Vibram Magic Fingers
By Rocky Thompson on August 16th, 2006
Vibram makes 32 million soles a year, but until now they’ve never made a shoe. The pressure to make something innovative for their first shoe must have been enormous. Well, mission accomplished. Vibram’s Fivefingers shoes are supposed to feel like you’re walking barefoot. These rubber-gloves-for-your-feet are going to have a few problems: breathability and fit. How is my friend Monique supposed to fit her freakishly large toes into these things, and how are you supposed to feel barefoot when your feet are pruned from sweat inside these rubber pigs?
http://www.idonline.com/features/feature.asp?id=1534
[...] The new running shoe company Newton is designing shoes that mimic the natural advantages of barefoot running while escaping all the broken glass and nails stuck in your feet. Instead of packing the shoes with soft foam, airbags, or Shox, they suspend the footbed like a hammock over the sole of the shoe leaving dead airspace in the middle making for a springy step and lightweight shoe. They cost about $175 and weigh around 10.2 ounces. Newton claims that their shoes reduce the normal bone-grinding impact of running—I’ll be disappointed if it’s anything short of running on the moon. By Rocky Thompson [...]
[...] Vibram updated their Sprint foot gloves with a strap over the top of your foot and another around the heel to prevent blisters when you’re hiking. There’s still no fix for wanting so desperately to be different from other hikers that you’re willing to stuff your feet into these rubber pigs, but at least you won’t get the blisters anymore, which is nice.  [...]
The tops are not rubber, but an abrasion-resistant stretch polyamide fabric. they are very comfortable. the bottoms are are rubber that do not slip on wet surfaces like the Keen sandals. highly recommend.