The first pair of truly minimalist shoes I owned were Vibram FiveFingers Classics. I bought them in mid 2006 and after several years of heavy use, they were eventually relegated to light-duty tasks like mowing the lawn. To replace my beloved Classics, I bought a pair of FiveFingers KSOs (which are still going strong). I found the KSO worked very well for almost everything: walking, running, hiking, backpacking, racquetball, tennis, weight training, and just plain-old everyday wear. It became my go-to shoe for any activity in temperatures warmer than 30 - 50 F (depending on my level of exertion). To this day, no matter how many different shoes I test I find myself always coming back to the KSO.
Back in the early days - when I first realized that my footwear was largely responsible for my foot/knee/back issues - I went on a quest to find a pair of minimalist shoes. Bare feet weren't going to cut it for me at work, nor were they going to get me through the colder months. My selection criteria were really quite simple: I wanted no raised heel, no cushioning, no arch support, and a last that was wide enough for my feet. After extensive research I soon discovered that my list of requirements wasn't going to be easily met by any off-the-shelf product. My thoughts then turned towards more traditional forms of footwear which was when I discovered Russell Moccasin.
Earlier this year Kigo Footwear ran a contest to select the names for their next generation shoe models. Contestants were supposed to submit a name for a active/sport model and a feminine/casual model. I submitted a few name ideas and one of them was selected for the women's shoe: the Curv. The prize? A new pair of shoes.
My family has heard the spiel enough by now and they drink the Kool-Aid: minimalist footwear is better for your feet. Every time a shoebox arrives in the mail, my kids rip it open and proceed to critique the design. The last time that happend I had just arrived home from work. As soon as I walked through the door, Brienne (my seven year old) proceeded to tell me that the latest pair that had arrived were too narrow and that the heel was too thick...
Thanks to the suggestion and financial donation by one of my readers, I recently acquired a pair of Feiyue wushu shoes for review. What are wushu shoes? Wushu is a Chinese word that means martial arts, but it is also the name for a specific martial art (or sport) called wushu.
