If you’ve been getting videos of more and more people wearing Vibram FiveFingers on your FYP for the past few months, you are not alone. Ever since Vogue crowned them as the “freaky-chic shoe trend of 2025,” the divisive style has been gaining both fans and detractors, but FiveFingers are more than just about aesthetics.
Part of the new wave of barefoot shoes reported by Vogue Business, Vibram FiveFingers are just as much about the functionality as they are looks, and what better way to test them out to see if they are worth the hype than by walking 25k steps on an international trip?
After seeing them on a few creators online, I decided to go for the machine-washable Vibram V-Soul for my first foray into the world of barefoot walking since they merged two of the most prominent shoewear trends of the moment with a cute ballet-flat-inspired silhouette featuring adjustable dainty straps and the divisive edge of separated toe shoes which have made Tabis a mainstream phenomenon in recent years.
When you first open the box of a Vibram FiveFinger shoe, you are greeted with a small welcome card welcoming you to the world of barefoot footwear, with indications to slowly ease into your new pair. The brand recommends wearing the shoes around the house to lounge in intermittent small periods of time to get your feet to adjust to the new feeling gradually.
Though they V-Souls are supposed to be designed “for indoor alternative fitness,” like plyometrics, pilates, and yoga, from the get-go, I knew I wanted to wear mine out so I wore them around the house for around a week before I headed to Copenhagen, Denmark, where I knew I’d be walking for hours each day.
Now, I’d be a liar if I said I immediately adjusted to the shoes, but judging from Vibram’s pamphlet, I expected the process to be a lot more challenging. I did feel the slightest bit of tension on my instep and pinky toes the first couple of times I put them on, but it disappeared after just a few uses. (I’ve quite honestly had a harder time with other regular sneakers and the infamously hard-to-break-in Dr. Martens.)
The only thing that takes some getting used to is using your fingers to help guide all of your toes into the correct compartments, but even that was not as challenging as some online pointed out to be. (Truly, the only unruly one was, again, the pinky.)
Fit is key when it comes to FiveFingers. Your feet should be snug enough but not too tight and definitely not too loose, and you should be able to fully extend your toes when you are wearing them. In all, and true to their moniker, they should feel as if you are not wearing anything at all, and allow you to fully wiggle your toes with the shoes on. I bought my pair online and opted to stay true to size after measuring my feet and comparing them to the size chart Vibram provides on its website.
While the shoes were comfortable enough to lounge around my house and on small errands around my neighborhood, I put them to the test doing 25k steps around Copenhagen, and while they are not a miracle that suddenly make you feel like you are walking in clouds, I did notice a difference especially when it comes to resistance.
I put my Vibrams on at around 9 a.m. and wore them for 12 consecutive hours, and never did they feel uncomfortable, nor did I feel the need to adjust them or take them off. However, walking is a completely different experience when you have them on.
The shoes feature an extremely thin Vibram outsole, which means you can actually feel almost everything you are stepping on. Since you can literally feel the ground while you have them on, I found it extremely easy to balance, especially while riding the subway and buses while standing up.
That said, it also does feel like walking is more of a conscious effort since you do the full sole to ground movement on your own, without the help of any air chambers or cushioning for a little boost. You feel like walking is more natural, but you end up doing fuller movements, which can sometimes almost feel like waddling — but such is also the case when you are barefoot at home.
Despite that feeling, my feet and legs felt more rested when I made it back to the hotel. Because there are no laces, velcro, or tight socks compressing your feet, when you take them off, you don’t have that feeling of pain relief.
Since my 25K-step Copenhagen expedition, my Vibrams have become one of my go-to travel shoes, mainly because they are super lightweight — 3.2 oz. or 91 gr. to be exact, which is the equivalent of a travel-sized perfume bottle — and easy to carry. I’ve taken them all the way to Tokyo for other similar lengths, and they are simply one of the most comfortable shoes if you are willing to brush off a couple of confused stares as you make your way through the city. Though I have to say I did bump into another girl wearing hers in Copenhagen, so clearly they are gaining adepts.
I often get tens of friends on my DMs asking me about my experience and whether they are worth it or not after posting them on my IG stories, and the answer is 100% yes. They look great with maxi skirts, are easy to pack, and feel comfortable for hours, so it’s a FiveFinger summer for me.
