The Bare Foot is Good. The Nike is Evil.

[KD5NRH]

I submit to you that an 8 oz. potato, 6 oz. of salad, a few oz of bread and a 12 oz steak meets a "mostly plants" goal.

Feed the salad and the potato to the meat before the slaughter, then you can have a 26oz steak with all the benefits.

[freedom lover]

I've had some problems with foot pain in the past when I've walked more than a mile on a soft surface, like the rubber track at school, in my current pair of New Balance walking shoes. When my feet started hurting today I took them off and walked around in my socks. The pain went away.

There's something to this barefoot thing. I think for my next pair I plan on getting something with a thinner, flatter sole.

[Balog]

Come to think of it, the ugly little Asics they issued to us in boot camp were pretty minimal in padding. And they were great shoes.

[Strings]

I'm actually going to take a look at those "five fingers" shoes: they look comfy...

[zahc]

I know there's no accounting for style, but a lot of skateboarding shoes are basically slippers. Even downhill speed skateboarders can be seen wearing the flimsiest canvas Vans. You really need to be able to feel the board and the road beneath the board and what's going on with your wheels' grip. I saw those 5 fingers and they don't look terribly confortable to me, partly because my toes are all broken and deformed.

[Strings]

So I took a look at them: fairly thin rubber sole, and thinner footbed between you and the ground. They really ARE like going barefoot...

Wearing 'em now. They take some getting used to, but they are (to me, anyway) fairly comfy. YMMV

[Marnoot]

So I took a look at them: fairly thin rubber sole, and thinner footbed between you and the ground. They really ARE like going barefoot...

Wearing 'em now. They take some getting used to, but they are (to me, anyway) fairly comfy. YMMV

Which model did you end up going with? I'm interested in trying a pair out when I have some spare cash to spend on footwear.

[SADShooter]

Me, too, though I'm concerned about sizing. (High insteps and about half a size difference between feet). Really neet concept.

[Strings]

I got the KSO. Sizing isn't too much of a problem, if you buy 'em at a store. They DO take getting used to though...

And going from 5 Fingers to my riding boots is a bit of a trip: I feel like I've got these big chunks of ice strapped to my feet...

[gunsmith]

I submit to you that an 8 oz. potato, 6 oz. of salad, a few oz of bread and a 12 oz steak meets a "mostly plants" goal.

Advantage Carberry. 

well, even if you eat ( say ) a deer, you're eating the same  plants the deer ate.
only now its deer meat, same as all energy is really solar energy

[Dannyboy]

The biggest problem with the 5fingers is the whole separating the toes thing.  I go absolutely nuts when i have my socks bunch up between my toes.  I have to stop whatever it is I'm doing and fix it.  I can't function with things between my toes.

As for running, my biggest problem has been my ankles.  Well, that and plantar fasciitis.  I'm not sure how much of the PF is caused by my shoes.  I've always worn Asics because they have the best arch support for my feet.  After reading OP, I've tried running in my Adidas Sambas.  If you know them, you know they are flat-soled with absolutely no support.  I really haven't noticed much of a difference.  And it's hard to tell if they're affecting my ankles because ever since I crashed my bike, the left one hurts all the time anyway.

[MechAg94]

The best running shoes I remember ever using were thin soled and fairly hard with little padding.  They were Nikes.  :)

My biggest problem with padded shoes is the padding always collapses in the heal and leaves me with all my weight on the middle of my foot which hurts.  I hadn't thought of just buying cheap thin soled shoes.  I'll have to look at that. 

[MechAg94]

A possible between-barefoot-and-wearing-shoes alternative:

http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/

Those look comfortable and I like the concept.  Sort of like moccasins.  Do they have something without the five separate toes? 

Some sort of a high top version would be good also.  There is a lot poison ivy in the woods where I grew up.  I guess it wouldn't work well with socks.  Maybe some sort of moccasins with a tougher bottom sole would be best.

It seems to me that I have read books that indicated a tracker could tell if a person always wore boots/shoes versus moccasins versus going barefoot based on how their toes were spread in their foot prints. 

[zahc]

I too would be more interested in a mocassin-type shoe than the 5-fingers stuff, especially a high-topped one.

[Matthew Carberry]

well, even if you eat ( say ) a deer, you're eating the same  plants the deer ate.
only now its deer meat, same as all energy is really solar energy

What are ya, an existentialist?  Some kind of philosophizin' hippy? 

I believe the plants have vitamins and nutrients and such that don't always remain once converted into protein.  I don't think we can live on a straight protein diet.

[Strings]

If you want something with a higher top and no "toes", go with moccasins...

I had the same thought about the five fingers: a higher top would be nice for going out into the woods. But it's not something that they've come out with yet.

 The separate toes take a lil' getting used to, but actually feel more natural (at least to me). About the only activity they've felt weird with was driving: having the toes wrap around the side of the gas pedal was odd at first.

There ARE socks available, but they're pricey...

[MechAg94]

Now I just have to figure out who sells decent moccasins.  :)

I might try those shoes if they aren't too expensive.  There is a store in Houston that carries them apparently.  Something to mow the grass in and do other stuff around the house at the very least. 

[White Horseradish]

Hmm... Thin flat soles... Hey! That'd be my Converse Chuck Taylor All-Stars!

I haven't owned a pair since I was a kid, but a few years ago on a trip to Florida I needed something lighter than combat boots (I had cowboy boots,  but they look silly with shorts). So I bought a pair. I've been wearing the heck out of them and I like it. I've forgotten just how comfortable they are...