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Comment by GigabyteCoin | Hacker News Reader

How long before you think webbed-footed shoes are going to be acceptable in society?

That's pretty much the only thing holding me back from buying them or any of the funky new (curved bottom) shoe ideas, I know I would never wear them.

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I wear the Merrell Trailgloves, and they give much the same barefoot feel as the five finger but look like normal shoes. They are so light I often forget they are on. The zero rise from front to back also makes them great squatting and dead lifting shoes.

http://www.merrell.com/US/en-US/Product.mvc.aspx/22875M/5039...

Second this. You can also get the brown leather edition: http://www.merrell.com/US/en-US/Product.mvc.aspx/22874M?gree...

I'll never buy a "normal" running shoe again.

I run with their Sonic Glove. I enjoy it. However, going downhill does way too much damage to my feet. Minimal/barefoot requires short strides with a high cadence and that's hard to do [for me] going downhill.

http://www.merrell.com/US/en-US/Product.mvc.aspx/24667M/5598...

My favorite thing about the Vibrams is the ability to change directions and literally feel the ground with my toes. Your toes were made for a reason.

I love the trailgloves too.

For regular walking/business shoes give Geox a try. The solid leather insole and lightweight build is amazing. The air transfer through the sole actually works too.

Hah! I have Geox's also for business/dressier needs. Great shoes with a nice look.

matwood, do they really compare to the feel of the vibram's? i think my favorite thing about the vibram's is how they let your toes spread out to help with balance and changing direction. do you get that same feel with the merrell's? i've been looking for something similar to vibra's that would also protect my feet on trails.

Well, obviously if you need/want the individual toe feel then they won't replace that. If you're looking for a barefoot shoe that is as minimal as the vibrams then they fit the bill. On my feet the Trailglove toebox is quite wide so my toes spread out inside the shoe. This spread doesn't transfer to the ground of course, but it does lead to the feeling of not wearing a shoe at all.

I don't worry about social acceptability. I have a pair of VFFs for the gym and one for daily wear. They are a great conversation starter, and strangers ask me about them a lot. The one thing they are not good for is standing around. After realizing this and some experimentation I switched to work boots with Dr. Scholl's arch support when I spend a lot of time just standing.

I find the VFFs feel awful when you are not moving. I have a co-worker who wears them all the time, but I can't stand sitting around with them on.

(This could be my foot's fault though, my smallest toe gets scrunched up in the shoe "fingers")

Agreed. I tried wearing them for a while, and while they were fine for running, I couldn't just wear them around casually and they always felt sooo good to take off. They're sized by length, so I had the right size but they were just too narrow for my foot.

I wear mine at the gym and sometimes to/from the gym as well. Why wait for them to become common? In what way are they not acceptable? I challenge anybody not to serve me at a restaurant, or allow me into their store, or kick me out of my place of work because of the shoes I've chosen. How absurd.

Obviously you don't frequent many high end restaurants/clubs.

I have been turned away from places for wearing jeans before. I doubt they would allow me in looking like frog man.

It's more "those places" I was talking about. Sure, nobody is going to scoff at what I wear around my condo.

I do frequent high end restaurants and clubs. But not being "acceptable in society" leading to "never wearing them" is quite different from not being acceptable in a high end restaurant or club.

Depends what you mean by acceptable. I work in your standard jeans-and-a-polo software shop, and there are a few people who wear them. That may just be part of the company culture though (in Calgary, so lots of hiking/biking/skiing types).

If you mean acceptable in semi-formal or even business casual settings, I would say that will just never happen.

I wear mine around all the time. (Well, not at the moment, because I want something warmer for winter.) I get comments about them, mostly from people who're wondering what they are, but I've never seen anything negative.

There's a couple other options out there; you can get a pair of web-footed shoes for special use, and a pair of minimalist closed-toed shoes for regular use. The web-footing will always feel cooler, but you can walk/run in minimalist shoes the same way.

The Merrrell trail shoe someone linked is a good example. I have a pair of pumas that are very similar, though a little more boring.

I've worn my Vibrams exclusively (even to 2 weddings) for the past 4 years, and it's been great for my social life. It's probably the best ice breaker ever invented. Strangers regularly approach and start conversations.

That is a great reason to wear them. My wife and I both wear Vibram's (we even did a Tough Mudder event in them), and they're great for starting conversations on the trail. Of course, if you don't like small-talk with strangers, they will be a nightmare :)

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