Velcome, darling! Look what we have for you! Sergey Brin wearing VFF KSOs, CrunchGear’s favorite, as Greg calls them, “crazy monkey shoes.” I’m personally a VFF convert and I’m very impressed that Sergey is willing to walk around in these.
For those not in the know, Vibram Five Fingers are ultralight running/sports shoes with separate pockets for each toe. I wear them running and love them – they fixed quite a few of my running issues after a number of years of abuse. They were popularized by Christopher McDougall’s Born to Run but they’ve been around for a few years. They essentially teach your body how to run barefoot again, just as your ancestors once ran freely through the sylvan woodlands of New Jersey, long, long ago.
My review is here.
They definitely make you look like a freak. However, I suspect the sting of scorn and ridicule is dampened a bit by the fact that the man has billions and billions of dollars. In my case, people just laugh at me when I run and I cry. The sweat hides the tears.
These ’shoes’ are amazing; my friend recommended them to me a few months ago and it solved all my knee/back issues while running.
ditto
these shoes are horrible, no cushioning and massively nerdy. There’s no reason to have your toes separated, unless you’re scaling the empire state building. also, have you ever had someone in the airport checking take them off? They make your feet STINK =(
The no cushioning is a feature not a bug.
You do know you are supposed to wash them every now and then right? They are machine washable, and washing them once a week, then letting them hang to dry will mean no smell/dirtyness.
very very vool shoe, I first read it on funcfash and then decided to get a pair. I now love traveling with them because of the comfort level. I think the next big thing is the electro cig which I also saw on that funcfash site.
To each his own. By the way, you mentioned you were running. Who was chasing you?
Dreams of you.
NO WAY!!!
If we mix these
http://tiny.cc/4rOGn
http://tiny.cc/RfGdb
http://tiny.cc/MnuxR
http://tiny.cc/ulLxZ
we’ll get a new google product?
Awesome.
Multi-billionare monkey shoe freak? Check.
John, you’re a funny, funny man. However, as humorous as you are, it remains true that those are some of the ugliest shoes I’ve ever seen.
Yup, own 4 pair… Blue Camo, Grey/Taupe, Black/Orange and Olive/Brown… Finally, some love for the VFF’s!
I wear my VFF KSO’s whenever I’m not in the office. They were perfect for a recent day at Six Flags with the kids. No sore feet for me the next day!
I can’t wait for the suede ones. I plan on getting a pair on wearing them to the office with jeans.
9 days at Disneyworld with a group of friends. The only one with VFF’s and the only one without sore feet and blisters.
If only this were enough to make them workplace acceptable.
I’m wearing a black pair of KSO’s today at work, but if you want a more work-friendly style then check out the brand new VFF Moc’s. They are all kangaroo leather and don’t have the noticeable rubber soles.
http://birthdayshoes.com/media/blogs/bdayshoes/fivefingers_moc_black.jpg
I might have to consider these for work. The normaly KSOs are pretty good. Ha there is just one guy that is disgusted by them for some reason, everyone else loves them.
MikeB just buy some propper shoes from Church or Loake for fracks sake.
Or, better yet, follow my solution, I just wear a large pair of shoes over the top of my VFFs. Now people only stare because my feet apear to be very large. But I solverd this by wearing very large gloves to balance them out. Now the only ones looking are the ladies! I also do a lot of crying.
I think those were on a “Married With Children” episode years ago, weren’t they? :)
They are frickin fantastically comfortable. They make running fun again.
I tried to wear mine in an office one time. Bad move.
Glad to see you giving them props Biggs.
I have wool hiking socks like that, but I didn’t know I could get matching shoes!
I actually would like to be rich not for the money but for the ability to get away with everything. I’d wear the same but in yellow ;)
Yeah, I guess when you’re worth $12 billion you can afford to look like a geek.
I have greenish-grayish ones and I’ve wore them everywhere (except in front of my father), and those are absolutely the best shoes I’ve ever had.
The downside is that every other person stops you and asks “are those real?”, “can you move your fingers” and stuff.
To bad I can’t have something like this for the winter.
Yes, let’s make America a little bit uglier….
Better than Crocs
Perhaps people laugh at you (me, they only ask lots of questions about them, and certainly not in a condescending or patronizing way. maybe that’s the difference between brooklyn and silicon valley.) But you’ll get your comeuppance when they all have knee injuries from running in big clodhoppers they spent twice as much on and replace every 3 months.
Apparently you can’t buy style…
Is it me of Sergey’s shoes are hacked? There’s something like a protection thing on top of every finger pocket?
Not hacked. They have rubber pieces at the end of the toes for protection.
Is this available when ordering or it’s some sort of “hack” ?
They all have that rubber protection cap on the toes, they come that way.
VFF’s are awesome. Glad they’re finally getting some love.
Jesus wept.
(I hear they’re comfortable, though.)
Can you wear regular socks with these?
No. You’d need socks with a compartment for each toe. Injinji, for example.
Balmer would stomp on these with his shiny expensive leather brogues
God I love your writing John.
I love that half the shit* I say in the CrunchGear staff chatroom ends up finding its way into a post sooner or later.
(Actually, it’s no where near half. I talk WAY, WAY, WAY too much in our staff chat. I’m pretty sure my blabber makes up at least 1/4 of the overall dialogue)
I tried these shoes for running, and they are terrible. Waste of money.
Those are the coolest shoes ever. Must buy a pair asap!
and how is this news techcrunch worthy? Oh I forgot this is somehow related to Google right?
Checking out the inner documentation i found out the Chrome OS is based on ubuntu, check it out here with pics
I am calling it GooBuntu
http://thetechnologycafe.com/google-chrome-os-is-ubuntu-based-screenshot-with-sourcecode/
not techcrunch worthy, but cool anyway!
Larry
http://bulbwired.com
What the heck is this !!
http://bit.ly/2zbUuc
Pretty cool…
If you’re 3 yrs old.
Really? is this what is getting reported now?
Well considering Sergey Brin’s net worth is $15 billion I think he can wear what ever freaking shoes he wants!
well if i had that much $$ I could fly over to London and get some proper shoes made.
Btw as scufy developer the minimum I spend on shoes would be $200 once you have suffered in a cheap high street pair you will understand why i say this.
Hi guys, (i already tried to say he following…)
i saw somebody dancing with these shoes in late sommer on an open air festival. I was so shooked by its coolness, that i had to buy them instantly via my mobile phone in an online shop. (Dont take me too much for a geek, but it just felt the urge…)
fortunatly i was doing right! Now im outdoors or running with the vibram shoes and have A LOT OF fun with them. they are really outstanding…
greetings
danou
See exclusive pictures of the Chrome OS and how it works/Looks
http://thetechnologycafe.com/google-chrome-os-exclusive-review-in-pictures/
*burp*
it may solve some back issue but those shoes are so UGLY :D
I want nerdy gorilla shoes! I wear bright red crocs already. These are a welcomed addition!
these shoes discriminate against people with webbed toes =(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Webbed_toes
I love my VFF! I got mine at Hanig’s in Chicago – http://www.hanigs.com
I’m a big guy, and a runner. 5′11″, 215 lbs. Knee, back & ankle problems. A fellow Hasher has VFF’s, swears by them, so I decided to try them. I could be a spokesman for my VFF KSO Treks now! I’ve only been out about 6 times, and already I can feel the difference. Knees no longer hurt, ankles are fine, and back only hurts when I get up in the morning. I feel free to run and experience the joy of running all over again. All you naysayers…try them before you bash them. Afterall, I’ve been running in “regular” shoes for years, with nothing to show but pain. So I can bash them.
You whining fools will all be wearing these Vibrams soon! Two years of agonizing foot pain eliminated within a week of my skeptically buying my first pair of five fingers. I was so ashamed to wear them in public, but now i don’t give a rat’s a** because my feet don’t hurt and I freaking love these monkey shoes!!!
>> “just as your ancestors once ran freely through the sylvan woodlands of New Jersey, long, long ago.”
there’s one weird assumption to make
Having run lots of miles over the years, love the concept of these shoes. However, for those of us 2009 ‘Native Americans’ relegated to running on hard surfaces (concrete & asphalt), the ‘jury is still out.’ Face it, none of our bodies were designed to run on concrete and asphalt. For dedicated, dirt/soft surface, trail runners, go for it, just as our fellow native Americans did. Otherwise, we’ll wait for the accredited sports authorities to guide us in the best use of this cool and funky ’shoe-wear’. There’s a market niche in the trail running world…..but is there a revolution? Might be, in the everyday walking around world where impact isn’t such an issue. Time will tell, as with all things……
@sapp2 the difference in running in the VFF’s is that you land on your front foot, and thus make your own shock absorption.
monkey shoes! haha! I suppose they do take you back to how we naturally used to walk (i.e. back when we were monkeys!!) so you could call them that…. but seriously i’d recommend anyone to try these. They solved my knee problems and have improved my posture so theres no more back pain!
those are the uglest peice of crap i ever seen…really who would wear those..they lookk dumb
I’m constantly surprised by the number of people who still live in a junior high mentality of “those aren’t cool enough for me.” Really seriously? We’re going to be focusing on “fashion” over foot health and overall mobility and strength? SERIOUSLY?
Come on.
These are no weirder than toe socks. The only thing “weird” is that it’s a shoe where you see the individual toes. But you see your individual toes in flip flops or Birkenstocks too and no one is freaking out over that.
These are also no uglier than Crocs which people wear all the time without stares and gaping mouths.
All the mocking is a symptom of the monkey see monkey do mentality that some people never grew out of. People who can’t make their own fashion statements and live their own lives without the approval of all their peers. And THAT my friend, is really lame, not these shoes.
Go ahead, be a sheep, bleat some more and follow the “cool people” with shoes that are harming your feet.
Give it five years, it’ll reach critical mass and suddenly the shoes won’t be weird or ugly they’ll be “cool.”
I mean when you really think about it most sports shoes are freaking ugly as hell but we’re so used to seeing them we don’t think they’re ugly or at least not freakish. This is just ‘different.’ And most people with an eighth grade mentality can’t handle that.
Five years.
Everyone will be wearing them. And they’ll be pretending they were wearing them first.