FiveFingers Trek LS Mens

Arlington, VA

My rainy-day review of the Vibram FiveFingers Trek LS.

I wear FiveFingers every day. Before receiving the Trek LS’s my Vibram collection included KSOs and Sprints. I loved both of them in all conditions but the rain and cold. So, I was very hopeful that the Trek LS model would fill the void. They do. There is enough room in the LS’s to wear toe socks, but they still feel great without socks. I have not worn these in very cold weather, but I imagine that they will keep your feet warm with the appropriate socks. They EXCEED my expectations in wet conditions. I wore them today, hiking in the rain for two hours. My feet stayed dry. Completely dry. After this, I decided to test them out in puddles. I know that the shoes aren’t waterproof, but the Kangaroo leather that they are made of is incredibly water resistant, and the seams hold up well to wet weather. I walked through puddles of various depth, and my feet stayed dry while walking through puddles of about an inch deep. Later in the day I decided to go further. I walked through a puddle that was about two inches deep, and completely expected to have wet feet afterward. To my surprise, my feet didn’t feel wet afterward. But, when I took my shoes off, my socks were slightly wet in a few places, including the bottom.

In summary, the Vibram FiveFingers Trek LS model is awesome. I wear the same size in the LS’ as I do in the KSOs and Sprints, but they leave a little room for toe socks to be worn comfortably. They’ll keep your feet warm and dry. Oh, and they look darn good too.

Ever since I purchased my first pair of Vibram Fivefingers, I fell in love with the product. The way the shoes allow you to have a natural feel the ground really connects you with your surroundings, while keeping what you don’t want to connect with (i.e. glass, nails, scorching hot pavement, etc) out! The benefits for walking barefoot are clear; a simple search on the web will provide you with plenty of fun facts and testimonials about back and joint pain clearing up, plantar fasciitis disappearing…. Not to mention it makes you stronger and feel healthier! When walking in any Vibram fivefinger product, essentially you ARE walking barefoot, with just 2-4mm of rubber sole between you and the Earth.

Now onto this product more specifically; The Men’s Vibram FiveFingers Trek LS. This quickly became my favorite pair of Vibram FiveFingers to wear on a daily basis. The laces and leather designing give the shoes an appearance of a casual pair of shoes with the feel and attention of FiveFingers. I love the combination of the durability and softness one can expect from kangaroo leather (Yes, this is real treated kangaroo hide!). The shoe is leather throughout the entirety of the shoe, minus the rubber tred at the bottom. The tred itself, compared to other FiveFingers, is thicker (~4mm, whereas the average FiveFingers is ~2mm). What this means is that you will have less of a feel for the ground, and less of the illusion of “barefooting” while wearing these- but believe me… if these are your first pair, you will still notice the difference from regular shoes! The tred would be great for trekking over more unforgiving terrain. The slight rubber cleating gives the wearer the extra traction that would be essential for traversing large rock piles, slight rock faces, etc.

In Summary:

Pros
*Great looking for casual wear and so unique!
*Excellent quality and durability
*Extra tredding for more demanding treks
*Perfect for those new to FiveFingers, and barefooting veterans alike

Cons
*Less ground feel due to the double-thick 4mm sole
*Slightly less breathable than the non-leather models
*Less form-fitting than the stretchable fabric seen in non-leather models
*Fairly pricey