These are the Vibram Five Fingers KSO, M148 in size 42. I used to wear a size 10, but I've been wearing barefoot shoes for at least a year and some change and I think my shoe size has gone down to 9.5. So far, these fit pretty good. I feel like they are just a hair too long, but not enough to make me want a new size. My big toe feels like it is close to the end of its toe pocket, but my pinky toe is far from touching the end. I guess this is good, because not everyone has the same size toes so imagine it could fit a range of feet. My pinky toe doesn't lay flat anyway, so maybe that's why it's not filling its pocket.
Real quick background on my barefoot experience. I started about a year or so ago switching to the Merrell Tough Glove as my full time at work and walking around shoe. I liked them so much I added the Merrell Flux Glove as my running shoe. I have been wearing one or the other almost exclusively for the past year plus.
My first thought when putting on the KSOs was that they are much lighter, much more non-shoe than the Merrells. It took some getting used to when I bought the Merrells, getting used to the zero heel drop and the light weight, but these KSOs are even more zero than the Merrells. They seem much thinner all over. The sole is thinner and it also seems more flexible. The upper is thinner too.
The first thing that slightly annoyed me with the KSOs was the strap that wraps around the back. It hit me right on the Achilles. I have a slight tendinitis issue there, so felt a slight pain. I loosed the strap a little and it went away and the show felt better on that foot. I have a pair of Merrell Barefoot Jungle Mocs, and the top of the spandex upper hit me in the same spot on the Achilles and it hurt for the first day or two that I wore them. Now they have stretched a little and I can't feel it anymore.
Overall, they have a good feel when walking around. It's totally different than the Merrell Barefoots and has much more of a barefoot feeling. When I'm not wearing shoes around the house, I am usually wearing a leather moccasin. The KSOs feel more like the moccasin, but much more secure on my foot.
The one odd feeling I get is a slight instability around the heel. I can really feel the thickness of the shoe's heel on my heel. If I start to lean to one side or the other on my heel, it feels like the shoe's heel gets thinner suddenly and I start to feel a slight pull or roll to whichever side I lean toward, like I'm rolling off the heel. It's so slight that it's not an issue and I don't notice it all the time, but it's there.
Because these shoes are much thinner than my Merrells, I think my feet are going to be cold. It's already getting colder around here and I noticed my feet were cold yesterday when I ran to the store. I have a pair of Injinji toe socks I can wear with them, but right now they are in the wash, so I haven't tried them yet. I got the toe socks last year when I was thinking about getting Vibrams just so I could get used to the sensation of foot gloves. I really like wearing them, so the feeling of the KSOs was equally pleasant.
That's about all for now. I'll post more later after I wear them around a bit more.
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