I ran about 3 miles with the dog today, and I wore my VFF Bikila rather than my KSOs. It was... different.

They are definitely more clacky-clacky when you walk, and you do lose a little bit of the feeling of the ground against your feet with the additional material. They are a little stiffer around the arch, but I still felt like a prancing pony when running in them just like my KSOs.

The interior barefoot feel is very nice, but they fit differently than my KSOs, too. The toe pockets seem longer, but I switched from mens to womens sizing because the Bikila were not out in my size in mens at the time, so that may have something to do with it. They are both easier and more difficult to get on - easier because the interior feel is nice, I wasn't wearing socks, they have a raised heel piece that lets you grab easier; harder because they fit a little more snugly and I don't feel like I need the strap on them at all (I have wide feet). They don't get water through the bottom like the sprints/KSOs do either - I was able to run through puddles and in grass without getting wet feet from the bottom up.

The true test was whether they marked up my feet, and sadly, yes, they did give me a blister where the arch piece comes up on the inside of the foot where the strap is and there is a seam in the shoe, it's actually more toward the top of my arch rather than deep underneath like the KSOs. I will have to try using some bodyglide there - at least it was a blister and not a hole in my foot like the KSOs and sprints give me barefoot (the sprints mark me up not in the arch, but on the outside of the foot where there's another seam in the shoe as it transitions from shoe to toe).

I really like the feel of them on the inside, I like how they fit, but I don't know that I really need the additional stability in the bottom of the shoe. It didn't really turn me off, it was just a very subtle feedback difference. I am frowny faced about the rubbing on the seams, I don't know if it's just the curse of having feet wider than shoes, if they are perhaps too big and I should try a size down (I'd be very concerned about width and fit), or if I just need to try to get used to it. I probably won't wear them barefoot for long runs, I would bet bodyglide would rub off (if that works) after several miles. We'll see.