http://www.sportsgator.com This is a community effort, here at sports gator we want to know what u want. Post what you think the site needs and we will add it. en Sat, 19 May 2012 22:21:00 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.sportsgator.com/images/blaze/misc/rss.jpg http://www.sportsgator.com http://www.sportsgator.com/showthread.php?t=215536&goto=newpost Sat, 19 May 2012 05:06:12 GMT BirthdayShoes first reported on the Vibram FiveFingers KomodoSport (say that five times fast!) in Fall of 2010 with our sneak preview Komodo review.... BirthdayShoes first reported on the Vibram FiveFingers KomodoSport (say that five times fast!) in Fall of 2010 with our sneak preview Komodo review. Everything I wrote in that review still stands today. But now that the production, final KomodoSport has been out for a couple months, I wanted to do an updated review and video, as well as compare the KomodoSport to specific other models of Vibram FiveFingers.What is the FiveFingers KomodoSport?The FiveFingers KomodoSport, or "Komodo" for short (rhyme!), features a brand new Vibram outsole and footbed. Here's an official shot of the KomodoSport sole from Vibram.Look at all those jaggedies! The stated goal of the KomodoSport is to raise the "intensity" via an "aggressive multisport design [that] inherits what we love about the KSO with functional improvements that appeal to the most active fitness enthusiast" (I'll get to a specific KSO vs. KomodoSport comparison below). The most obviously different feature of the KomodoSport is it's aggressive 4mm rubber outsole (the bottom you see above — note the arch is EVA). This outsole features grooved tread to provide additional grip when engaging in more tenuous, stop-and-go, laterally cutting exercises or recreation—think sprints. Here are some more shots.The KomodoSport outsole is paired up with a removable "footbed," which I think of as an insole, that lays on top of the rubber outsole, thereby eliminating any of the bottom seams — namely the ones at the toe pockets. Just look at this photo of the inside of the KomodoSport and note that you see zero stitching at the heel and the fabric doesn't pop up at the base in the toe pockets.The seamless KomodoSport footbed is also incredibly soft, and if you do the math, a 3mm footbed plus a 4mm outsole gives you 7mm of total thickness give or take a millimeter. I'm getting ahead of myself here but by comparison the FiveFingers KSO has a 4mm (The KSO sole is just smooth/flat with razor siping vs. raised/lowered portions like the KomodoSport) and a 2mm EVA midsole — 6mm.Note: I don't recommend removing the FiveFingers Komodo footbed as it's pretty hard to get back in. Also, if you're wondering if you could remove it to get a bit better ground feel, well, you could, but given the inside portion of the KomodoSport outsole is rubber covered with a gritty mesh, it's clearly not intended to be worn without the footbed in place. Maybe sans footbed plus socks it'd be okay — if anyone tries it let me know!While the Vibram FiveFingers Komodo Sport may look beefy in the sole, it still provides a great deal of ground feel and toe flexibility. I'd estimate it's marginally better than the Bikila and Trek-styled soles and marginally worse than the KSO. The upside is that the KomodoSport is considerably more functional for recreation and fitness activities that require launching across a field or stopping on a dime.The FiveFingers KomodoSport for Sprinting, Weight Lifting, and Lateral CutsThe FiveFingers KomodoSport's outsole/footbed combo is designed for traction (1) and (2) being able to cut laterally. Think: chasing after a launched frisbee or launching into a sprint. Raise your foot if you've ever launched after a frisbee in Sprint FiveFingers and attempted to stop only to find you couldn't stop? Maybe it's just me.Another recreational example is kickball. First off, kicking a big squishy ball (as with kickball — not sure about soccer) works remarkably well in FiveFingers. Take away the shoelaces you get with a standard shoe and add the wide, flat surfaced base that is a foot in it's close-to-natural condition—a.k.a. wear a pair of Vibrams— and you get a pretty accurate kicking foot. The sting isn't terrible and you can really nail the ball — or bunt if you like that strategy. Directional kicks are much easier, to boot. That said, as I noted a bit over two years ago, rounding bases in KSO FiveFingers is difficult to impossible. You just can't stop. Thankfully, the tread design of the Vibram KomodoSport goes a long way to providing stop and go traction — both for kickball and chasing frisbees. ]]> Requests nopq380 http://www.sportsgator.com/showthread.php?t=215536