NB Minimus & Vibram Five Fingers (after a good hose down)
Just as a note, these were taken this morning after a decent cleaning to both shoes. So first off, both designs were very comfortable on the AT trails, I had no blistering from either designs. I wore Inji socks with the Minimus, and went bare with the VFFs.
VFF's Trek Sports- These are my trail shoes of choice, I always run the local trails (Redwood Regional Park) in my area in them no matter the weather. These worked well on the AT, especially on the wet, muddy days...no need to dodge water or the mud, these worked great going right through them. One great thing I noticed is that pretty much no debris entered the shoes the entire time, the snug fit kept debris out despite not having gaiters. The terrain that I felt like it needed to be navigated with the most caution was the rooty sections of the AT, I felt the roots the most if I took a bad/hard step on them, but nothing that was ran/walked off with a few steps. One thing I wish the Minumus took from this design is the tread, it just feels more aggressive without any additional weight. Near the end of our 24.mi day I caught the top right corner cloth material on a small branch running and had a little tear, but luckily the material held the rest of the trip and the tear did not grow at all.
NB Minimus- I ended up wearing these the first day on the AT because I wanted to get an idea of how gnarly the trail was before throwing on the VFFs...I somehow feel the closed toe box offers extra protection, but seem to both offer good toe stubbing protection. These felt great on the trails, just not as light as the VFFs, but I still feel like I am "dancing" on the trails as I navigate. Only a few pieces of debris entered the top of the shoe the entire trip, they seem nice and snug at the opening like the VFFs. Again, I feel the tread could be a bit more aggressive like the Trek Sports, something about the Trek Sport tread makes me feel like I can really dig in when climbing up hills. Even on wet muddy surfaces I did not feel like I was slipping around. One day we spent a good part of the trail on very loose rocky surfaces, and these offered great protection, of coarse I felt the sharp rocks if I took a bad step, nothing major.
-----
In the end, I would wear both shoes on the AT again, they both offer great airflow, the VFF's a bit more. I felt my feet were well protected in both, as long as I watched my footing. One thing I noticed about the VFFs is that I feel like I am dancing on the technical trails, which is a fun sensation compared to other footware. The other thing that is great about the VFF's is how you can just hose them down after a dirty run to clean them off and they dry quickly. I wear both on a daily basis, the black NB minimus model seems to get a lot of compliments around town, and look pretty slick compared to other "loud" running shoe designs. Of coarse I get a lot of questions about the VFFs around town. I wear the VFFs at work on my treadmill desk, and walk in my socks on days I wear the Minimus.
NB Minimus- I ended up wearing these the first day on the AT because I wanted to get an idea of how gnarly the trail was before throwing on the VFFs...I somehow feel the closed toe box offers extra protection, but seem to both offer good toe stubbing protection. These felt great on the trails, just not as light as the VFFs, but I still feel like I am "dancing" on the trails as I navigate. Only a few pieces of debris entered the top of the shoe the entire trip, they seem nice and snug at the opening like the VFFs. Again, I feel the tread could be a bit more aggressive like the Trek Sports, something about the Trek Sport tread makes me feel like I can really dig in when climbing up hills. Even on wet muddy surfaces I did not feel like I was slipping around. One day we spent a good part of the trail on very loose rocky surfaces, and these offered great protection, of coarse I felt the sharp rocks if I took a bad step, nothing major.
-----
In the end, I would wear both shoes on the AT again, they both offer great airflow, the VFF's a bit more. I felt my feet were well protected in both, as long as I watched my footing. One thing I noticed about the VFFs is that I feel like I am dancing on the technical trails, which is a fun sensation compared to other footware. The other thing that is great about the VFF's is how you can just hose them down after a dirty run to clean them off and they dry quickly. I wear both on a daily basis, the black NB minimus model seems to get a lot of compliments around town, and look pretty slick compared to other "loud" running shoe designs. Of coarse I get a lot of questions about the VFFs around town. I wear the VFFs at work on my treadmill desk, and walk in my socks on days I wear the Minimus.
