Injinji....just bought some...any users?

Ru4scuba? said:

Do your sauconys give your pinky toe enough room even with these socks? I've been in Sauconys for years and have loved them forever...but now I'm wondering if a combination of over pronating insoles and Sauconys is causing the little toe to get squished in a bit of supination due to over compensation.

It seems I have little toe problems regardless of shoe type...or sock type

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My Sauconys are perfect for me in the toe box, no matter what type of sock I have tried. The Hurricanes seem to be particularly roomy though, compared to other shoes I have tried.

I have been trying some Asics and found that the GT-2000 doesn't get along great with my toes and the Kayano 20 is closer to the Saucony, but still a little narrower. I bought the GT-2000's on clearance, but I think they may have to go back to Running Warehouse. Two runs in them and my toes were toast, especially my big toe on each foot. I swapped out the insoles and that helped a little.

A month out from my marathon, in the long weeks and so far, no blisters...pretty impressed so far

Ru4scuba? said:

A month out from my marathon, in the long weeks and so far, no blisters...pretty impressed so far

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Great! I have since picked up a few more pair also; I really like them.

I'm giving the "5 toe footwear" fad about one more year before it peters out and joins the ranks of bell bottoms and leisure suits.

Seraphim said:

I'm giving the "5 toe footwear" fad about one more year before it peters out and joins the ranks of bell bottoms and leisure suits.

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I would agree with the shoes...but the socks may have something to them for distance running...I've gotten blisters during the spin up for every one of my 10 marathons so far...except this one. The only variable changed is the socks...same shoes, same inserts, same gait.

Interesting point!

Seraphim said:

I'm giving the "5 toe footwear" fad about one more year before it peters out and joins the ranks of bell bottoms and leisure suits.

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Socks vs the shoes = totally different experience. I have absolutely zero interest in the toe shoes, but the socks are legit. I don't use them all of the time, but I find myself wanting to use them on any run of considerable distance.

73mountaineer said:

Socks vs the shoes = totally different experience. I have absolutely zero interest in the toe shoes, but the socks are legit. I don't use them all of the time, but I find myself wanting to use them on any run of considerable distance.

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Totally weird right? But I find now that when I run with closed toed socks my toes feel constrained...I think they splay more in the Injinji

Ru4scuba? said:

Totally weird right? But I find now that when I run with closed toed socks my toes feel constrained...I think they splay more in the Injinji

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Absolutely, my thoughts exactly. It may sound odd, but I think it has also made me more conscious of what my shoes are doing to my feet. Shoes that I previously thought were fine no longer feel like they are wide enough in the toe box, as I am now much more aware of them being constrained within the shoe.

Seraphim said:

I'm giving the "5 toe footwear" fad about one more year before it peters out and joins the ranks of bell bottoms and leisure suits.

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I disagree, in part at least. The individual toe shoes may disappear, but minimalism and barefoot style running is here to stay, it will never be the majority, but it's been too much a part of running lore in some way or another for too long. Especially in East Africa, where it's mainly practiced (in my estimation) due to a lack of funds to buy shoes. The toe shoes look ridiculous, but their ridiculousness is out of function not fashion, though some people doubtless wear them because they are trendy or fall in a cultural believe they wish to embrace. But look at racing flats and racing spikes those have always been very minimal and they will never go away, and they don't have much more support than Vibrams, et al.

Do they run on paved roads barefoot in East Africa?


I was pondering the 5 toe footwear the other morning while jogging, and it occurred to me, that my foot is pretty much unconstrained within my running shoe.

The shoe is there basically to provide a consistent surface upon which to run (i.e.-the sole of the shoe which is designed to be soft and yielding). The shoe uppers and lacing are just there to bring the sole of the shoe along with your foot.


If your toes are lacking room, you likely have the wrong size shoe in my opinion.


Perhaps I will make a million bucks with my next Big Idea: Open Toed Running shoes (TM)!

Just the same as a regular running shoe, but with the toe area cut away (ala Birkenstocks) to allow your tootsies to breathe, room to move, etc, etc...Not crammed into tight fitting 5 toed foot gloves that suffocate your feet. My lawyer says I can't make any health benefit claims, but wouldn't a cool breeze across your toes at mile 5 feel pretty nice?

Seraphim said:

If your toes are lacking room, you likely have the wrong size shoe in my opinion.

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Go jog down the street in Vibrams or barefoot and you won't feel that way.

TimmyBoston said:

Go jog down the street in Vibrams or barefoot and you won't feel that way.

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I guess I should give that a go sometime...

Seraphim said:

If your toes are lacking room, you likely have the wrong size shoe in my opinion

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Or maybe you just haven't compared the shape of a common running shoe to the shape of a common human foot? In a perfect world we would all be running in Altras, but they don't look as cool, eh?

No offense, but when you try on my flat, overpronating, not-quite-wide, not-quite-regular, sorta' size 10, almost 10.5 feet you can tell me if I have the wrong size shoes. Within my correctly-sized shoes, these socks allow more natural freedom of movement for my toes, period.

This thread isn't about the shoes. I'd like to hear more about your personal experience with the socks though.

Seraphim said:

I guess I should give that a go sometime...

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Certainly you're right than many runners have shoes that don't fit ideally. That's definitely true, but without getting custom made shoes like the pros have it's hard for everyone to get a perfect fit. I for example have a very wide forefoot and a narrow heel so when I get shoes that are big enough to comfortably accommodate my toes sometimes the heel flops around like crazy. And every runner faces some kind of difficulty when it comes to that. I'm also not someone that believes everyone needs to be in Vibrams, I do own a few pairs and I do use them, but not on the majority of my runs. But you feet do move differently in them, they just do.

73mountaineer said:

Or maybe you just haven't compared the shape of a common running shoe to the shape of a common human foot? In a perfect world we would all be running in Altras, but they don't look as cool, eh?

No offense, but when you try on my flat, overpronating, not-quite-wide, not-quite-regular, sorta' size 10, almost 10.5 feet you can tell me if I have the wrong size shoes. Within my correctly-sized shoes, these socks allow more natural freedom of movement for my toes, period.

This thread isn't about the shoes. I'd like to hear more about your personal experience with the socks though.

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Have you tried the Altras?

They look like a reasonable compromise between the 5 toed model and the "traditional" shoe. I like the idea.

Seraphim said:

Have you tried the Altras?

They look like a reasonable compromise between the 5 toed model and the "traditional" shoe. I like the idea.

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I like the idea quite a lot and am determined to at least give them a fair shake when I buy my next pair of shoes. My favorite pair of street shoes have a similar design and it really works. I am wearing them right now, in fact; they are Born brand chukkas.

You can see the similarity:

I wear Altras for about 80% of my mileage. I really love them. Adjust to them slowly though, the zero drop platform takes some getting used to.

TimmyBoston said:

I wear Altras for about 80% of my mileage. I really love them. Adjust to them slowly though, the zero drop platform takes some getting used to.

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Whats a zero drop platform?

Ru4scuba? said:

Whats a zero drop platform?

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Heel and toe are level height with each other. Most shoes keep the heel higher so you end up with a 8mm drop, 10mm drop, etc.

I think most people think "minimalist" when they hear zero drop, but that isn't necessarily true I don't think.