A friend of mine had them, and he looked stupid.
We mocked him.

For a cheaper alternative, go to a specialised running shop, and get them to fit you properly, including trying out on a treadmill etc... find a nice pair for around £70, and you will be in running heaven!

I was never sure about the whole damage to your knees with these, it doesn't seem to make sense, as the shock of the ground is transferred straight to your legs..
(The Kwyjibo A big, dumb, balding North American ape., Wed 15 Jul 2009, 15:01, 2 replies)

At risk of committing all kinds of teleological fallacy...
... the barefoot principle makes sense from an evolutionary PoV. It's possible that running shoes are an enhancement - but it's also possible that they force your legs to work in a manner that's not biomechanically native to them. For at least some people, I can see how that might generate a problem.

I can only go on experience - and I did, previously, have expensive running shoes, extra support, and all that malarkey - but my running, and my legs, feel better now.
( Enzyme is powered by sunlight, Wed 15 Jul 2009, 15:10, closed)

Also from an evolutionary PoV
I've heard before that the reason most shoes have thicker heels is to provide additional padding to compensate for the harder surfaces we now walk on (concrete, tarmac etc) compared to the earthy, softer surfaces. Our bodies evolved walking on far softer surfaces, as a rule, and we've yet to physically catchup to match the environment we've created for ourselves.
( LemonEntryMyDearWatson This time, Moriarty, the hand is on the other foot, Wed 15 Jul 2009, 15:51, closed)

Not sure about that.
A baked savannah can be pretty hard...
( Enzyme is powered by sunlight, Wed 15 Jul 2009, 16:07, closed)

However
a baked Alaska is much softer.
( K2k6 has a proper job these days, Thu 16 Jul 2009, 12:08, closed)

hmm.. surely with a traditional running-shoe (heel-toe) gait
your legs will (hopefully) be protected by the shock absorbers in the heel of the shoe.

With a toe-heel gait, your ankle joint and associated tendons and ligaments (or whatever) will do the shock absorbing.
(haberman is singing in the changes, Wed 15 Jul 2009, 15:11, closed)

Perhaps
But if you go barefoot, you tend to go toe-heel naturally, so I'd assume that the ligaments, muscles and so on have evolved in that way, and that it's the most biomechanically efficient.

I'm not the sort of person who thinks that "natural" means "normatively powerful" - but, intuitively, it seems plausible to say that, if it's possible to retain the natural gait, that's likely to be better in at least some cases.
( Enzyme is powered by sunlight, Wed 15 Jul 2009, 15:17, closed)

I'm not saying they don't work, just find it interesting...
I suppose barefoot worked for all of the Ethiopians many years ago...

But also, a treadmill is different to a road, which most running shoes are made for, so presumably there is less impact on a treadmill anyway?

Have you tried running on the road with them?
(The Kwyjibo A big, dumb, balding North American ape., Wed 15 Jul 2009, 15:21, closed)

Not tried road running yet...
... but am considering it if the knee improvement holds.
( Enzyme is powered by sunlight, Wed 15 Jul 2009, 16:08, closed)