http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/index.htm
My new Jaya's from vibram fivefingers came in yesterday as well as my smartwool toe socks from sportschek and I have to say I'm loving the socks but the shoes are going to take a little getting use to.
I've been wearing my KSO's for about a year now and with the strengthening of my feet I have actually outgrown them somewhat. I stretched them so I can still squeeze into them but they are tight. Remeasuring my feet again I am still surprised to have found that I went up 3 vibram sizes.
So I bought the Jaya's in plum/pink/white, L said to try a new style and they're not bad.
The Jaya's are large enough to fit with the socks on but not too large to be uncomfortable without the socks, it feels weird but I quickly got over that feeling after I realized that I wasn't getting sweaty like I normally do.
Surprising enough the smart wool socks act just like their packaging said they would. Kept me cool during the midday heat when the rest of my body was roasting and now early in the morning when I'm freezing they are keeping my feet relatively warm. I hand washed them so I could wear them again today for Yoga in a few hours (That studio gets freezing). The price tag was a bit out there so I might start to look for cheaper alternatives if I feel the need to get more toe socks. (about $25 Canadian for a pair yikes!)
I was warned that the Jayas were a bit different in that the bottoms were meant for inside use, looking at them now I see that the white stuff is a foam like material and the plum disks are a harder type of rubber which is meant for grip. I'm not very fond of the foam but it does make them very light on the feet I forgot I was wearing them last night, though I prefer the feel of the ground which was a little muted when in comparison with my KSO's. Maybe after a wear down period they will have a better barefoot feel but as of now I'm not that impressed with the bottoms of these.
Lighter than KSO's but not as sensitive.The colour selection of these is fantastic, normally I can only say that I like 1 or 2 of the colour variety when it comes to vibram but the Jaya's are the exception. I love the style though was a bit sad to see that the vibram website did not have any in my size, I had to order through sportschek. I have small feet but I still would love it if they restocked their north america site more often.
How are they to expect to sell more product if they don't restock is beyond me but I watched their site for 2 weeks (nearly 3 weeks) before going to sportschek and this is not the first time I have noticed or people have told me about vibram not restocking.
(hint hint, Vibram you have people wanting to buy but can't because you never have stock!!!) *snickers* I doubt vibram will look at this blog anyway, just google them and see the massive amount of blog posts they have mentioning them.
Putting these on was an easy task in comparison to putting on the KSO's which seemed like a chore in itself some days (worth it though). I have yet to find any hotspots on the Jaya's and hope to soon wear them down so that they are more flexible. Don't get me wrong, they are still fairly flexable but I'm use to year old KSO flexable where I could roll them up and stuff them in a coat pocket. I can't fit my Jaya's in a coat pocket yet.
All in all I'm left with a good impression on the socks and an ok impression with the Jaya's.
The Jaya's are meant for indoor activity and I will probably use them as a lounge wear and for quick outings to the store or friends. I will probably wear them to yoga today as well.
However since the pricetag on vibrams is so high I may have to wait 6 months to a year to buy my next pair to replace my KSO's for more active outdoor wear.
Yeah disclaimer time
These are personal opinions, smartwool and vibram did not pay me or supply me with anything that I did not buy myself. I spent over $120 so now I'm kinda broke for now.
All pictures are of my own feet while sitting at my computer.
Ah and yes I do remember that today I'm supposed to post a recipe of the week for RYH. I'm working on that, I just don't know what to make I'm just lazy today.
Blessed Be
~Flaming
Big edit after Yoga
these Jaya's are excellent for yoga, better than the KSO's
good grip without ripping into the mat and less foot sweat.
