Vibram Five Fingers Vs. Nike Free

This is a Guest post by Heidi, she has a great blog check it out here..

Vibram Five Fingers:
Last October Kenny bought me Vibram Five Fingers for my birthday. We started out slow with them, a 5 minute run the first evening, a longer run (like 15 minutes) and then I finally worked my way up to 11km with them.

FF's mimic barefoot running, helping our feet to feel free and helping our toes to be spread apart, the way they are meant to be. The FF's are very lightweight and you almost forget you're wearing anything on your feet.

Five Fingers worked muscles in my calves that I have never (to my knowledge) activated before. It's always fun to hurt the next day after a good workout, but this pain is really something! The secret to FF's is to land on the balls of your feet to the middle of your feet, never your heel. By avoiding you heel, you are saving the heel and back of your leg from excess shock.

Any distance past 9-10 km I find these shoes start to kill, (just from the lack of support) but I am sure with consistentley longer runs I would become more accustomed to them.

Verdict: Love these for quick, short runs because of their lightweight. My speed picks up when I wear these so it is good for speed work.

Nike Frees:
I had a pair of these 2 years ago and since then invested in three different types of sneakers (a Nike shoe slightly bigger than the frees and then a Saucony chunky running shoe)


I absolutely love these shoes. They somewhat mimic the minimalistic running shoe, but with an adeqaute amount of support for longer runs. They are very comfortable and fit my feet like a glove. Also, they are pink:)


I only have one downside to these shoes, they have treads on the bottom that is a trap for rocks. The rocks start to stick out and they can be irritating because you can feel them between you and the pavement. However, it only takes a second to pick out the rocks.
Verdict: Love! I recommend these shoes to everyone, they are an excellent choice for short or long distance or even just the gym.


Have you tried either of these running shoes? What is your favourite type of running shoe?

Vibram Five Fingers vs. Huarache Running Sandals

Check out this video, this male leans more to the Huarache Running Sandals, worth the look.

Five Fingers Komodo Sport vs. the Bikila

 

The FiveFingers Bikila is Vibrams Running shoe and the Komodo Sport is the all purpose fitness shoe.

The Bikila is designed to have the thickest sole to provide alittle more padding to keep those runners happy out there.

The Komodo Sport is padded as well but the Komodo Sport is designed to do whatever the wearer wants, great for crossfit, maybe some tennis then throw in a run then yoga.
 
Both the Komodo Sport and Bikila do not offer the same ground feedback as a pair of sprints or classics but will allow you to do more. Both the Komodo Sport and the Bikilas have the same polyurethance foodbed. I own both the Bikilas and the Komodo Sports and I feel I get alittle more feedback from the Bikilas.

So what pair should you buy?

It's simple, if your going to do mainly running in your Vibram Five Fingers you'll want to buy the Bikilas, but if your looking for a pair to wear in any sitution I'd buy the Komodo Sports. They are both great shoes, thats why I own both.

Reebok Realflex vs. Nike Free

Well You all know my stand that the # 1 minimalistic shoe is the Vibram Five Fingers, but know the big question what is the #2.



There is alot of buzz recently about the Reebok Realflex and there place in this market, and are they better then the Nike Free's?

Comfort
The Nike Free's are extremely comfortable and flexible with a nice upper. The original Free Run is a bit more restrictive, but still nice and comfy.
The Reebok Realflex are flexible like the Free's and provide a nice feeling when running, but when comparing the two I give the point to Nike for the sock like upper that gives it the edge of the Realfex.

CUSHIONING
Now if you win this catorgy I don't know if it's a good thing, if your going for that Barefoot feeling you don't want alot of cushioning. But if you compare the two shoes the Reebok Realflex wins (loses) for Cushioning.

Who's more natural?

Reebok did a great job in making the Realflex very flexible and that say that their sensor platforms give you that natural feeling, when I was wearing them I have to differ, I felt like I was floating more then feeling the ground. The Nike Free's are not a "natural" as they could be but they are alittle better.

Style
 I consider Reebok running shoes to be more of a style/fashion thing, and the technical side of the shoes seems half-assed and gimmicky. So it takes the style points over the Free.

So to Sum this all up if your are looking for a Barefoot style shoe but you don't to go as natural as the Vibram Five Fingers the Nike Free's are my pick.

Check out the full Nike Free review and the Reebok Realflex review

Fila Skeletoes vs Vibram Five Fingers

So Whats better? The Fila Skeletoes or Vibram Five Fingers?

The Skele-Toes  reminds me of water shoes, which they work great as. The Vibram Five Fingers were also called water shoes and really the first ones were being made for sailing.

I'm not trying to dog the Skele-toes' look — they are a quality shoe that is well-made of strong materials. The Skeletoes were not really made for sport more for sliding on after, but they have a very sporty look. VFFs are also very sporty, Speeds and KSO Treks are very sporty and cool looking.

A big bonus with the Skele-toes is that they can be had for $50-$60 — and they are coming out with kid's sizes. Being $50 - $60 they are almost half price besides a pair of VFF's. The Skele-Toes are worth considering. On the other hand, if you want the Cadillac of toe shoes, I think you'll be happier spending the extra money and getting a pair of VFFs.

Competition is great in any area, so I am happy to see a little competition in the toe shoe market, but I don't think Vibram is too worried, but they are suing mind you..

Vibram Five Fingers Jaya LR vs. Jaya

Vibram Five Fingers Jaya LR vs. Jaya

There are not major differences between the Jaya LR and the Jaya.
The body of the two pairs of shoes are really the same but Vibram wanted to spice up the LR alittle and added fancy leather stripes across the top. These leather stripes make the shoe more dressy vs athletic. The rest of the shoes are the same but the LR also had some padding removed from the heel.

First pic: Jaya

Second pic: Jaya LR