Vibram Fivefingers

I recently purchased a pair of Vibram FiveFinger Sprints. After a dozen hikes I feel like I have enough of an opinion to review them properly. I'll just give a list of pros and cons.

Cons

1. Things hurt that poke in your feet! It takes a while to get used to the fact that you aren't wearing heavy boots when hiking.

2. Debris can come into the shoe from the top. Mostly things like sand and stuff but sometimes rocks can work their way in. It's only a little annoying because you have to stop and empty them periodically. By periodically I mean on a 10 mile hike maybe once.

3. Your feet will be sore. Weirdly, not on the bottoms. At least not in my case. It's the tops that get sore from actually using your muscles and tendons up there. They are used to being folded and smashed together while locked in place when you are walking.


Pros

1. Things hurt that poke in your feet! Why is this also a pro? Because it forces you to slow down and pay attention to your surroundings. No more "powering" thru the woods. Now you are walking IN the woods. I always walk slowly but these enforce that pace. So if you are into hiking to get it done as fast as possible (and wtf would you be hiking for then) then they are not for you.
2. Somewhat related to #1 is the fact that you can feel the terrain you are walking. The only analogy I can think of is wearing thick rubber gloves to touch something and then wearing thin tactile gloves. The difference is amazing.

3. You have monkey toes. Use them. Walking up hills, down hills, etc. you can curl your feet to grip things. This is not a conscious thing its just something I notice happening naturally. Once again, if you are a person with pussy feet who likes to wear "manly" boots this may freak you out at first.

Overall so far I love them. Many of the cons are only cons when you first start. After that it's second nature to look where you are stepping when in doubtful terrain. #2 should be taken care of by a new FiveFinger coming out soon. The KSO. Reviewed here in two parts. Remember also that most of the "trails" I'm walking are really mountain bike trails. Rocky and rooty terrain that's perfect for bikes but not a smooth walkable surface. I love going on them but the Sprints really shine on the smooth doubletrack portions. If you walk in terrain like that your experience will probably be even more positive than mine.