protective of the bottoms of your feet. That's some tough rubber, you betcha.

Even when wet, the neoprene Vibrams keep da feets remarkably warm. Also, as has been suggested in other threads, they are fantastically adherent to most surfaces, especially the Achilles heel of most shoes, wet, slimy rocks.Apparently, they are popular with scuba divers.

The only drawback, IMO, is catching the ubiquitous Ohio greenbriar between the toes.

You'll get some funny looks on the trail, but you won't be taking a dive on stream crossings they way others will.

Stargazer

[carlos martinez]

I was amazed at the 100lb plus loads these guys carry with minimal or no footware.If, you need evidence that people are capable of handling rough terrain with minimal footware check these guys out.

[Roger Caffin]

Hi Joe

> my mother worked in the shoe industry for 25 years.
Your mother's observations are most revealing. Thank you!
(I agree 100%.)

Cheers

[josh wagner]

sometimes people just feel the need to do things differently just for the sake of being different. there are 1000 reasons to wear shoes. not a single reason not to

[Miguel Arboleda]

"Sigh" right back. There are a thousand reasons not to wear shoes, too. And some of them have to do with people liking it that way. I certainly prefer to walk barefoot as much as I can, simply because, to me, it feels so much better.

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