FiveFingers,, FYI

[JJ_BPK]

I was a skeptic from the start. I have 1st hand knowledge that as you age you lose the padding in your soles.

I can feel every bump in the road, beach, sidewalk, & grass.

FiveFingers Maker Will Pay Millions To Suckers Who Bought Its Shoes, Jon Gugala, Filed to: Crimes Against Fitness

Vibram FiveFingers Toe-shoes Fads

Wednesday 12:00pm

The favorite toe-shoe of vegan restaurant servers and 55-year-old men with ponytails has settled a class action lawsuit brought against it by what sounds like every person who ever wore its foot-condoms.

Runner's World Newswire's Matt McCue reports that though Vibram "expressly [denies] and continues to deny any wrongdoing alleged in the Actions, and neither admits nor concedes any actual or potential fault, wrongdoing or liability," the company has agreed to pay a lot of money.
Vibram Agrees to Settle Class Action Lawsuit

Vibram USA, the company that makes FiveFingers running shoes, has agreed to settle a lawsuit that… Read on runnersworld.​com

The initial claim, filed in 2012, accuses Vibram of deceiving consumers by saying that its shoes could "reduce foot injuries and strengthen foot muscles." Unfortunately, Vibram appears to have pulled this out of thin air, really hoping it was true.

It is not true.

Science takes time, and since the advent of Christopher McDougall's best-selling Born to Run (a book based mainly on anecdote that sparked the minimalist footwear revolution), science has discovered that barefoot running can really fuck you up.

"This study showed that increases in bone marrow edema [the precursor to a stress fracture] are more common in subjects who were transitioning to the [Vibram FiveFingers]," concluded this 2013 study.

In penance for its crimes against fashion and humanity, Vibram has placed $3.75 million into escrow. Those funds will go to the fitness idiots who purchased a pair after March 21, 2009, with up to $94 for each in an effort to help your friends and family not shudder when looking at your feet.

http://fittish.deadspin.com/vibram-f...ium=socialflow

[PSM]

I saw the title of the thread and thought that you had discovered a Kung Fu grip for us FOGs.

Pat

[Max_Tab]

I thought it was about that old vietnam book.

[MtnGoat]

Originally Posted by Max_Tab

I thought it was about that old vietnam book.

That's the same thing I thought of

[Javadrinker]

Originally Posted by MtnGoat

That's the same thing I thought of

and here I thought I was the only person to have read that book ...

[Scimitar]

Although it is likely that the article doesn't outline the full legal claim against Vibram, the issue could as easily be caused by people transitioning into them too quickly out of over supporting footwear.

Although I think 5 fingers are creepy as hell, and make me shudder every time I see them, I still argue for the merits of minimalist footwear.

In my uneducated opinion law suits mean little to nothing.

S

[WarriorDiplomat]

Originally Posted by JJ_BPK

I was a skeptic from the start. I have 1st hand knowledge that as you age you lose the padding in your soles.

I can feel every bump in the road, beach, sidewalk, & grass.

Having had fallen arches and knowing the pain and it's cause then going to a podiatrist to get rock hard plastic arch supports to correct it. The podiatrist asked me if I used these five finger shoes and warned me not to because of the injuries he was seeing. Funny enough it wasn't the hardness of the soles that bothered me it was the bedding my foot sat on that didn't support my foot shape. With those rock hard inserts by back pain dissappeared and so did my knee pain.
Everytime I saw someone wearing them I would ask how they felt and funny enough after reading the out of thin air vibram sales pitch about strengthening muscles that is the exact same thing those wearing them told me.

[Roguish Lawyer]

Lawsuits like this get settled for reasons having nothing to do with the merits.

[zeke]

The Five Fingers helped me stop heel striking and made my back pain after runs go away. Just have to slow down a bit on rocky ground or you bruise the ball of your foot easily. I found New Balance Minimus to have the same effect also.