[pct-l] Vibram 5 fingers; keeping feet dry

[David Ellzey]

I am wearing the KSO Treks, which model are you running in?

BigToe

From: Dan Africk [mailto:danstheman at gmail.com]
Sent: Tuesday, March 23, 2010 8:17 PM
To: David Ellzey; pct-l at backcountry.net
Subject: Vibram 5 fingers; keeping feet dry


I was thinking of using the 5 fingers as well, since I recently got a pair for running. I've found that my feet stay very moist since there is rubber wrapped under and to the sides of my feet and toes. It's fine for running or casual use, but so far my testing has shown that wearing them for just a few hours while backpacking leaves my feet soggy from sweat. I've thought about getting a larger size and using toe socks, but I figure at that point its not much different than a regular shoe, and since the socks are thin I'd have to change them often. Both the five fingers and the socks take longer to put on and take off than shoes, and doing that several times a day might get tedious.
I think I'll be using trail runners with liner socks plus thick hiking socks. This system has always worked well for me(with boots anyway), since the liners wick the moisture away to the thick socks. Still, I'd be interested in what you find from your testing.

I think I'll also bring plastic bags or tyvek booties or waterproof socks for the rainy days. I really like the tyvek idea, since they would also work as a wind barrier in my mesh water shoes(which will also be my camp shoes) on cold nights, and I've ditched my insulated booties. Maybe I'll have a chance to test them out before I hit the trail. Thanks everyone, especially Austin, for all the ideas. It sounds like wet feet are inevitable, and if so I'll live with it, but I'm still going to do my best to minimize that. Wet feet are more prone to get blisters, which I think is the biggest hazard we face.


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