New Vibrams

I went to the local REI today intending to try on the Women's KMD Sport LS.  They only have Grey/Black/Pink right now and i was sizing in hope of ordering the Violet/Light Violet/Grey ones online.  I figured i'd try out Bikilas and Spyridons while i was at it.  I wear a 41 in the Sprints so i figured that would be the right size for all of the other models as well.

Perhaps it would be pertinent for me to point out two facts about my huge hobbit feet right now.  There are (at least) two things going against me when i am trying on shoes to buy.  The most pressing in this instance are the fact that i have wide feet and a high instep.  This is why i went for Sprints when i started buying Vibrams.  When you don't have full coverage of your instep you're more likely to get burnt buy you also have more room for the top of your foot.  The straps on my Sprints are barely long enough, really.  The toes are snug but spread to accomodate my big boned toes.  When i first bought my first pair of Sprints almost all of the seams felt too snug.

This doesn't bother me as much as it once did.  I think that i've both broken them in and gotten used to it.  But unfortunately i have the same problems with the lace systems.  The instep of these shoes is barely big enough for me to ease my feet into, too tight for comfort and proper circulation.  All of the women's models i tried on today clearly did not fit me, and the Bikilas with the strap were so tight that i couldn't even really try.

So i turned to the men's versions of the shoes.  I tried on the Men's Spyridon, which were too loose in the toes and too tight in the instep, and bought the Men's KMD Sport in Castle Rock/Navy/Gray.  The KMDs are still tight, but loose enough for me to hope that i can break them in to a comfortable level.  The toes are looser than i am used to in Vibrams but i don't think they're too loose.  One of the things that i find odd is that the laces aren't elastic, so i bought some Yankz thinking that i'll probably replace the laces that came with the shoes.

The tread is thicker and looks more like an athletic shoe which is why i wanted to get some new Vibrams. I don't feel like i'm ready to run barefoot, not really.  I've been wearing shoes to work and am not barefoot as much as i would like.  Sprints are a bit uncomfortable at the arch where the strap system restricts motion and the tread is completely smooth.  I want more traction for trail running. The Highline Hustle was a trail run and part of my run near my home is graded but unpaved road with a lot of loose gravel.  I hiked in the Sprints this summer but would have appreciated more traction than i had.

The arch in these shoes still has more rigid support than i'd like but i'm hoping that these will provide a good transition from running shoes to barefoot running. My current running shoes were bought to wear at work (Vibrams aren't forbidden but are slightly frowned upon) made my feet cramp because they were too narrow in the instep. The jury is still out on these. I might be taking them back tomorrow.