They’re unflattering shoes — reminiscent of gorilla feet — but they’re all the rage in some fitness and nature circles.

Vibram FiveFingers have flexible rubber soles on the bottom and thin breathable fabric on top. Each toe is individually wrapped, like a glove. The sole is just a couple of millimeters thick, enough to protect tender skin from hard surfaces. Many models weigh less than six ounces per shoe, about half the weight of the typical running shoe. There’s no arch support, cushioning or padding. They’re also called “barefoot” running shoes, despite the obvious contradiction.

“Though not truly barefoot, they are the closest thing I can imagine to barefoot while allowing me to do things I could never do with unprotected feet,” according to BirthdayShoes.com, a blog run by FiveFinger fans.

Whether used for running, walking or working, the minimalist shoes are hyped for strengthening foot and lower-leg muscles, reducing knee pain, improving agility, balance, posture and alignment.

Bend’s Mike Dupras is one of those born-again barefooters.

About a year ago, after major knee surgery, Dupras had to rebuild his strength and relearn to walk, he said. It seemed like the perfect time to try Vibram FiveFingers. He started on a treadmill for about five minutes, and gradually built up his time. Eventually he hit the trails. He was back to running in half the time doctors had predicted, and now he’s jogging up to five miles in them, unless it’s snowy or icy. He says it’s changed his running form, because he can’t slam down on his now un-padded heels.

He wears them for just about everything unless he’s outside in the snow or working at Awbrey Glen golf course, where he’s a food and beverage manager. Wearing them has made him feel stronger than ever, said the 44-year-old.

“You’re strengthening all these different muscle groups that support the rest of the body,” explained Dupras.

FiveFingers are an offshoot product from the Italian Vibram company, which first invented a rugged rubber sole for mountaineering boots in 1935 and now manufactures more than 34 million soles annually for more than 1,000 footwear brands, according to www.vibramfivefingers.com. FiveFingers, originally developed as an alternative to bare feet for sailing and climbing, gained cult status among runners in the last few years. Time Magazine named them one of the best inventions of 2007.

They’re found at many sporting good stores and cost between $80 and $125. The durability of FiveFingers, according to Teague Hatfield, the owner of Footzone running apparel store, hasn’t been an issue.

“I’m not sure if that’s because people don’t wear them as much as regular shoes or because they can’t heel strike as much, thus taking away the highest wear area on a shoe,” said Hatfield. “Side by side, I’d expect a running shoe to be more durable, but for 95 percent of Vibram wearers, (FiveFingers) are going to complement rather than replace their running shoes.”

Vibram FiveFingers has stormed the barefoot shoe market, but Inov-8 (www.inov-8.com) recently developed a five-toed alternative to Vibram FiveFingers.

Emily Brown, 26, took an unconventional approach to breaking herself into the minimalist shoe. The Bend resident strapped them on for the first time last summer and climbed Broken Top — all the way up.

“I figured my feet were strong, I was already used to being barefoot,” she said. “My feet were really comfortable after that hike, more than normal.”

Brown’s full-immersion transition is not the recommended method, and Brown knows that. After all, she sells them in REI’s footwear department, which is where she first started seeing and hearing about the odd shoes. The company website suggests using them occasionally at first, slowly building lower leg and foot strength, to minimize discomfort. Depending on an individual’s foot type and the activities the FiveFingers are used for, it could take weeks, months or even a year to adjust completely.

Brown believes her feet were stronger than the average foot when she started wearing them on that initial hike. She wore her FiveFingers on hikes all summer. “It made me feel like I had better balance and stability on those mountain trails.”

“They’re kind of crazy, cool. I like being barefoot, so it was kind of a neat concept,” she said.

Long-time runner Frank Cobarrubia, 46, a podiatrist and an owner of Northwest Footcare in Bend, said he sees no problems with the FiveFingers as long as they’re used for reasonable distances (not marathons) or for running on dirt trails (not pavement).

He doesn’t wear FiveFingers, but he certainly knows about them. He said they are “the rage” right now. “As many things, through our history, things come and go,” said Cobarrubia. “I’m not saying these won’t be used in 10 years, but sales will be less than what they are now or were last summer.”