five finger shoes?

[drsalome]

Hi Pilgrims, anyone have experience or heard of walking the camino in the 5 finger shoes? I'm considering this due to the light weight and hopefully less friction than a hiking boot.
what do you think?
thanks
salome

[Gazza]

Have only seen a couple of pairs of these in the Gym. Not sure if they would give enough support or if they would allow the foot to breathe.

[ClaireB]

I know a marathon runner who swears by them and says it's like not wearing shoes at all - that being said, marathons are generally on flat ground not rough ground and climbing hills. His shoes take a bit of a pounding so could last the distance but I wouldn't want to stub my toe or trip over whilst wearing them

[Covey]

I saw a pair of these called Vibram in a shop, but the Trek shoe seemed to have quite a thin sole and seemed somewhat "floppy".

The Camino Frances trail is probably 30% paved road/pavement and the rest is rough track which is mostly unprepared earth and stone. Quite a lot of the tracks are stony with 1" sharp stones (not rounded beach pebbles!) and if the soles of your footwear are too thin, then it makes for very uncomfortable walking. The constant twisting of your feet inside the footwear could/will end up giving you serious blisters.

When it rains, some parts of the track can get quite muddy and these shoes are not going to cope at all with thick mud. For road walking they might be an interesting alternative, but for the Camino, I would stick to conventional footwear with a heavy duty sole!

[BHinSanDiego]

I just read a thread on another travel board, from what I read no one would recommend them for travel and walking through cities in Europe, that being said, I definitely would not recommend them for walking the Camino, with the varying terrain you need more support and a thicker sole.

[ken huocj]

i remember talking to an early 20's couple who used them, they said they were happy with all terrains they had traversed.
Guess they're used to barefeet walking with well developed and exercised soles.

[kramer]

I walked in April/May and did encounter muddy paths - chose the lightest trainers that had Vibram soles (North Face)

[John Lee]

Hey,

I wouldn't advise it. I went on a 4 mile hike months ago with it. Unless you have trained yourself (and do not take the word train lightly, I mean go on multiple 2-4 mile hikes with them in various terrains) then it will be a very uncomfortable experience. Actually, you may even throw them away after your first couple days!! It's difficult because most terrain is dynamic. Unless you take it extremely slow or have months of experience with them on trails, I advise you not to.

I'm a proud owner of Vibram Five-Fingers, and it does make my sole stronger, but should not be worn for long-term walks unless properly trained.

Hope this helps,
John Lee

[Tox]

I just made a similar post on another thread as this, but I thought I'd post it hear as well. So...

I was seriously close to buying FiveFinger Treks to use on the Camino - I was planning to go this afternoon. But I watched "The Way" last night and it became quite clear (to me) that I should stick to normal footwear (Salomons and hiking sandals). I especially appreciated one line from the movie that went something to the effect of "the Camino is hard enough, why add even more suffering." That did it for me.

I have also worried that, wearing FiveFingers, they might become a distraction of fully experiencing the Camino psychologically. I mean, I'd be thinking about the FiveFingers too much. Right?

BUT, I love the shoes, will someday purchase them, and honor all who chose to use them on the Camino. Hopefully I'll meet some of them when I do my first walk (mid-July to mid-August) and hear about their experiences first-hand.

So thanks all.

[HuskyNerd]

Not meaning to change anyone's mind. . . . . , but I was interested that an outdoor gear store right on the Camino in Viana sells FiveFinger gear and the owner highly recommends them for the Camino. I went into the store looking for sock liners and the owner proceeded to try to convince me that traditional boots are a terrible choice for the Camino. His store is filled with FiveFingers and accessories.

There was also a young couple from California who I met on their first day on the Camino (at about Los Arcos, I think) who were trying out their FiveFingers for the first time. I think they were a little uncertain based on their Day 1 experience as to whether they'd work for the long haul -- their feet were pretty sore. Never saw them again after that, so I have no report on how they did.

[Fey]

I personally loved them. I have two pair, one for running and one for trekking. I started wearing my trekking shoes two months ago. Last time I hiked Haleaka crater, wore them for about 5hours and 13miles with no issues. I had to dumped out the fine sand once.

BTW, I am planning to walk the Camino starting from Leon, is two weeks feasabl? Contemplating end of July timid August.

[Shaun]

Hi Fey,

I also am planning on two weeks from Leon, but a bit earlier....next March. I have my flights booked, and am very excited about it!
Although its still a way off, I will post on here how I got on. So, keep tuned, and I'll let you know how it went.

Regards, Shaun

[Fey]

Shaun, please do share your experience when you go in March. I haven't booked any flights yet but my plan is to fly to Madrid from SFO , take the train to Burgos and stay a day. Then, take the train to Leon and start my walk.

I am trying to take three weeks off and walk for two weeks give or take. Any info will be greatly appreciated. Goodluck and buen camino!!!


Fey

[Gazza]

I met a distributor of these 'shoes" last week in Australia & he says they can take some people a long time to get use to the shoes, as you need to harden your feet up a lot. So would think that just like normal hiking shoes you need to wear them in thoroughly before doing something like the Camino. Remember we are walking basically 30 days+. How often do you do that!!!!