Have you had the fun of trying on Vibram Fivefingers yet? As a footwear specialist at REI’s flagship store in Seattle, I regularly experience what is (arguably) an even greater joy: watching someone else try to coax stubborn toes into those funky-looking shoes.

Over the past two years, we have watched the popularity of Vibram Fivefingers (VFF, for short) explode through the roof. They went from being a quirky, guffaw-inspiring product collecting dust on our shelves to our hottest-selling footwear item of 2010 and 2011.

My interactions with customers usually start the same way, with the universal hand sign for “I Want Fivefingers”: a hovering hand, palm down, rapid wiggling of the fingers. Then, the timid inquiry: “Do you guys have those shoes with the toes?”

Yes, we have the toe shoes. Yes, people love them. And yes, you can take your socks off to try them on; I can’t imagine how else to get your toes in there.

Is there a prototypical VFF customer? Most certainly not. We’ve had just about everybody try them on, from grandmothers to Marines, yoga enthusiasts to Crossfit devotees. We’ve had mothers confess that they once threatened (in jest, we hope) to disown their teenager for wearing “such silly shoes,” only to sneak in to REI weeks later to grudgingly give the toe shoes a try.

It’s not unusual for customers to jog joyously around the store in their VFF, leap on and off our benches, and occasionally let out gorilla-esque roars (you think I’m kidding...). How could you not love being in a place where this stuff happens on a daily basis?

On more than one occasion, we’ve had an ambitious VFF-donning customer put his new footwear to the test by attempting to scale the I-beams up to our ceiling—a feat we’re obligated to halt pretty immediately for liability purposes—but one that never fails to get the attention of everyone on the floor.

My favorite exchanges are when customers start talking to each other about the VFF. It usually starts when someone who’s never seen them before notices someone else trying the VFF on and exclaims, “Oh my GOSH, what are those crazy things on your feet?!” Disclaimer: If you do buy a pair of these, expect to get this reaction from perfect strangers on a daily basis. I speak from experience; my VFF Sprints never fail to draw commentary at the grocery store.
 
There is a palpable energy to our VFF customers. Many have read and are eager to discuss Christopher McDougall’s bestseller, Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen. This book talks about the Tarahumara, a tribe in Mexico renowned not only for routinely running hundreds of miles at once, but for doing so in sandals.

Sandals? You read that right. Born to Run, which talks at length about Vibram Fivefingers providing a similar sort of “barefoot” running experience as the Tarahumara sandals, certainly throws a small wrench in the spokes of traditional running shoe wisdom. To learn more about the barefoot running philosophy, check out the REI Expert Advice article on minimalist shoes.

Contrary to common assumptions, VFF have actually existed since 2005. McDougall’s book really catapulted them into the limelight last year. This translated into my job getting a lot crazier—in a good way.

Getting your toes into VFF for the first time is no easy feat, especially if you’ve chosen a model like the Bikila or the Flow, which have grippier materials in the upper and restricted access to the toe pockets for your hands to assist. If a customer is really struggling, I’ll often offer to bring out what I like to call a “starter kit” model—the Classic or Sprint, which are far more open on top of the foot. Usually, once your toes know what to expect, they’re more cooperative with some of the trickier models to get into.

If you have yet to try on VFF, here are a few tips:

• Get your foot measured. VFF do not come in regular US sizes, so we have high-tech devices to measure your VFF-specific size: pink and blue floppy rubber feet, wittily dubbed “Frannocks” by Vibram. (“Brannocks” are the devices we use to measure your feet for regular shoes.)

• All together now. Try to align each toe at the opening of its individual pocket, then push them all in one fell swoop. Pull the heel up last. Make sure your pinky toe is all the way in its own pocket; it’s usually the troublemaker.

• Don’t be embarrassed if it takes awhile to get your toes in. Believe me, you are not the first. It gets easier with practice.

• You want the fit to be snug, like a glove. The ends of your toes can graze the ends of the pockets, but you don’t want them jammed in there.

• Ask for help. Don’t be afraid to grill your REI salesperson on the different models and how they should fit. Remember that we are trained professionals when it comes to discussing VFF, and the more you want to know, the stronger our job security. Ask away!
 
If you haven’t done so yet, come on down to your local REI store and join in on the fun. We’d love to have you (and we now have kids’ sizes, too!). Already an owner? Share your VFF experiences with us.

Photos of REI Seattle store employees James Harnois and Lauren Wilson by Yitka Winn.