Take this how you will but I thought it was an interesting story:
Man claims barefoot running cured his plantar fasciitis. [Birthdayshoes.com]

Neat if true; of course your mileage may vary, is it were.
Personally, I had shin splints and joint pain when running in sneakers that cleared up when I switched to VFFs.

I washed my vibram KSO's in the washing machine on cold/cold and let them air dry. On ym firt run I had to stop after 30 minutes because of a hellacious blister I could feel forming and couldn't bear any more of. After I got home I noticed a blister forming on my heel as well. Does anyone else experience this after washing their vibrams?

Are your feet becoming more impact resistant running in your FiveFingers?

It seems that my only real problem right now is foot soreness after a run that seems to be foot-smacking-pavement related insofar as it is worse over longer distances. I've been running in them for a year and it doesn't seem to be getting any better.

Similarly, any good remedies? The first few steps when I stand up after sitting after a run are worse as my feet don't really want to flex from stiffness and soreness.

Also: Vibram's 2011 VFF line preview [Birthdayshoes.com]

If anyone us looking for Bikilas, TravelCity.com restocked last night.
Finally got myself a pair. Maybe the rocks won't hurt so much on all this running. :)

So I guess I'm just question girl in this community.

How much wear are you getting out of your VFFs?

I ask because I seem to have mostly worn through the soles on one spot on my Sprints, that I've only had since January. Sure, I wear them a lot. And they seemed to be doing pretty well until I added daily running on cement onto the daily regime. (I walk pretty much everywhere. And do a lot of martial arts. I am hard on shoes...)

But I'm sad! And I won't be getting my Bikilas until the end of the month!

I posted a bit ago about wanting to repair my sprints, where the soles were separated from the upper at one spot inside of one of the big toes. I tried silicone glue. The VFFs laughed. I tried shoe goo. The VFFs (or perhaps the pivots I do during forms work) scoffed.

I tried barge cement. They are now fixed. I highly recommend barge cement for such purposes.

I'd also be curious for comments on de-stinkifying VFFs. The flows seem pretty easy to wash, though they take a while to dry. The sprints seem to have more trouble with stink (I think it's the leather insole), and while they responded well to washing with a peroxide based bleach, I can't say the insole cared for it. A friend recommended leaving them in the freezer overnight - this doesn't seem to work once they're really stinky, but if you think they're starting to head that direction it seems to help a lot. My problem is that I often train on wet grass, and end of wearing them wet - and spilling salt water on them at work (I work with sea slugs, so this happens...) and generally when they're damp and on my feet for hours, they get a little gross.

Also, I just ordered a pair of Bikilas. As a heads up, anyone who has an REI membership, the 20% coupon on one full priced item expires tomorrow, so it's a dandy time to use it. (Okay, they're backordered, but I figured that between the coupon and my dividend I might as well put the order in now.)

Hope this is appropriate for the community. VFFs seem to be sold out nearly everywhere again, so I figured someone here might be searching for a pair. I have one listing currently on eBay and will be adding another next week. Both pairs are nearly new, no wear, have been warn a bit but washed afterwards. They were too big and I've since replaced them with smaller pairs.

Women's Sprints, size 41, black/black. link

I'll also be listing a pair of Women's Classics, also size 41, stormy seas in a few days.
EDIT: That listing is now up here.

For these two pairs, I followed the size chart that recommended sizing up for Classics and Sprints, and bought them online without trying a pair on. Turns out, I have Flows, KSOs, and Sprints and I wear the same size in each style. Just a heads-up to others ordering online.

So I picked up my Sprints over last winter break. Mostly for martial arts (right!) Soon after, faced with Cleveland winter weather, I picked up my Flows. Now they're pretty much all I wear. (Whenever I put on regular shoes an old injury to my sacrum starts whining.) Oh, and I've taken up running, because running in them is awesome, unlike most previous kinds of running I've tried.

A couple questions:

On one spot on the inside bottom of my Sprints the sole has detached from the upper, and tends to catch on things when I'm pivoting on that foot. I've tried a standard silicone glue, and shoe goo (I'm thinking of trying shoe goo again, with a little more preparation beforehand) but neither held up - any suggestions for repair?

Also, the lack of waterproofness has been kind of an issue for me - in the winter, on campus, there's often a lot of snow, and a lot of salt, which ends with below freezing slush coming into the shoe to join me... and then me spending the next period of time sitting in the lab, or in class (where I'm supposed to be somewhat respectable*) where I'm not exactly moving around keeping warm. Anyone have any particularly good strategies for nasty weather?

* Only somewhat. As I was waiting for the project to warm up before my first lecture last semester, I asked if anyone had questions. One of the students asked "Yeah, how do your Flows hold up in the snow? I've been wanting to get a pair..."

Anyone been running in the Bikila yet? Thoughts and impressions on how they compare to other models?

I have run 1 time in the past 5 weeks. I haven't been to a doctor but I think I have another stress fracture in the same place as my last one (summer 2009). It just started hurting one day and took multiple days to feel better. I'd run again and then I couldn't do it. I run in vibrams in a city and I think it's just not meant to be done that way. I have run almost 300 miles in vibrams over the past year, often mixing with workouts with regular shoes too.

i've been doing spin classes and going to the gym 3-4 times a week to stay healthy but it's just depressing. I hate going to the gym when I could just run outside my door. no need to drive and park. no need to look at other people. running was my alone time. ugh.

after 2 years of running I haven't found "my shoe". I've had 5 pairs of shoes in that time and none have been for me. Nike Lunarlites were close but the toebox was so small that it wasn't comfortable after a while. I want a shoe with a very low heal to toe feel. I want forefoot cushion. I want to run naturally but feel protected.

I hope the new vibram bikila can handle this for me. Maybe the vibram trek.

sympathies?