I know this topic has been beaten to death and I have searched the forum for answers but I’m still torn. I just recently found out that wearing minimalist shoes can actually help with your flat feet. I’ve had extremely flat feet for as long as I can remeber and they are now starting to give me a lot of problems. So i thought I’d give some nike frees a try. I went to the store and tried on a pair of nike 3.0 v5 in a 10 and 10.5 and found that they both felt pretty good. I had less room in the toe area with the 10 but nothing uncomfortable. But at the same time the 10.5 felt good too. I Probably am overthinking this issue like most things I do but am not sure which size to get.
I usually wear a size 10 in all my other shoes. I also will be wearing these for mostly working out but would also like to wear as regular everyday shoes if the seem to help my flat feet. Any advice on which way to go? If I go with the 10 do these shoes stretch out a little bit? Thanks
I have flat feet too. They helped me adjust to that. I now wear my vibrams when I train though and like those 10 times better…but I don’t know if I could have gone straight from combat boots into vibrams. I think the frees helped me train my foot a little…and then the vibrams took it the rest of the way.
I don’t have foot issues anymore like I used to. Honestly, it’s the shoes that fuck us up the most.
Many people now have toes in the shape of their shoes.
I think we have fucked up globally by acting like our feet need to be covered at all times and forgotten.
I say don’t get the Nike Free. To me they are the worst of both worlds. They have a heel which encourages heel strike but they don’t have ankle support . Heel without ankle support is a recipe for a turned ankle. They are also squishy in the sole. I don’t like that.
Get something like the New Balance Minimus. They have no heel or very little heel so their is little chance of a turned ankle and they have a firm thin sole. The only problem with them is they don’t last worth a shit.
@Professor X: Yea I am now starting to find out about how the shoes now a days are actually causing more harm then good and could be some of the reason why i have such flat feet. Before all I use to wear is Jordans and had to have the latest Jordan retros that were coming out. But damn they are some of the most uncomfortable shoes. I hope trying out these minimalist shoes really help my flat feet like it did for you. Right now I am just having too many problems with my feet, ankle, and knees for only being 26 yrs old.
@Maverick 88:I will more then likely wear them with socks but the low profile socks not the thick ones. And that was my main concern is will they stretch out too much after they break in.
@on edge: I have heard of the new balance shoes I just thought I’d give the frees a try because it seems like a good transition into the minimalist shoes instead of just jumping right in. I’ll give the new balances a look, might even be the shoes I pick up after spending some time trying out this whole barefoot shoe thing.
[quote]on edge wrote:
I say don’t get the Nike Free. To me they are the worst of both worlds. They have a heel which encourages heel strike but they don’t have ankle support . Heel without ankle support is a recipe for a turned ankle. They are also squishy in the sole. I don’t like that.
Get something like the New Balance Minimus. They have no heel or very little heel so their is little chance of a turned ankle and they have a firm thin sole. The only problem with them is they don’t last worth a shit.[/quote]
I have the minumus and think they are great my only issue with them is that the grip/rubber on the ball of the foot is thinner. I have worn through 2 pairs just in that area,
[quote]on edge wrote:
I say don’t get the Nike Free. To me they are the worst of both worlds. They have a heel which encourages heel strike but they don’t have ankle support . Heel without ankle support is a recipe for a turned ankle. They are also squishy in the sole. I don’t like that.
Get something like the New Balance Minimus. They have no heel or very little heel so their is little chance of a turned ankle and they have a firm thin sole. The only problem with them is they don’t last worth a shit.[/quote]
I have the minumus and think they are great my only issue with them is that the grip/rubber on the ball of the foot is thinner. I have worn through 2 pairs just in that area,[/quote]
Yeah, I wore completely through the soles of mine too but hey, it’s probably a great way to transition to completely barefoot!
[quote]on edge wrote:
I say don’t get the Nike Free. To me they are the worst of both worlds. They have a heel which encourages heel strike but they don’t have ankle support . Heel without ankle support is a recipe for a turned ankle. They are also squishy in the sole. I don’t like that.
Get something like the New Balance Minimus. They have no heel or very little heel so their is little chance of a turned ankle and they have a firm thin sole. The only problem with them is they don’t last worth a shit.[/quote]
I have 2 pairs of minimus that I rotate through. I only wear them for gym work(3 times a week) and they have lasted so far about 13 months. they have got a bit loose(maybe 10%) and scruffy, but not a bad shoe to lift in given that you dont use them all the time.
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I have the minumus and think they are great my only issue with them is that the grip/rubber on the ball of the foot is thinner. I have worn through 2 pairs just in that area,[/quote]
Yeah, I wore completely through the soles of mine too but hey, it’s probably a great way to transition to completely barefoot![/quote]
For everything except running, I use the New Balance MX20s. Love them, very little heel to toe drop and the toe box is roomy enough to allow my toes to flex. Great for squats & deads, and nobody stops me at the gym to talk about my funny looking toe shoes…
For running, I have messed around with minimalist shoes, but I have returned back to some chunky old Nikes. I don’t run much, but when I do (training for 5k’s) I just want to get out there and run. I don’t want to worry about my form, and I am a decent mid foot striker anyways.
Yea im not necessarily looking for ankle support just something to help with my flat feet. My feet are always hurting me after any kind of activity. Even after a long day standing at work they hurt me along with ankles and knees. I keep hearing and reading about minimalist shoes and how they can help with flat feet. I figured the nike frees would be a good transition for me.
[quote]zeb2520 wrote:
Yea im not necessarily looking for ankle support just something to help with my flat feet. My feet are always hurting me after any kind of activity. Even after a long day standing at work they hurt me along with ankles and knees. I keep hearing and reading about minimalist shoes and how they can help with flat feet. I figured the nike frees would be a good transition for me.[/quote]
Then look into any road racer. Check out “runningwarehouse” they always have good sales on them.
Road racers are lightweight, have good support and are flat but, have enough cushion.
[quote]zeb2520 wrote:
Yea im not necessarily looking for ankle support just something to help with my flat feet. My feet are always hurting me after any kind of activity. Even after a long day standing at work they hurt me along with ankles and knees. I keep hearing and reading about minimalist shoes and how they can help with flat feet. I figured the nike frees would be a good transition for me.[/quote]
Then look into any road racer. Check out “runningwarehouse” they always have good sales on them.
Road racers are lightweight, have good support and are flat but, have enough cushion.[/quote]
You mean racing flats?
I don’t like the Frees. They might, as mentioned, be good as a transition.
[quote]zeb2520 wrote:
Yea im not necessarily looking for ankle support just something to help with my flat feet. My feet are always hurting me after any kind of activity. Even after a long day standing at work they hurt me along with ankles and knees. I keep hearing and reading about minimalist shoes and how they can help with flat feet. I figured the nike frees would be a good transition for me.[/quote]
Then look into any road racer. Check out “runningwarehouse” they always have good sales on them.
Road racers are lightweight, have good support and are flat but, have enough cushion.[/quote]
You mean racing flats?
I don’t like the Frees. They might, as mentioned, be good as a transition. [/quote]
If your worried about ankle support then your missing the whole point of minimalist footwear. After 9 yrs in the infantry and 20 yrs of 12 hour shifts in safety boots my feet are flat as a floor tile.
Have worn Frees, NB MT10’s and Inov8’s. Like it’s been said, Frees too much heel, NB wore through but took 2 yrs so still good. Favorites are the Inov8 195’s but hard to find.
Check out mobilitywod.com in the free video archive section. He’s a little odd at times but search for feet and heel cord issues. Working on those have helped mine a lot.
