Shoes of the Past/Future?

I've been planning on getting back into trail running (for a bit of X-Training) and I've been a massive fan/user of Salomons for a good 9 years. Needless to say I decided to scope out the Net to see what was new on the trail shoe tech front and came across something rather different in the form of Vibram FiveFingers.

Despite the obvious sexy look about them, the write ups and refreshing schools of thought completely blew the traditional arguments, regarding what constitutes a good shoe, off the (t)rails. After a few weeks of contemplation and more internet reading, I decided to take the plunge and grab a pair. I thought it would be a simple process of either finding a local Aus stockist or buying them online from overseas. It turns out that these babies are in high demand, especially the more common sizes. Some US stores were stating a dispatch date of mid to late April. Even then local Sydney stockists (that I visited/contacted) were telling me that they were getting more stock but basically had no idea when. I took this to be a good sign...

Correct sizing is said to be crucial, hence I wanted to buy my first pair locally, but desperation (lack of patience) set in and I eventually found an Aussie online store that had my size on special (for a particular colour) and placed an order. I took delivery on Thursday and have worn them for two days and I have to say - I LIKE 'EM!!!

They are more challenging to put on (compared to a traditional shoe) but once on, I soon forgot that they were on. You do need to alter your walking/running style, as one would when walking/running barefoot but I look forward to strength and balance benefits that this type of shoe is said to bring about.

Below is my new pair of FF Classics. I plan to get a pair of FF KSO's and some Injinji socks in the near future.

I will try and get to the trails this weekend and see how my legs/feet hold up. Will post more thoughts after a bit more use.