Half Dome hike

Not hiking or 5-finger shoes, but I've recently picked a new pair of running shoes, the Nike Free+ 2. Without going 5-finger, it's advertised to be the closes thing to barefoot running.

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I've only ran about 12 miles in it so far, but it's EXTREMELY comfortable and light. I use to have slight knee pains when running but I haven't felt it with these shoes yet. Took me a few miles to get the hang of it, but now I love it. My last pair were Asics and lasted me 250+ miles.
 
I've been "barefoot" running in my 5-finger KSOs for about a year now. I love them. That being said they aren't great for walking (at least not long strides on hard concrete). I'm not sure how they would handle on an uneven surface but i suspect quite a bit better.
 
Those Nike Free look like they have a good amount of cushion.

awc,
Thanks for the info. I may have to try some of those 5 Fingers out soon.
 
I should rephrase, it's advertised by nike as the closes shoe to barefoot running. In actuality, it does have a good amount of rubber under your feet, however it's not as cushioning as my asics gel.

The sole is cut into waffles that allows the shoe to bend, twist, rotate in any direction without much force. Instead of supporting your feet/arch a certain way like other traditional shoes, your feet are pretty much sitting how it would naturally without a shoe...at least that's how Nike markets them, haha.

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All I know is they feel great so far. Throughout my last couple pair of shoes, I've probably put over 600 miles jogging around, so far I've only logged 14 miles with my Nike Free but they're feeling great so far.
 
A buddy of mine has the 5 fingers and absolutely swears by them. He has to ,because he has these:
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and he is so dark skinned one of our buddies always asks him why he walks around barefoot. :p

I have a pair of the Nike Free, and they are comfortable. I do not get much exercise in, but man are they light with lots of cushion.
 
Alright, I broke down and picked up a pair of five finger Trek with the kangaroo leather upper. They feel surprisingly good. Can't wait to do some running and hitting the trail with them.
 
Did you buy some socks or going bare in them? I almost got those instead of the Nikes but didn't want to buy special toe socks haha.
 
Going bare foot. They feel pretty much like a sock already. I think socks are only necessary for when it is cold out.
 
I've never though about using the socks. I might get a pair when it hits -20 C around here ;)

Ban, when running with the 5 fingers it's important to start really slowly. I rarely run farther than 5km in mine even now when I'm completely used to them. When I started running with them I race once a week in the KSOs and 2-3 times without them. As my feet got stronger I would slowly add more and more runs per week in the KSOs as opposed to my regular running shoes. even now I don't often run all the time in my KSO's. I was seriously considering a pair of Nike Free's but then my credit card was declined :/ . Still looking for a minimalist show for me to run in when it gets colder and for longer distances. Might go for the Nike Frees or the Saucony Kinvara.
 
HikingMano said:
SpyderPhreak - Crazy that you did it in Chameleon Stretchs. I had a pair of those I used for work/everyday shoes, and could not hike in em. Not nearly secure enough with the feet sliding all over the place in the shoes.
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Yeah, I didn't have much choice. They were nearly brand new, and I pulled them about as tight as they would go. Talked to a few different people at the REI in Mountain View, CA who had done the hike in those and said it wasn't a problem. We had just moved back to Colorado from Texas a couple of months previous, and had not bought a house yet, so most of our stuff was still in storage with the moving company and I couldn't get to most of my gear. It was either a new pair of boots (and I had just bought some), or try the shoes. I think I made a good choice. Ankles were fine and I didn't have any traction problems. Feet didn't even hurt after the trip. I wish they had not recently changed the design of these shoes though. :grumpy:

You guys should do Whitney! My brother and sister in-law do it ALL the time and love it! After our Half Dome hike, my BIL and a couple of his buddies did the whole 211 mile long John Muir Trail. Mt Whitney is where the JMT ends, so my SIL and the two other wives hiked a day up the trail and met the guys before they finished. They said thy'd do it again if they had the chance. These crazy guys also did the whole 483 mile long Colorado trail last year. :eek: Nuts!
 
awc,
Thanks for the tips. I will start off by wearing them at home and going for walks before I try to run with them.

SpyderPhreak,
Man you've got some serious hikers in your family circle. I would be happy if I can just do Mt Whitney.
 
Wow I miss California! The highest "mountain" around here is under 6000 feet! In my "younger years" I did both Half Dome and Whitney, actually HD is harder; if you are in shape for that you can do Whitney no problem; the only possible hitch is the altitude. If you can spend a few days (or at least 1-2 days) at around 8-10,000 feet before you do the hike you will have a chance to adjust to the altitude, which makes a BIG difference when you get above 12,000 feet. Otherwise the last 3500 feet up can be really brutal! But if you are adjusted to the altitude you will have no problem.
 
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