Product Details
- Size: 40 M EU
- Color: Grey/Black
- Brand: Vibram
- Fabric type: synthetic
Features
- Vibram
- Grey/Black
- 40
Vibram Lontra, Grey/Black, 40
Product Description
Lontra
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful.
Good, but no longer "minimal" or "barefoot"
By kevinmcl
My new Lontras are my fourth pair of FiveFingers. So, I like the brand. I like the concept. I had two pair of a version that says KSO on the box...not sure if that's a model, or what. They were.... ok. One pair was too big, but I didn't want to return them. I now use them on my treadmill-desk in my home office, and for kicking around the house. The other pair was "just right" in size, but I was just learning to deal with minimalist footwear, so I bruised myself and did other annoyances. Those ones are now reserved for the Tai-chi class (Yang style if you care) that I just joined.My footwear-of-choice for several months has been my Bikilas. Vibram got those right, and I'll buy more when my current pair wear out. Some purists think they are too "built" and shoe-like for minimalist or "barefoot" running. Maybe I'll think the same when I become totally acclimatized to walking and running everywhere with Vibrams on my feet. But for now, Bikilas are GREAT (for me). I think I have a review around here somewhere.Now the Lontras. Like many others, I live in a place that actually has (gasp!) winter. Ottawa, Canada, if it matters (ok, you guys from Inuvik [spent a year there; frost-bit my noogies there] can stop snickering - we don't get winter like you get winter, but we get real winter). I would not wear FiveFingers for strolling or for any situation where I expected to stand around outside. My feet would freeze. But for fast walking and jog/running, I think I'd be fine in all but the worst cold weather. A little insulation is appreciated, though. More to the point, I wanted a non-shoe shoe for the less-than-frigid days - the days when it's snowing or being slushy. So, I wanted my beloved Bikilas, but waterproof, and with maybe a soft ankle-sock to keep out the wet stuff that might fall in from the top.What I got was the Lontras. They have uppers made of some thin, flexible sandwich that has proven to be waterproof. Yay! There's some minimalist insulation, which I suppose extends the cold-weather wearability - I don't know yet, since I'm writing this in December, and the coldest times are yet to come.The problem, for me is the sole. I searched out the only patch of ice I could find, and the soles were nicely grippy. We had a couple of warm days, so previous snowfall is gone. But I imagine they'll be fine in snow. But, they've got tread. On a winter running shoe, that's not a bad thing. On a minimalist, "barefoot" shoe, that is a bad thing. Not only is the sole thick enough to have actual tread, it's also backed up by an EVA midsole. Yuck.What I'm saying is that, in addition to the desirable water-proofness, Vibram has gone too far with the Lontra and made a running shoe with individual toes, rather than a minimalist or "barefoot" non-shoe. They are TOO built-up. Still a lot less than your average Nike or New Balance or Solomon (my previous favorite winter trail-running shoe, before I discovered FiveFingers minimalism), but too much "shoe" to fit the FiveFingers niche.Why do I think so? Well, to be fair, I've gone for a couple of runs and they seem good, if a bit more ... um.... cozy and supportive than my Bikilas. I maintained my (relatively) new (to me) mid-foot/forefoot landing strike. But the kicker was when I walked the dog. The KSOs and the Bikilas FORCE me to shorten my walking stride and land each step with a mid-foot strike. I was stepping along the street in the Lontras when I realized that I had fallen back into my old heel-strike ways, and the shoe (yes, it's a shoe) has so much padding that it ALLOWED me to heel-strike without letting the punishment come through and enforce a correction.Again, these beasts have a fraction of the material that you'll find in your average "running shoe" of the cushioning and pronation-control type, but they have too much cush for a minimalist foot covering like the rest of the FiveFingers line.I'm keeping them, and I expect them to be my footwear of choice for winter running and dog-walkies, but if Vibram can come up with what I really want, I won't buy another pair.As I said above, what I really want is my Bikilas, only water-proof. I don't want padding. I want less sole if possible. No EVA midsole, please.The point of FiveFingers is to allow (require?) the feet to work naturally, and only to offer a thin layer of protection against glass and thorns and (in winter) slush. I think a waterproof Bikila could do that. I think Lontras are too much shoe to legitimately be in the FiveFingers line, unless they break FiveFingers into two or more sub-brands.In use, the Lontras are difficult to put on, but comfortable to use. The small elastic opening is necessary for footwear that has to keep slush out. Deal with it. Apparently, I figured out how to get them on more quickly than the other reviewers before me, but they take more effort than other FiveFingers, and I would NOT want to be trying to put them on if I had arthritis in my fingers. It takes effort. It is a job for strong fingers to work the toes into the individual tubes, particularly the two smallest toes. That's partly my fault for wearing normal shoes for 50+ years - my feet have been shaped by the experience, and not in a good way.The guy who bends his Lontras backwards to get his toes and forefoot in first has the right idea. After that, you just apply some determination to haul the heel cup onto your heel, wiggle a bit to get settled, press the strap onto the velcro, and that's it. On my 11-1/2 inch feet, size 46 Lontros are snug enough that I don't really need the strap. In the old KSO model, 45 was easily big enough... same feet. I could probably do well in 46-1/2 for the Lontros, but that would be too big for Bikilas. SHEESH!FiveFingers in general would be easier if Vibram would figure out their sizing consistently from the INSIDE of the shoe. That's where the foot goes, boyz'n'gurlz - we don't really need to know the size of the OUTside of our footwear. Just sayin'...I'm not sorry I got the Lontras. Overall they are a very good piece of footwear, and if you live in a climate where winter means more than warm rain (waving at you Californiacs and Gulf-coasters and Mexicans and ... oh hell, anybody for whom snow is a surprise), and you want to keep FiveFingering through the cold and slushy times, then Lontras are just about your only choice.I really hope that Vibram will consider a "between" model for Bikila people who just want some water-proofing, but who don't want to back to a padded shoe-shoe.I gave the Lontras 3 stars, and would have gone 3-1/2 if the interface allowed it.Without the EVA, I'd have given a fourth star, and with a slightly less thick and stiff sole, I'd have gone for the fifth star. But they is what they is.VERDICT: Recommended, but with the provisos mentioned.They are probably... ok, definitely... worth buying if you are in the target market - people who like the FiveFingers and minimalist footwear philosophy, but who aren't hardcore about it, and who have winter where they live and run.Hope this helps you make your decision.UPDATE:It's now January 02, 2013, and we've had a couple of feet of snow for a while, here in Ottawa, Canada. I've worn the Lontras in light snow, slush, minus-18 Celsius temperatures, and I've stepped onto a windrow (that heap of churned road-snow that the plow leaves behind) and sunk up to my thigh. The Lontras have kept the elements out, and I'm happy with that. I've decided to bring my rating up to four stars.With the dry snow on the ground, I tried both my Bikilas and the Lontras and found the Lontras have slightly better grip on ice. But in snow a few inches deep, the extra tread on the bottom really doesn't seem to add much. I still think they could have gone with less padding, and with less massive, not-so-stiff soles.A bit of snow on the ground helps keep the tootsies warmer. My feet noticed the cold much sooner, through the Lontras when I was dog-walking on cold, bare pavement, than when there was car-churned snow to walk on.The only real draw-back I've found is when I wear my Lontras and then go into a building (like a store or office) where I can't really take them off (not like at home...), and my feet quickly begin to sweat. It wasn't an issue with Bikilas, even when outdoor temp was the same. If I went indoors while wearing my FiveFingers, my feet would warm up with the rest of me, but when the FFs are the Lontras, the sweat just flows, and any breathability is undetectable.
11 of 13 people found the following review helpful.
BIG DISAPPOINTMENT
By iskeen
I am an experienced and happy Vibram user. I have 5 pairs and have been wearing them nearly full time for about 3 years. So you know that I eagerly waited for the intro of the new, cold-weather Lontra. Unfortunately, it was a huge disappointment. The opening for the shoe is at the ankle and is very tight. So tight in fact, that my heel could not get in. After struggling for 1/2 hour, I tried a larger size. In this, it only took 15 minutes to get the shoes on but in walking around it was obvious that the toe box was too big. So this shoe is designed for people who do not have heels on the back end of their feet. Or maybe for people with wooden legs!I must say that the material is warm, but the strap across the instep seemed frivolous for real outdoor winter conditions -- too lightweight, not enough pull on the instep.All in all, this shoe, unlike the other Vibrams I have, is designed as if the company had a meeting and decided, "It doesn't matter, they'll buy anything." One word of advice: DON'T!Anyone who buys the LONTRA online without trying it on is going to have issues. The other Vibrams are great and I recommend them. I have bought them in the store and also on line with no problem. Maybe it's just me and I have more of a heel than most people, but I don't think so.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful.Mostly works well
By David
The only complaint that I have about these is that they are by no stretch of the imagination water resistant. If you walk across wet ground, your feet are going to be wet. When they were brand new, they were somewhat resistant to this, but after a month of wear, the water resistance is pretty much gone. However, they are very comfortable to wear and much warmer than my other five fingers. I would buy them again, but I wish they had gone to greater lengths to waterproof them for cold weather wear.
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