On Friday, we drove by two Targets, a Best Buy, and an AT&T store to see if anyone was selling the Jawbone UP early. None were. The reports we heard about UPs selling early must have been very isolated experiences, though it seems people had more success at Apple stores, who apparently are more likely to not play by the rules.¹ Both Target stores we visited had places set aside, complete with labels, for the three sizes of the UP initially available, yet employees at neither store could tell me whether they already sold out of their UP stock, or if they hadn’t received any yet. We decided to return to the AT&T store on Sunday morning.

We had sized our wrist using the printable template available at the UP site. This proved to be a waste of time, because not only did the AT&T store have demo units out to try on, but the packaging on each UP box has a plastic template included, so buyers can check for their size when in the store. It’s a nice touch, and shows Jawbone’s attention to detail. So we bought our UP, and set it up in the car on the way home.² We won’t bother to give a full review here, because we found Shawn Wall’s review to be plenty thorough for a product that’s only officially been on shelves for less than two days, but we will respond to some points he made for the sake of completeness.

The rubberized bracelet is bendable to a degree. It’s not the simplest task in the world getting it on or off your wrist, but thankfully you don’t really need to take it off given its waterproof nature.

Jawbone actually calls the bracelet water resistant, and only to a fairly shallow depth. The idea is that you can wash your hands, and even take it into the shower, without worrying about it getting damaged. We even saw a picture of someone wearing it in a shallow pool, so the idea that you can wear it most places is obviously something Jawbone wants customers to understand. But don’t think about taking the UP diving. In fact, the notion of taking this thing in the ocean makes us a bit uncomfortable, and we’d rather someone else tried it first.

When we took a shower this morning, our hesitation for getting the UP wet made us take it off. It’s not like you’ll be missing out on too much activity tracking in those few minutes of the morning anyway. Though, we did notice that the black rubberized band³ attracts dirt pretty quickly, so wearing it into the shower may not be a bad idea after all.

As far as bendability goes, the UP has to be somewhat bendable to get it on and off. But that’s only for the “ends” of the band, and the bendability is temporary. In other words, you can’t bend the UP into a different shape, or make it larger or smaller.

There’s really not much in the way of moving parts here; there is a button at one end that is used for switching modes (more on that later), and the opposite end has a cap that is pulled off to reveal the 3.5mm male jack that is used to sync the device with your mobile phone (currently iPhone-only, but Android “coming soon”).

The one thing we don’t like about the UP is that the button on one end, as well as the cap, is painted silver. We’d much rather have these match the main band colour, as we don’t expecially like the accent color. The cap is only silver on one side though, so if you put it on backwards, it appears black to all but the closest observer. A backwards cap also means you’re not proudly displaying “Jawbone” written on your jewelry; we don’t need to advertise for the company we already supported by buying their product. Depending on how much we dislike the button on the other end being an “off” colour, we may end up painting it black down the road.

One really great feature in regards to sleep is that the bracelet can be used as an alarm clock using vibration. Even better, it supposedly will wake you up out of a light sleep instead of a deep sleep by getting you up a little earlier if it can (by looking at your deep vs. light sleep somehow).

This feature worked well for us this morning, though to be fair, we didn’t sleep all that great last night anyway, and noticeably tumbled around a bunch. In this case, we were quick to feel the pulsing vibration of the alarm, but we wonder if it will wake us on days that we have a deeper sleep. Today, it woke us up 15 minutes early. We’re considering doing a side-by-side test of the UP and Sleep Cycle iPhone app to see how consistent the two are, or if one tends to go off before the other. For now, though, we expect the UP to handle our alarms equally well, if not better, with the only concern being whether the vibration is strong enough to rouse us from a deep sleep.

One of my favorite feature of the device is found in this area. You can set your bracelet to remind you to be active if you are sedentary for too long. The time range is user defined. This is great as it can remind us programmers to get out of our chairs once an hour

We’re rather fond of this feature also. We have it enabled during business hours, and its a great reminder to get up and do something, even if it’s just to pee or get some fresh water.

I do not own another pedometor, Fitbit or anything else along those lines so I cannot speak for the accuracy of the UP. It feels like the numbers are too high though.

Whether they’re too high or not, all we can say is that the “lightly active” category is cake during an average weekend, and that’s not even with workout scheduled. From noon until night yesterday, we scored over 8k steps taken, which means we can easily up our steps goal to the next level. We’ll have to see how our weekend activity compares to the average workday to see whether it’s worth adjusting our goals at this time, though.

The food diary portion of the application is well… a little underwhelming in my opinion.

We haven’t played with this feature too much yet, and honestly, we’re not too tempted considering there’s no way to count calories. We’ve used other apps to compare our caloric intake to our ideal goal (at least 3k calories a day), and the fact that such a simple feature is missing makes us feel like we’d gain little from the UP app’s inclusion of a food log. Maybe once this feature becomes more robust, we’ll be more likely to keep up with it.

Game mechanics are a huge portion to an offering such as the UP, and I feel they currently fall a little short.

We agree with Shawn here, and don’t like how simply accepting a challenge means others who accepted the challenge can suddenly see your progress. We’d prefer “private” challenges that don’t involved any reporting, or at the very least, allow users to select a username instead of their registered (true) name. Sure, the public feed only uses first names, but we’d still prefer a nickname.

The problem of the food log and the game mechanics points at the one flaw the UP currently has, and that’s a very simplistic piece of software. If Jawbone maintains a regular release schedule of updates and bug fixes, however, we can truly see the pair being a useful lifestyle assistant for some time to come.

More thoughts to follow as we spend more time with our new bracelet.

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We intended to write a comprehensive review of the one-day MovNat workshop we recently participated in, but realized that others have already done so, and that our overall impression isn’t much different¹. In short, the experience was fantastic, despite the fact that we started the day with relatively cool weather and a rainy forecast. (This hampered a couple of the planned activities, but as the purpose of the workshop was to present MovNat fundamentals, we were still able to get an understanding of the basic concepts and techniques behind the MovNat philosophy.) We don’t want to echo back every other review out there, but would still like to focus on some points that we find particularly notable about the experience, and general idea behind MovNat.

For those who have no idea what we’re talking about, MovNat is, at its core, a workout philosophy based around the idea that humans evolved a range of movement abilities that helped us to prosper and evolve over thousands of years. Unlike typical gym workouts, working on these movements is the ideal method for preventing injury and developing truly functional fitness². If we practice the basic movements that humans have evolved to perform well over time (the same movements that are foundational to all human activities), then we can argue we’re developing overall fitness in an ideal, safe manner. There are 12 of these core movements: walking, balancing, climbing, jumping, moving on all fours, running, lifting, carrying, throwing, catching, swimming, and defending³.

You can gather considerable appreciation for these movements when you consider that many individuals, who may be able to do, say, a dozen pullups, are not able to climb atop a horizontal bar. This illustrates the notion that many people may have appreciable strength in some areas, but are woefully lacking the ability to properly utilize that strength. In a sense, that strength development is wasted, because it succumbs to considerable weakness that exists in other areas. MovNat is about addressing these weaknesses and developing an overall fit person⁴, akin to those of our ancestors who, in order to survive, needed to fully master the aforementioned 12 movements.

MovNat is not about reenactment, though. The 12 movements aren’t practiced purely because they are important in an evolutionary context, but because they continue to be important today⁵. Just as martial arts address the potential for a fight, so too does MovNat prepare us for the potential circumstances that we might encounter, be they natural disasters, accidents, or other worst-case scenarios. More importantly, MovNat teaches us not only how important the 12 movements are, but how to perform them correctly, so as to not injure ourselves when executing them. Further, these 12 movements are taught to be efficient, so as to expend as little energy as possible when doing them.

It’s also worth pointing out that despite MovNat meeting our inherent need to be outdoors, MovNat itself is not restricted to parks, forests, and other outdoor play-spaces. Indeed, many of the 12 movements can easily be practiced indoors, to include the local gym⁶. A good thing to remember, though, is that a MovNat workout needn’t contain every, or even most, movements in a single session; just work the movements you can, when you can. So if you’re limited to indoors spaces because of inclement weather, there are still workouts you can explore.

MovNat is still in its infancy, and with only three “official” trainers, the movement (no pun intended) is still growing. Founder Erwan Le Corre is in the process of writing a MovNat book, and MovNat coach certification is coming later this year. Only recently, a MovNat alumni group was started on Facebook, which may become an avenue for distributing training materials summarizing workshop lessons to those who’ve already attended a MovNat event. All of these things are excellent, and we continue to look forward to how MovNat evolves.

Is the workshop worth it? If you’re new to the concept of natural movement, you’ll have plenty to learn, and even those of you who’ve explored things like barefoot running or Parkour⁷ in the past, will have plenty to look forward to. The one-day workshops aren’t cheap, but considering the travel required by the instructor, and the lack of other good source material out there, it’s a small investment in one’s future fitness, especially considering that one doesn’t need a gym membership or store-bought equipment to continue doing MovNat workouts. Those considering participating in a workshop in the future needn’t be worried about being too unfit, either; the day’s exercises are illustrative (albeit hands-on), and only a short portion of the day is what could be described as “intense.” Still, you’ll be surprised at how sore you’ll end up just doing seemingly simple exercises.

It’s hard to walk away from the one-day workshop without looking forward to future MovNat workouts; looking at the world differently is an expected outcome. It’s not so much that a new world opens up to you, but rather that you rediscover a world you forgot about as you left childhood. It’s a world you’re happy to have back.

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The 2011 autumn lineup for Vibram’s FiveFinger’s line looks good. Birthday Shoes, the de facto outlet for Vibram FiveFingers news, reports on several intriguing new models which are much more fashion-friendly than previous designs (at least, as fashion-friendly as toe-shoes can be). Previously, the most covert FiveFingers model was the original Trek, sporting a one-colour leather exterior in either dark brown or black. This autumn, men will also have the option of sporting the Bormio, which is an ankle-height leather “boot,” as well as the Trek LS which is basically a lace-up version of the Trek with, presumably, more leather and less elastic. We can easily see our original Trek becoming a pure hiking shoe, and using a Trek LS for most casual outings. The Bormio could fill this same role in cooler months, and if it ends up being mostly water resistant, we can finally get rid of our hiking books that we keep around purely for when it’s raining hard or snowing.

The bit about lace-ups is also interesting, because frankly, lace-up FiveFingers are awesome; we own a pair of Speeds that we ordered from the UK, and they’re quickly becoming our favorite shoe. The sizing wasn’t obvious for us, but the fit is fantastic with the laces, and so we have high hopes for the Trek LS. The only thing we would have preferred is for the Trek LS to have a non-Trek sole (necessitating a name-change, obviously) because we find the thickness of the Trek sole unnecessary for day-to-day use. The Trek sole makes more sense in the Bormio (as it’s a boot), and here it’s gladly welcomed. Of course, the Speeds are also coming to US shores, so that means that North Americans will be able to pick a pair up for much cheaper than ordering from Europe.

We’re not too enthused about the rest of the lineup, though admit, amusingly, that if we were of the female persuasion, we’d be giddy to pick up a pair of high, furry-topped Kangas. Birthday Shoes has pics of all these models, and more.

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Classic World of Warcraft (WoW) defender Tobold discusses player skill versus character skill in the context of “twitch” versus “strategy,” effectively accusing anyone who complains about WoW’s lack of skill requirement as downplaying the strategic elements required. This follows a number of complaints people have with “twitch” games in general (i.e. those games requiring quick reflexes and hand-eye coordinating like most first-person shooters). It’s an argument that’s heavily drawn a line between the players of games like WoW and, say, Darkfall.

Now some people believe that a MMORPG should be an action arcade game, a kind of Super Mario, in which your twitch skills (hand-eye coordination, spatial awareness) should determine your success. And these people often are using a dirty trick in the discussion: They claim that only twitch skills are “skill”, while other video game skills like strategy skills or puzzle skills are “not skill”.

But that’s not really what people are saying when they dismiss WoW as a game requiring little skill. Rather, it’s that WoW has successively become a game in which less and less strategy is required by a player, since the game has, instead, provided the opportunity for players to obtain high-powered gear rather easily, which makes up for a lack of strategy. In other words, had Blizzard reduced the potency of gear in WoW, it would require players to use more strategy (e.g. better spell rotations and timing), but that would mean not as many players would be able to accomplish certain in-game achievements. Blizzard’s decision was to make the game’s content more accessible to the vast majority of players, and thus more powerful gear was made accessible to people as a sort if crutch.

In this regard, most WoW-haters who rely on the “no skill” argument are likely to place “old school” WoW on a higher pedestal, since there was less wiggle-room when it came to player skill back in 2004. But since, Blizzard has reduced the need for strategic excellence.

Darkfall, and games like it, do rely more on “twitch”-based skill. Darkfall’s developers decided that strategy elements in traditional MMORPGs like WoW were themselves too simple, even if gear bonuses were drastically reduced. While Tobold is correct in saying that the developers could have made the strategic elements of the game more complex in lieu of relying on “twitch” mechanics, the developers decided that the latter allows for an easier learning curve. Either way, Darkfall is less accessible to the same number of players as WoW, since it does not offer the same gear-based crutch that WoW does.

So while Tobold and his supporters dislike the “twitch” play-style and believe that games should be more strategic to be considered “skill-based,” the ultimate blame here still falls on Blizzard. At this point, few people disagree with the notion that WoW has become dumbed down in great part because of gear inflation. It’s simply that some people want gear to be reduced in power, others want more “twitch,” and others yet want more strategy. Blizzard, however, is the one doing neither of these things.

Yet, Tobold blames the players:

It is simply not true that there is no challenge at all available in World of Warcraft. Instead what happens is that players DELIBERATELY are constantly working on LOWERING the skill requirements, through maximizing their “efficiency” of gear / talent builds / everything else, and even through the use of third-party programs (addons) which make encounters much easier.

How is it that the players should be to blame for min/maxing what the game provides them? Sure, people can play the game with bad gear in order to artificially increase the game’s challenge, but doing so only affects the players participating. If Blizzard offered “hardcore” servers with bad gear, so everyone was in a similar situation, then this option might be attractive to many, but if we’re given a certain number of tools at our disposal, why shouldn’t we use them, and why should we deny ourselves these tools just so someone who does use them can easily pass us by in terms of content progress?

The reason I personally dislike the “WoW needs no skill” crowd is that I always suspect them of elitism. Their main interest isn’t in playing through something hard, because they already could do that. Their main interest is in excluding a broader audience from the game, or from certain types of content.

Ultimately, success at a challenge is sweeter when only a sub-set of the whole has achieved it. Otherwise, is it truly success, or is it just a matter of putting in the time? Tobold’s position comes down to one of selfishness: he believes that just by paying his monthly fee and putting in a certain amount of time, that he should be rewarded the same as everyone else, even if he’s not as good of a player. The “elitists” he points at, on the other hand, believe that better players should be better rewarded. In a sense, it really is an argument for or against welfare, and whether simply contributing by logging on warrants a full game experience. But it’s certainly not an argument of “twitch” versus strategy – those are just fancy labels improperly used to discuss WoW’s gear inflation.

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Our first week wearing Vibram Fivefingers made for an interesting experience, and while we intended to post an immediate followup, the delay may have been fortuitous, since we’re now four months in and have more insight into the journey we embarked on. The shoes look no less weird now than they did back in March, but we’re substantially more comfortable in them now, and our distaste for “conventional” shoes is now less theory, and more practically-grounded.

Transitioning.

We talked about muscle soreness in our calves before, and while the soreness dissipated, we didn’t expect the second wave to be so severe. This followed our first one-mile run, which we probably shouldn’t have completed in the first place. They say that barefoot running should be taken on gradually, with only five minute runs at first, moving on to ten minutes a week or two later, etc. We, however, we stupid enough to will ourselves through a whole mile, which in our case, took longer than five minutes, halfway through to which, our calves were already asking us to stop. For some reason, we were determined to complete the big 1.0, however, and when we finally stopped, our calves decided to swear off running for another several days. The resulting calf soreness easily lasted a week and a half, and was akin to us doing strenuous calf exercises, with weights, to the point of exhaustion – that’s how bad the soreness was.

Interestingly, the muscle soreness we’ve experienced since has been somewhat different. As our calves strengthened, next up was soreness in our achilles tendon. More recently, without a solid routine of running, but still wearing Fivefingers for walking around, our more recent jogs haven’t caused more than occasional light soreness on the sides of our calves.

We’ve also experienced (we believe to a slowly lessening extent), a pain somewhere near our fifth metatarsals when we get up in the morning and first begin to walk around. We understand that this is a common phenomenon with barefoot runners either starting out, and perhaps not easing into it quite as slowly as we should; barefoot runners tend to land their feet on the side of the forefoot, which places pressure on an area we’re not used to putting much pressure on. Our bones and tendons here need to built up their strength, so this is likely the pain we’re feeling. Microfractures, for example, are common because of this pounding, and we’re guessing that our early morning pain may be related to this. After several seconds, the pain dissipates and we’re fine the rest of the day.

We also mentioned previously that landing on the balls of our feet caused some small amount of pain during our first week wearing Fivefingers. We can now confirm that this was temporary. Indeed, not only does one’s body toughen up after running more naturally, but you really do learn to run again. Part of this relearning is subconscious – you just sort of fall into it. The rest requires some amount of conscious effort to change your habits, and at some later point the subconscious may take over until you’re running like a kid again. For us, we’re still grappling with some aspects of running barefoot, primarily as it concerns weight – we tend to land with “heavy” feet, and haven’t yet mastered the elastic bounce that barefoot runners tend to have.

Still awkward, too, is walking fast. At a slow pace, walking isn’t changed much, as landing with our heel landing first feels fine. It’s when we increase our pace that we realize we’re heel-stomping, but we’re not quite moving fast enough yet for a mid-foot or fore-foot landing to feel natural. At this pace, we’re somewhere between worlds, and we either look stupid wrestling with a gait we’re not used to, else we suck up the heel slams and just move on. A good part of this is because strides are shorter when barefoot, and when we walk fast, we’re used to increasing our stride for added speed, and this doesn’t work well for us in Fivefingers.

The wear.

We were originally concerned somewhat that the lack of padding with Fivefingers would make longer jaunts less comfortable, but to the contrary, we’ve noticed no more discomfort than standing for long periods in normal shoes. If anything, the fact that more of our feet can move in Fivefingers makes wearing them for longer periods less annoying than wearing the foot cages we were previously used to.

Temperature was a problem during March when we weren’t running, and when autumn approaches, we hope to have a better arsenal for dealing with this. Since purchasing our KSOs, we’ve since picked up a pair of Mocs that replaced our indoors slippers, and recently, we bought a pair of Treks to class things up a tad; the kangaroo leather of the Treks makes them slightly more fashionable (assuming you can make gorilla feet fashionable, that is). We hope that wearing socks with our Treks will both make them warmer, thus allowing us to extend our Fivefingers season an extra month or two, and also make them stink less than our KSOs.

The stink, as reported by many other Fivefingers users, isn’t fun. It may not be worse than running in sneakers barefoot, but it’s the definite downside to not wearing socks with a shoe. This means that we need to wash our KSOs at least once every two weeks, and more if we wear it beyond just working out. We bought our Treks for most non-athletic wear (outside of hiking), but we may start wearing socks with the KSOs as the weather cools as well. We’d strongly recommend this if you’re squeamish about foot odor and don’t want to wash your Fivefingers pretty routinely.

Another reason for the Treks was to take on more adventurous hikes in the future. We hope to replace our hiking boots with the Treks once we develop our muscles and feet up some more, and the added traction of Trek soles will be useful. While we can see using the KSOs for light hiking, the razor sipped soles don’t stand up to slippery rocks, and simply don’t offer adequate traction when scrambling around. That’s been an issue for us when playing around rivers, where slippery rocks are plentiful. Arguably, the Flows may be a better buy for these situations, and it begs the question as to why Vibram hasn’t brought the Flow Treks to the United States, as they’re arguably the perfect backcountry hiking shoe for minimalists. Until they do, the basic Trek will have to suffice.

The linky.

We wanted to post some linkage for would-be, or new, Fivefingers wearers. The first link addresses long pants dragging on the ground because of a shorter sole profile on the Fivefingers. The trick is to attack a small s-biner to the loop on the read of the Fivefingers, and sliding the edge of your pant-leg into the other end of the s-biner. This keeps your pants from scraping against the ground and even getting caught under your heel, and it’s barely noticeable without close inspection.

The second link is a video on barefoot running techniques, sponsored by Terra Plana, another company who produces minimalist running shoes. While other videos on the topic exist, this one is more practically-oriented, suggesting exercises to promote better running techniques before one gets their actual run on.

The addiction.

We’ve almost averaged one pair of Fivefingers per month since buying our first pair. The model lineup, while expanding, isn’t likely to convince us to get yet another pair anytime soon, but the differences between some of the models are important to note. For those considering jumping on the bandwagon, we still maintain that the KSO is a great middle-line option, or the Sprint if you’re not fond of the extra mesh the KSO offers. Unless you only want a Fivefingers shoe for a very specific purpose, like running or yoga, then you can’t go wrong with the KSO/Sprint.

It’s true that we hate wearing “regular” shoes now. Not only do they feel cramped, but the extra height of the heel, and whatever padding it contains, is something we now see as a burden rather than a comfort. In fact, even wearing sandals now fees uncomfortable.

And, of course, we find ourselves attracted to unpaved surfaces, be it dirt, grass, or gravel. Something about feeling the ground beneath you becomes exciting, instead of just bulldozing forward with blocks on your feet and finding anything but flat asphalt annoying. The only thing we’re missing now is a similar shoe that can get away by being seen in a professional environment, and that’s a trick we’re not sure even Vibram can manage just yet.

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We randomly came across mention of Vibram Five Fingers over at the Mnmlist blog, where author Leo bought a pair despite his “less stuff” philosophy. Curiosity piqued, we had to check them out, and so we started to do our research on the Five Fingers, and the barefoot philosophy that’s earned a very strong niche following.

Background.

It turns out, our feet evolved into one of our most complex skeletal features for a reason. With so many bones and joints, our feet are designed to be incredibly adaptable to terrain changes, aided in part by the feedback our brains get when the terrain beneath us changes form (causing us to shift our posture, gait, stride, etc). In addition to our physical endurance, this evolution allowed humans to become persistence hunters, in which we effectively ran our prey to their deaths. And, we were able to do this despite the fact that we did not strap hooves to our feet.

That all changed when aesthetic variables came into play in the western world. Earlier generations wore leather footwear roughly equivalent to what we think of as a moccasin. This provided our feet with basic protection, but apparently not enough visual appeal. So, Europeans added impractical heels to our footwear, which required a thicker, less flexible sole. The result was an arguably more appealing figure, complete with the curves and stance still present in modern fashion. Of course, this change also resulted in footwear that cut off much of the tactile feedback our brains got from our feet feeling the ground beneath us. Furthermore, with more rigid soles and heels, we began walking “heel-first,” and rolling our feet to our toes before kicking off. This was a far cry from earlier days, when the balls or middle of our feet hit the ground first, and our toes sprung our next kick forward.

Interestingly, you can see the difference between walking with shoes and walking barefoot immediately. Even if it’s the same person. Try it out yourself and pay attention.

Some studies show that the thicker a shoe’s heel/sole, the harder a wearer slams their heel into the ground when walking, as though the brain is subconsciously trying to get the feedback it desires. This heel-slamming that we do in modern society, it damages our knees and joints, because it’s not how our bodies were designed to take shocks. Similarly, changes in posture, resulting from modern shoes, provide other problems as well, such as shin splints, back pain, and the aforementioned knee problems. All because shoes themselves, courtesy of thick soles, aren’t good for our bodies.

The shoe industry, of course, has adopted. It puts a band-aid on some of our problems by adding more cushion, or curving the toes up to make up for the lack of spring our toes would naturally provide. They add “pumps,” soles that flair out, arch support, and a whole slew of other changes (not to mention aesthetic ones), but few companies look to actually alleviate the health problems modern footwear has produced by directly tackling the underlying issues.

Vibram is a company that’s actually looking to address the core problem. They, and other companies, believe in producing shoes with very thin soles, allowing our brains to get far more tactile feedback than with conventional footwear. Most companies like this still opt for close-toed shoes that still benefit somewhat from additional toe movement, but Vibram took things to another level with their Five Fingers line.

Five Fingers are gloves for feet. They provide a thin Vibram sole and pockets for individual toes. This allows a wearer’s toes to move independently and provide natural spring to a run, and because the wearer can utilize their toes more naturally, and their feet too, stability and agility are enhanced accordingly. Vibram’s idea was to give people the barefoot advantage and still provide some level of protection, and judging from the many reviews out there, Vibram has succeeded stunningly with their Five Fingers line.

Models, and sizing.

When we decided to pull the trigger on a Five Fingers shoe, we first had to determine what model we wanted. The main factor in our decision was that we wanted a jack-of-all-trades shoe for daily use. We would still be wearing dress shoes to the office, but when at home, or working out, we wanted a shoe that would work just as well around town as it did running on pavement or going on light hikes. For us, this meant a shoe that was closed on top, and that eliminated three models from the get-go (Classic, Moc, and Sprint). One of three remaining models was ideal for watersports (Flow), but not necessarily for land sports, and one model (KSO Trek) came with a somewhat thicker sole offering better traction for more robust hiking. The “do-all” model that, perhaps, wasn’t overly specialized, was the KSO.

While REI carries the Five Fingers, their selection varies from store to store. Some stores, in fact, don’t carry them at all, and those that do have stocking issues because supply isn’t currently meeting demand. The KSOs and Treks require a size-down adjustment from the other models, so while our local REI didn’t have the KSOs in our size, we were able to try on three sizes in the Classics and Sprints. By the time we left the store, we figured we’d be a 40 in the KSOs, and immediately got online to place an order. Of course, by the time our order arrived, we were dismayed to find that the shoe was too small. It turns out that the black/black KSOs run small, so we returned our 40s and placed another order.

The 41s we received were quite snug. Arguably, we could have gone up another size, and we’re fairly confident that a 41 would be perfect in any other colour or model. Still, the 41s in KSO black/black didn’t feel uncomfortable at all. So, we took them for a spin.

Day one.

Because of the toe pockets, and that our toes are used to being scrunched up somewhat in traditional shoes, getting the KSOs on took a couple minutes. It’s not difficult, but it still takes a little patience to get the smaller toes lined up correctly. In our case, it was the little toe that didn’t naturally slide into its own pocket right away, and instead curled towards its neighbor for safety.

Walking around the house felt good, like some odd combination of socks and slippers. Stepping outside where it was around 50 degrees out, our feet immediately felt the chill. The mesh on top of the shoes doesn’t do much for keeping wind out, and though our long bootcut jeans may have helped a little, it wasn’t enough. With certainty, we can say that we felt the ground better, but we obviously didn’t notice small gravel on the sidewalks. It wasn’t until we stepped on a rock about the size of a marble that we felt uncomfortable pressure, which we would have just rolled over without much thought in our other shoes.

Back to the jeans, the thin sole of the KSOs obviously reduces our height somewhat. In hiking boots, which we’re used to wearing, our jeans are the perfect length, but with most casual shoes, the edge of the back can drag on the ground. Similarly, with the KSOs, our jeans end up getting dirty because the back bottom either ends up dragging on the ground, else is outright stepped on. Without buying a new pair or becoming a seamstress, we figure we can just deal with it, else maybe cut a small slit in the back so the bottom flays out a bit more. Either way, future jeans purchases will take this into account.

A quick trip through town proved that the KSOs were comfortable. We were concerned with the snugness of the fit more than once, not because there was any discomfort, but out of buyer’s paranoia. In fact, our toes had great movement through the shoes despite that two toes on each foot were pretty much touching the end of their respective toe pockets. If anything, the feel of the wind, that we could spread our toes, and the thin sole, pretty much made our feet feel like they were barefoot, or at least close to it. But how would they hold up running?

We decided to go for a jog with our dog, and ended up doing a couple sprints along what amounted to approximately 16 blocks. It quickly became obvious that running on pavement and landing on the balls of one’s feet isn’t exactly super-comfortable. That is to say, impact to this area of the foot isn’t something we were used to while running. It didn’t hurt, but we half expected to bruise this area of the foot if we continued on. Beyond this expectation, however, our feet felt fine, and we naturally avoided landing with our heels. Indeed, it may simply have been a placebo of sorts, but we felt like we could spring forward from a stride much easier now that our toes we free from their typical footwear cages.

Stability-wise, our short jaunt felt good. So good, in fact, that we felt tempted to jump up on low walls like a newbie ninja-in-training. There’s a reason people don’t tend to roll their ankles when barefoot, and that stability is offered by the Five Fingers without question. It’ll probably take a while to acclimate our bodies to barefoot movement overall, but at slower speeds, the transition is automatic, if only because we’re used to moving around barefoot slowly. At speed is in another issue, because it’s rare that we run around barefoot, so it’s no surprise that when we enter speed-walking or running mode, that we tend to drop our heels into the ground pretty heavily.

By the end of our little jog, we noticed that our feet had warmed up considerably, and that they felt pretty cozy by the time we returned home. Given the temperature outside, we estimate that it’d be pretty comfortable running in these shoes most of the year on the east coast.

The next three days.

When we woke up the following morning, we definitely noticed soreness in our calves. Reports from other new Five Fingers users noted this pain, but we casually dismissed it. But no, it’s true: the muscles designed to stabilize our feet while moving barefoot atrophy in most individuals because they’re simply not used much thanks to modern footwear. In our case, our calves felt about what we expect them to the day after working them out at the gym, only in this situation, we didn’t intend to work them out specifically, and didn’t notice much stress on them in our very short run the day earlier.

With limited time to work out the next couple days, we simply managed to go on short walks after work in our Five Fingers, dog in tow. Nothing particularly notable about these walks other than an adjustment in gait to compensate for the heel-striking in our normal, long stride. We’ll add, though, that we naturally began to prefer walking on grass or dirt than pavement, because it feels so much better. In normal shoes, we like the idea of walking off pavement, but stability-wise, pavement feels better. In Five Fingers, walking off-road is simply a better experience all-around.

That said, hanging out in the dog park, which at this time of year is a little muddy, tended to make the bottom of our feet cold when we weren’t moving much. Just throwing a ball around with minimal movement around the field definitely impacted foot comfort, as our feet would have been more comfortable at least wearing socks. Given that our KSOs are already very snug, we’ll likely rule out socks unless we later decide to get a slightly roomier pair of Five Fingers. We’ll still wear our KSOs in these situations, but when autumn sheds into winter later in the year, we’ll obviously have to make a decision as to what to do.

On our last walk in the Five Fingers over the three day period owning the KSOs, we walked over an old cobblestone street, which made us realize the implications of barefoot movement. Modern society, or in this case recent history, clearly dictated adjustments to footwear even beyond aesthetic considerations. Using the cobblestone street as an example, moving across the man-made pathway in our KSOs was about as uncomfortable as driving a car down the same stretch. While the walk was fine when we carefully chose our footing for each step, moving from stone-top to stone-top, a blind walk down the street simply wasn’t comfortable.

We’d be happy to hear that this was only because we’re not used to the feeling, and that our feet will toughen up to this type of terrain over time, but given the experience, we reckon we’d sooner avoid these types of streets in the future. Picturing us distracted where our gaze isn’t on the stones in front of us, we can only imagine a painful outcome to a run down this same street. That said, after returning home, the Five Fingers remained on our feet, where they felt super-comfortable just hanging out. We can definitely see replacing our slippers with a pair of Mocs in the future.

By day three, only a slight soreness in our calves remain. This weekend, we’ll opt for more activity in our KSOs, as we intend to wear them all weekend long. We’ll continue to comment on the experience as time goes on, and if there is reader interest.

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When we decided to adopt an American Pit Bull Terrier (APBT), we knew that we’d be fighting an uphill battle against the ignorant masses. Thanks to exaggerated, biased media reports that sell their stories by promoting fear-mongering, the press has demonized a number of dog breeds under the “pitbull” label. It’s unfortunate for a variety of reasons, not the least which is the euthanizing of hundreds of “pitbulls” in shelters across the United States.

While we did a fair amount of research into the APBT and related breeds, it’s since become more and more obvious to us that the media is still on its mission to place blame on the wrong parties. The Michael Vick story helped bring certain elements of the issue to light, but the damage to “pitbull” breeds was done by Sports Illustrated years ago, and the damage likely won’t be undone for many years to come, if ever. And it’s not just the media, but regular folks who regurgitate untruths because they simply don’t know any better. For the purpose of promoting facts, let’s clarify some points for those whose knowledge of “pitbulls” is based entirely on hearsay and partial information.

First off, there is no “pitbull” breed. The media lumps several breeds under this label, to include the APBT, American Bulldog, American Staffordshire Terrier, Bull Terrier, Staffordshire Bull Terrier, and others. This even includes mastiff mixes and other mutts. Basically, any dog that vaguely visually resembles a stocky, yet athletic dog, similar in appearance to the APBT, is designated a “pitbull.” Interestingly, the APBT is the only breed with “pitbull” in its name, and it’s the second smallest of the aforementioned breeds. In fact, of those breeds, only the American Bulldog typically exceeds 85lb in weight. Stories of 100+lb pitbulls refer to mastiffs or mastiff mixes. The APBT, for example, maxes out at around 60lbs for a male. APBT’s on the lower end weigh as little as 30lbs. But to understand the “pitbull,” one has to know more than its size.

A little history.

One of the first things anyone will tell you about the “pitbull” is that it was bred to fight other dogs, but this is only a half-truth. To understand the whole picture, one has to go even further back in history. All of the aforementioned breeds have a common ancestor: the old English bulldog. This bulldog breed weighed 45 pounds average (the median weight for an APBT), and was a working dog that technically no longer exists. It was also the father of the modern-day English Bulldog, which is derived from a cross-breed of the old English bulldog and the Pug, and further bred for certain aesthetic elements, resulting in today’s rather unhealthy breed. Its ancestor, on the other hand, was a very powerful, agile, working dog.

The old bulldog breed was named after a sport that placed the breed in high demand: bull-baiting, a sport later outlawed. Mind you, it was also used for other working tasks of the era, to include pulling loads, working cattle, and other farmhouse activities. Nonetheless, the popularity of bull-baiting made the old English bulldog a popular breed, and it is said that the breed was derived of smaller mastiff stock, later bred with greyhounds to increase agility.

The sport of bull-baiting required two important factors, which remain with modern-day APBTs and many “pitbull” breeds. Firstly, strong jaws were required in order for the dog to grab ahold of a bull’s snout and hold on despite any movement by the bull. It is important to distinguish strong jaws and the behavior to hold on at all costs with “lock-jaw,” however, which is a myth. Where the myth of “lock-jaw” originated, we don’t know, but there is no physical mechanism for a dog to “lock” its jaws in a bite. In fact, “pitbulls” don’t have exceptionally stronger bite strength than other dogs, but merely retain the knack of holding onto a target. Most other breeds, when confronted, have a tendency to snap, gnash, slash, and tear. Secondly, “gameness” was required to confront an enormous, bucking bull. This fierce courage would become an important trait for a bulldog’s success in the “pit.” Note that the “pit” in “pitbull” refers to a hole that the bull, and bulldog, were placed into for bull-baiting. It does not refer to a dogfighting pit.

When bull-baiting was banned in 1835 by British Parliament, the bulldog’s popularity declined. Around that time, dog-fighting began to rise in popularity, and it was then that the bulldog was bred with trace amounts of old English terrier in order to increase the breed’s agility. These terriers, too, were known for their gameness. The resulting breed, still quite similar to the bulldog of old, became known in the US as the APBT, while in England, it was named the Staffordshire Bull Terrier. By the 1960s, dog-fighting was banned in most US States, with the last State signing off on the ban in 1976.

The American Staffordshire Terrier is of the same stock as the APBT and Staffordshire Bull Terrier, only bred further for the show ring (and to distance the breed from dog-fighting). The APBT and Staffordshire Bull Terrier, meanwhile, remained working dogs. While they were favored by dog-fighters, they were still used for a variety of working purposes, much like their bulldog ancestors. In fact, so respected were these dogs, that the US adopted the APBT to symbolize America: friendly, courageous, hard-working, and loyal. Indeed, the APBT was considered such a good family dog, and so good with children, than it was referred to as the “nanny dog.” The dog in The Little Rascals: yeah, it was an APBT.

How was the APBT’s reputation not marred back then, despite dog-fighting still being legal in the United States? One reason is simple: traditional dog-fighting did not tolerate human-aggression. In a typical dog-fighting ring, not only were there two dogs, but there were at least two people inside the ring as well, constantly re-positioning their respective dog’s bites for scoring purposes. With human hands in such close contact with fighting dogs, mid-fight, signs of human aggression were not tolerated. If such aggression materialized, the dogs would immediately be put down. Thus, the only fighting dogs that were further bred were those without any signs of human aggression. So it was no mystery that these same dogs, fierce in the ring against other dogs, would be very good household companions. After the ban on dog-fighting was put in place, dog-fighting naturally declined. Most APBTs involved in the sport were re-integrated in the general house-pet populace, along with their non-fighting APBT brothers, and their American Staffordshire Terrier cousins. Since, the APBT has continued to excel as a working and family dog.

Today, dog-fighting lives on, primarily in low-income, high-crime areas. Dog-fighting is linked to the drug trade and violent gangs, and it’s no surprise that most dogs used in the ring for this purpose lead pretty awful lives, not just when they fight, but in their daily lives as well. They are generally uncared for, malnourished, and never properly socialized or trained. Sadly, APBTs are often still favored for the sport, because what made them great at bull-baiting, and in the dog-fighting of earlier days, also make them great at dog-fighting today: their bite-and-hold, gameness, strength, and agility.

Regarding aggression.

Sites like dogsbite.org suggest that “pitbulls” are dangerous, but in actuality, sites like dogsbite.org lie. In this case, it’s a matter of the site owner having been attacked in the past, and now going on a rampage against “pitbulls” out of ignorance. Truth is, the “facts/conclusions” on those sites are made up, and not actually supported by purposeful studies, if any real studies whatsoever.

Based on the history above, there’s an obvious correlation between dog-fighting and APBTs, even though it’s not what APBTs were specifically bred for. Moreover, other dog breeds were used in dog-fighting too. However, the APBT’s traits have made them a choice breed for the bloodsport, in much the same way the breed excels at other working tasks: the “Superdog” title is used to describe any dog that has earned UKC titles in four areas open to all breeds, namely conformation, agility, weight pull, and obedience. Twenty of 47 Superdogs have been APBTs, and nine others Staffordshire Bull Terriers. That means over half of all Superdogs are of the same bulldog/terrier stock, illustrating just how intelligent, athletic, and flexible these dogs are. Similarly, three out of nine UKC Ultradogs were APBTs.

But back to aggression, the CDC’s Dog Bite Fact Sheet draws no conclusions based on breed.

A CDC study on fatal dog bites lists the breeds involved in fatal attacks over 20 years… It does not identify specific breeds that are most likely to bite or kill, and thus is not appropriate for policy-making decisions related to the topic… There is currently no accurate way to identify the number of dogs of a particular breed, and consequently no measure to determine which breeds are more likely to bite or kill.

The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) concurs. For a longer read, The Pit Bull Placebo has additional facts supporting the CDC’s and ACMA’s claims.

Still, those who claim that the APBT is aggressive relies on the APBT’s dog-fighting past. But as the KC Dog Blog points out, it’s been over 70 years since the American Staffordshire Terrier was formalized, and with most State bans against dog-fighting being enacted in the 1860s, one can reasonably argue that there have been at least seven generations of dogs that were not bred for the ring, so even if a genetic disposition for canine aggression existed, it likely wouldn’t exist today.

And even if such a genetic disposition were scientifically proven to exist in most APBTs today (it hasn’t), it still wouldn’t indicate any level of human aggression, and if anything, would likely debunk any claims of human aggression at all, considering that the very practice of dog-fighting would have increased canine aggression at the expense of human aggression.

So then why does the media focus so highly on “pitbulls”? Well, for one, the media doesn’t care about the truth: sensational headlines sell papers. And really, if the average person can’t differentiate between breeds, what makes anyone think that a journalist can? In fact, DNA testing of dog breeds suggests that visual breed identification is only about 12% accurate. That’s why most shelters refer to any medium-to-large size, black dog as a “black lab mix,” and why “shepherd” mixes are unusually common. The reality is that aesthetic breed-specific traits are notoriously difficult to identify visually, which is why the media lumps so many breeds into the “pitbull” category, despite the fact that many “pitbull” dogs demonized aren’t even of the same bloodhound/terrier stock. This, of course, brings us again to the 100+lb “pitbull” stories, which are in all likelihod mastiff mixes, else dogs from “backyard breeders” who have spent years developing ill-tempered, unhealthy breeds for certain aesthetic characteristics (i.e. low, stocky build, bent-out shoulders, etc). For those who do argue genetics, note that most of these larger “pitbulls” were bred with mastiffs, which were not bread for any human bite-inhibition.

Don’t blame the breed.

The media isn’t just wrong to demonize based on breed, it’s wrong for forgetting what real investigative journalism is. If visual identification of breeds doesn’t work, then why not look for facts that do correlate between dog attacks? The recent killing of a two-year-old girl in Virginia has elements common to similar news stories.

1. The dog was a “resident” dog, not a family dog. In other words, it was not part of the family routine, but instead left outside and not fully integrated into the family.
2. The dog was chained up. This is generally considered a poor way to restrain a dog, is unhealthy, and yet by many dog-fighters, is considered good practice to toughen up a dog and build strength.
3. The neighborhood the incident took place in was below the poverty line, suggesting that the family likely lacked the education, and means, to raise a dog properly. In fact, the dog was probably malnourished, and was probably not routinely taken to the vet, either.
4. The family was obviously negligent. If a two-year old child can wander outside on its own and escape it’s mother’s watch, then imagine what little care the family had for the dog in the first place.
5. Given the family’s financial situation, it’s highly unlikely that there were any lineage papers for the dog, so there’s absolutely no evidence of breed identification in this case, bringing us back to the limitations of visual breed assessment. For all we know, especially since there are no pictures of the dog readily available on any site reporting the attack, the dog was a chihuahua. Aside from the dog’s age, was there anything descriptive about the dog noted, other than that neighbors (who were similarly ignorant) referred to the dog as a “pitbull”?

What all of this comes down to, like many other things, is education. If we had our way, we’d require any potential dog-owners to acquire a license before adopting a dog, to prove that they have the means, and education, to properly care for their pet. (Indeed, this should probably be extended to children also, but let’s discuss one thing at a time.) With no desire to truly incorporate a dog into one’s family dynamic, and no plans to properly train and care for a pet, one does everyone a disservice, and it’s no surprise that a child has died from these circumstances. While the investigation into this last specific case is still ongoing, I wouldn’t hesitate to pass a good chunck of the blame onto the parents here, and file criminal charges against them.

In any case, let’s stop with the stereotypes: with experts concluding that there’s no evidence to justify breed specific legislation, let’s end the “pitbull” hate.

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The Wii collecting dust in our living room has been eager for our attention, humming with it’s blue luminescence every few weeks. We ignore it, however, because of our sad disappointment with the Wii’s game library. Almost a year ago, we had a similar complaint, and though things are looking less grim for the future, there haven’t been many great improvements in recent months. Nonetheless, the impending release of Wii Fit has our novelty alarms going off, and so we decided to turn our Wii on for the first time in many a month, so as to get it ready for the Fit. The experience was, well, average. If you haven’t touched your Wii in ages either, follow our guide below:

Step One: Turn on the Wii and grab the latest system update. Realize that there’s nothing particularly noticeable about the upgrade, other than the fact that it took much longer than expected. Surf the Internet while the download finishes, and make sure to turn down the volume, as you’ve probably forgotten just how annoying the Wii system sounds can get.

Step Two: Check the Wii Shop and download, in order, the Nintendo Channel, and the Check Mii Out Channel. Apparently, one still can’t download stuff in the background, and instead has to watch the Mario jumping sequence until a download finishes. Surf the Internet in the meantime. We would have downloaded the new Photo Channel, but it removes the ability to play mp3 files. Yeah, sounds like a real upgrade. The Wii Ware games sound interesting, but there’s limited information about them. Click on the “more” button and realize there’s not really more information about the games there, either. And by “more,” we mean “more usefu”. Now get annoyed that Nintendo could easily have put in some resizable screenshots of these games in the “more info” section, but instead wants you to guess how good the games are. We did, which is why we didn’t download any.

Step Three: Launch the Nintendo Channel and check out its offerings. What’s this, no full-screen videos? And, the videos for the Wii Ware games look like amateur trailers, with little real info about the games included. Surprise, surprise. There isn’t even a combat sequence shown in Final Fantasy’s My Life as King. At least the first-party videos are more informative. Overall, the videos made us want Wii Fit and Mario Kart more, but diminished our desire to check out any of the Wii Ware titles.

Step Four: Check out Check Mii Out Channel. Novelty value high, but looks like it would ultimately be a time sink. We’re told that “Hitler” Miis were banned, but that didn’t stop us from posting A.H. Overall, we’re impressed with user submissions, many of which are pretty good caricatures of celebrities and fictional characters. Of the latter, some were put together very creatively: Spider Man, Venom, Garfield, etc. Mark your favorites and download the ones you want, because no Wii is happy without is very own Snoop Dogg Mii.

Step Five: Briefly check out the Internet Channel to make sure mendax.org displays reasonably well. It does, though the pictures we’ve been embedding in our posts could use to be downsized some. Check out WiiCade for updates, but the most popular games are still the ones we played a year ago. Meh.

Step Five: Shut the bastard down and wait for Wii Fit. That comes out tomorrow, doesn’t it? In the meantime, do like we’ve been doing for the last year: spend time with the 360 instead.

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Some years ago, I took a couple months of Pekiti Tirsia (PT), which is a system of Escrima generally ignored by even hardcore martial arts enthusiasts. In part, this is because PT, like Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, has a closely regulated advancement system. Unlike Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, however, it lacks a large instructor pool, and is practically non-existent on the west coast. When relocating from the northeast United States (where there are a lot more PT instructors available), I had to give up any PT training I intended to pursue, and briefly went back to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ).

The recent discovery of a PT group practicing in the San Francisco Bay Area has reinvigorated my interest in PT. Escrima is slowly gaining more interest, but its growth is slowed because unlike the many martial arts that make up the quickly growing mixed martial arts (MMA) phenomenon, it is largely weapon-based. It’s streetwise practicality, however, makes it an interesting system to adapt, despite its inherent “violence” when practiced in a more realistic setting. The famous Dog Brother’s letter, for example, illustrates that even the UFC thought that full-contact stickfighting, albeit practical experience, was too touchy for public display.

Nonetheless, the Dog Brothers maintain a strong reputation, and have formed a style that might be considered the “first” MMA blend that includes weapons:

The three principal FMA systems from which Dog Brothers draw are Inosanto Blend (Dan Inosanto), Pekiti Tirsia (Leo Gaje), and Lameco (the late Edgar Sulite). It is also important to mention Silat and the Indonesian system of Bukti Negara Pentjak Silat of Paul de Thouars. They have also trained under the Machado brothers in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu…

PT may be unique among the aforementioned styles because its followers are able to stand alone in their admiration of a “pure” and still practical fighting styles, as indicated in a Dog Brothers-like gathering:

In the year 1998 Pekiti-Tirsia Philippines, Inc. organized the “Battle of Grandmasters”. A tournament following the Total Submission Policy – fighting without any protection gear (no glove no helmet!) with unpadded sticks, no referee, no time limit, no rules. Fighting was done on challenges (Master and Grandmaster division) and as a challenge tournament (advanced students). The tournament was open to all styles, and Masters and Grandmasters from more than 15 styles have been personally invited – but only Pekiti-Tirsia fighters were willing to fight under the said conditions.

For most of us, this type of challenge isn’t going to urge us to tackle bone-crushing combat events, but neither are most BJJ practitioners going to jump into the BJJ ring to get their faces smashed. Both styles are a significant testament to their effectiveness, however, and both can be learned and practiced in much more controlled environments.

In any case, I’d love to see how PT fighters or the Dog Brothers stand up to melee aficionados of other combat systems, especially the more famous systems that hail from China and Japan.

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I hate running. It’s a boring, uncomfortable routine that months of practicing didn’t make any more enticing. Though, being out of shape is no fun either, so contemplating a quasi-routine to build up my cardiovascular strength has been on my mind. How to stay motivated, though?

Apple and Nike signed a deal to cross-brand an exercise device that sends information from a running shoe to the iPod, such as speed, distance traveled, and calories burned. While I heard of this Nike+ Sports Kit some time ago, recent TV commercials made the product more appealing. (And they say commercials don’t work!) I wasn’t fond of two things about the Kit, however: firstly, the Nike+ transmitter/receiver is designed for specially-branded Nike+ shoes. Second, adding a Nike+ receiver to one’s iPod Nano increases the length of the Nano, deprecating any existing cases or armbands one already owns for the Nano.

Regarding the first point, the Nike+ transmitter fits beneath the sole of a Nike+ shoe, thanks to a special cut-out. When not in use, a transmitter-sized piece of foam sits in the transmitter’s place. Naturally, then, the transmitter can’t be put inside a normal shoe, unless one decides to cut out a similarly-sized piece from one’s existing running shoe. Fortunately, a number of companies have come up with solutions, such that the Nike+ transmitter can be worn outside of one’s shoes, to include simple designs, waterproof designs, and more fashionable designs. One can even find cheaper solutions thanks to homebrew instructions involving little more than some thread and velcro.

As far as the second point goes, Nike sells an iPod Nano armband for a hefty $29, which is much larger than the Apple-branded Nano armband, and doesn’t even have a cut-out for viewing the Nano’s screen. As with the Nike+ shoes, the armband is little more than a way for Nike to get more money out of the consumer. So, I decided to save the extra money and simply modify my existing armband.

The method was as simple as making a small cut on the bottom of the armband approximately the same length as the Nike+ receiver.

The length of the cut needn’t be exact, since the material of the armband stretches somewhat.

One could cut a slit with more width if one wanted to make an exact-sized hole for the Nike+ transmitter, but the extra tightness of the slit makes for more friction to keep the Nano in the sleeve.

For a procedure that costs nothing if you have a razor blade lying around, there’s no reason not to reuse one’s old iPod Nano armband. Plus, the armband still works perfectly fine without the receiver attached. With this quick modification, and the number of solutions for not getting Nike’s silly shoes, one can have the beauty of the Nike+ Sports Kit without the huge costs.

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