Vibrams Five Fingers for Backpacking

[Christopher S]

This is my first post, and as I can’t seem to find any recent posts about Vibram Five Fingers being used as primary footware for backpacking, I figured I’ll give it a go. Please forgive me if there is in fact a recent topic for this.

I’ve only started going backpacking and have been on 2 trips. The first section of the Long trail in Vermont, and the Pemi Loop in the White Mountains. Both trips I wore Vibram Five Fingers as my primary (and only) footware with heavy pack weight and I was often asked on the trail how I liked the shoes, did they hurt, and (from the older fellahs) are you insane? The answers being sort of, no, and slightly.

I should note first that I run in VFFs 3-5 days a week on hard pavement, and have been for the past year. I believe that this is what strengthened my feet enough to not hurt at all on either of the two trails, even over stones/roots with 20 – 30 lb pack weight (haven’t the money to lighten the load yet, so don’t cringe too much).

Even though my feet never particularly hurt, the reason I only kind of liked them was because even in small puddles/mud my feet would get wet. I wore toe socks on the Long trail, and let’s just say the socks were demolished with all the mud. On the Pemi Loop, there was less mud, and I didn’t wear socks, but there were plenty of small puddles where my feet got wet… Ultimately on both trips my feet were wet nearly all day long every day… And very dirty.

It is noteworthy that the shoes themselves held up perfectly and they do in fact dry out very quickly. They are also pretty grippy on wet rocks and it’s extremely easy to keep your balance on uneven terrain because your feet wrap around the ground and not teeter on top of it. Ultimately, though, for anybody wondering how they apply to backpacking, I suggest that you strengthen your feet well in advance, bring warm dry camp shoes, and prepare for wet feet on shoulder season treks.

 

Sorry for the lengthy post, but I had found it very difficult to find people who had actual experience backpacking with Vibrams and felt they needed a thorough  shakedown. This all is based on my own personal experience so ymmv.

[Geoff Caplan]

For me, VFFs are a step too far on any kind of non-trivial trail (pun intended)..

I’ve been wearing minimal footwear exclusively for years and am fully transitioned. But like most minimal walkers I prefer a zero-drop trail shoe with a conventional toe.

First – I’ve seen more than one account of people breaking toes in the VFFs. Not much fun a long way from the trailhead, to put it mildly. Conventional “barefoot” shoes can provide much more toe protection.

Second – conventionally shaped shoes make it much easier to develop a system of socks and inserts to cover changing conditions. I can mix and match bare feet, 1-3 layers of Coolmax liner socks, waterproof socks or vapour barriers (plastic bags!), home-made rock-plates and a 2mm impact absorbing insole, This covers wet and muddy walking, cold conditions, rock and gravel, road walking and pretty much everything else short of serous snow and ice. Can’t see how this would work so well in VFFs.

Third – for long descents I find a conventionally shaped shoe with a good lacing system is more comfortable.

Finally – in my personal opinion VFFs are a bit of a gimmick. How is it natural to have 2-4 layers of material between each toe? In conventional “barefoot” footwear my feet can function naturally within the single space inside the shoe. Also, you look less eccentric and are less likely to run into trouble with rangers etc who might have unjustified safety concerns.

I’ve developed the modular system over many years to extend the range of conditions I can handle in my trail shoes. In the early days I did do a long Alpine trail “hard-core” in minimal shoes with no rock plate or midsole. A lot of the going was rocky and after the first couple of weeks my feet became a bit tender and swollen. Not a show-stopper, but I was hirpling for a few minutes after each stop till I warmed up, and after 6 weeks I was reaching the limits of comfort. But I actively enjoy using the minimal shoe on grass and dirt and didn’t want to lose that option. So rather than switch to a more padded shoe I developed the inserts for rocky passages and for long road-walks. (The rock-plates are cut from plastic kitchen chopping mats from a pound-store). Now my feet are pretty happy whatever the conditions, and i can even walk in moderate snow with no problems and trog though icy bog in a Dartmoor winter.

Hope this is some help. As you say there aren’t many of us doing this, so you have to feel your own way through experience. But personally I wouldn’t get fixated on the VFFs – give more conventionally shaped shoes a try and see how you get on.

[Christopher S]

You bring up some really good points! I do plan on getting some Merrell Trail Gloves or something similar to create such a system as you describe. I should have mentioned that I will most likely not be using my VFFs for anything longer than a day hike in the future. I did find that I paid a lot of attention to every step I took and made it a point to pick my next 5-10 steps carefully when going up or downhill, so as to avoid injury. I feel I wouldn’t have to focus as much on my steps if I had used a more traditional shoe. And, while I did appreciate some aspects of their minimalism, I did not appreciate their “flexibility” so to speak in terms of dealing with variable terrain and conditions.

[Geoff Caplan]

Christopher

I think you’ll find it an interesting journey. I’m around 5 years in and still experimenting.

For socks, I’ve ditched conventional merino loop-piles for coolmax liners. You can carry 3-4 pairs for the weight of one pair of looped SmartWools. On longer walks I’ll wear 2 pairs at once, which gives the benefits of the more conventional inner/outer sock arrangement in terms of reducing rubbing and hot spots, but at a much lighter weight. The liners dry far faster than woolen socks, and I keep rotating to try and have at least 1 dry pair at all times. Rinse them out regularly and they won’t pong up too badly. They last surprisingly well.

If I’m using a rock plate or an impact absorbing insole I use one pair of socks to leave more space in the shoe..

I like this system and won’t be going back to my SmartWools.

In terms of managing wet feet, minimal shoes aren’t much different from the more padded trail shoes that most lightweight backpackers are using. If you go lightweight there’s really no way to keep your feet dry, so most people avoid anything with a membrane and rely on drainage.

If you’re facing wet feet for days on end you have to take precautions to prevent infection. Andrew Skurka recommends an expensive barrier cream that’s not available in the UK. When I showed the ingredients to a pharmacist he laughed and told me it was just nappy cream (diaper cream). It’s cheap and seems to help. I dry my feet carefully when I reach camp and apply an antimicrobial cream or powder.If you neglect these precautions you can pick up infections around the toenails or around broken skin.

When it’s cold enough that wet feet could be dangerous I’ve simply been using an inner sock, a stout plastic freezer bag as a vapour barrier and an outer sock. This is cheap and works OK. I had no luck with SealSkinz – they leaked almost immediately and were bulky and uncomfortable. I’ve just discovered the DexShell range – thinner than SealSkinz and with some good reviews. I’ll give them a try this winter.

If I’m facing a long section on a hard surface I use Noene # 2 insoles for padding and protection, though they’re a bit of a luxury and you might get away without them:

The total weight of this system is no greater than a pair of conventional lightweight trail shoes.

If you have any ideas about improvements please post them!

[Colin Leath]

My post history should show a response that is relevant.

I’ve been using xeroshoes 6mm and before that the 3mm since 2014 at least.

They get old on thick gravel and hardened lava and sticky wet mud.

Before that I used trail gloves and before that the kso treks. Glad I’m using neither now.

You’ll be fine. Carry your old footwear until you know you can do a 20 mi day in the rain with your new shoes with no blisters.

I summertimes carry a vivo barefoot like kroc. But that is mainly so I can use weight rooms when traveling or if it is colder and I want to wear thick socks.

I don’t tie a knot on the bottom of my xeroshoes. I punch an extra hole a hole’s width away and pull the cord partly through.

I carry the punch. Don’t travel without it. And the cord will break at random times. I just stop and feed a bit more through and I’m good to go.

[Colin Leath]

https://backpackinglight.com/forums/topic/69720/page/2/#post-1924381

 

 

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