G'day all, bit of a long time lurker, little time poster on these forums. I had looked for some information on these forums and elsewhere on the net prior to a recent trip but could find little to no good information, so thought I would post something in the hope others would find it interesting/useful. If it has been posted before, I apologize, and please point me too it!!
I don't really want to wade into a debate about minimalist and 'barefoot' footwear as opposed to more tradition boots etc. more just prefer to relate my experiences using it. There are pages and pages of discussion elsewhere about barefoot vs. shod running and walking, from both a bio-mechanical view and safety veiw.
The Background:
I had a call from a good mate a few months ago, a regular on these forums from Tasmania. He proposed an excursion to the Eastern Arthurs, a trip we had discussed doing 4-5 years ago after a Frenchmans Cap trip from where we could see Federation Peak and the hunger to experience climbing it awoke. As I prepared for it I found myself in a little bit of a quandary. I had been using minimalist footwear for walking and jogging for the last 10 months and was finding it excellent, and the prospect of pulling on a couple of half kilo boots and slogging up a mountain didn't appeal, however would minimalist footwear cut it? I have been using Vibram Five-Fingers for bushwalking in SE Queensland for a little while, would they be ok for Tassie? And with a pack? Up Feder and the EA's?
As mentioned research availed me little, had anyone attempted a EA Traverse and Federation Peak in Vibram Five-Fingers? I suspect it has been done in volleys or similar in the past, perhaps some of the older readers can help me out here. Anyhow after some tough off track and long (30km+) day walks in SE QLD I had confidence in their (and my) ability to handle the conditions, still not being sure of the ease and comfort levels however.
The Gear:
The 'shoes' used can be found here: http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/products/Five-Fingers-TrekSport-Mens.htm. I used them in conjunction with Moxie Gear Gaiters http://moxiegear.com.au/ for about 50% of the time. I found these gaiters to be very good, however I am not sure of their longevity in hard country. I didn't use the ankle bits, which may have implications on the some of the problems discussed below.
The Walker:
I am a fit active person in my early 30's. 6 foot, about 75kg's. Total pack weight was on the lighter side, 17kg's, 7days food + 1.5l of water inclusive. As previously mentioned I have been using minimalist footwear (Inov-8 F-Lite 230's and Roclite 285's for running and Vibram 5finger TrekSport for walking) for about 10 months. I run 15-20km/ week and do a decent day walk ie. 6 hours+ at least 2 times a month and the odd multi-day in terms of time spent on my feet. I do alot of riding both road and MTBing also.
The Walk:
A trip report can be found here: http://bushwalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=42&t=8657 Big thanks to Nick!
The Verdict:
Short story, awesome.
Long story: I found them to be very comfortable, I felt stable, nimble and safe in them, even (especially) on some of the sketchy exposed sections. I had no hot spots or blisters, they pulled out of mud easily, they gripped very well on logs, on mud and rock. Constant travel on sharp rock and hard surfaces posed no problems or discomfort. I had no unusual joint and muscle soreness during the trip, aside from a slight aggravation of an old ankle problem over one day that subsided overnight and didn't re-appear for the rest of the trip thankfully. I found I would be more conscious of my foot placement and accordingly walked allot 'softer', especially during the downhill sections. I suspect that by engaging more muscles through the feet and lower legs the load is spread and the stress of walking eased, so to speak, however that is something for another forum!
Possible Problems and Things to Consider:
In deeper mud I had to tighter the strap considerably or the heal would suck off a little. I almost ran out adjustment and I have wider feet than most, so if you have narrow feet you may want to consider a different model or the lace-up version. Another minor annoyance was after a bit of mud there would be a bit of build up in the toe/fore-foot areas, easily solved by removing and a rinse in the next creek, however if you were doing tracks with more mud sections ie. Southcoast/Frenchmans, you may need to be prepared to have a little clean out every hour or so. That may be offset by the fact you are not trying to haul a half kilo of leather and gaiter out of knee deep mud. Maybe by using a gaiter this could be avoided.
I wonder about longevity. Overall the pair I used came out relatively unscathed. I had a little separation of the fabric stitching on the top of the foot, nothing to impinge on the functioning, it remains to be seen how long they will last with hard use. I tend to destroy shoes quick.
We got some reasonably cold weather, probably walking in about 10 or lower degrees, combining that with the wet and a nasty windchill to make it allot lower and my feet were fine as long as we were walking, cold but not excessively. I don't think I would like to have to walk through snow for any extended periods. I did notice that the manufacturers offer a model with an insulated neoprene upper, might be worth consideration if you are wanting to use them in area prone to snowfall?
I would hesitate to attempt a trip of this magnitude without using this style of footwear prior. One man's meat is another man's poison. I gather from reading, and also from personal experience that most people using conventional footwear will take a while to adjust as the foot, ankle and lower leg muscles adjust and strengthen. I would encourage anyone considering transitioning to this style to do their own research and trialing as much as possible.
Another thing to round off this rather lengthy post: Track wear...I wonder if using a soft edged and soled footwear would slow track wear as opposed to hard edged and soled boots in the same way that marsupial feet have lower wear rates as opposed to hoofed animals ie. sheep/cattle? Purely speculation, be interested to hear thoughts on it however.
In conclusion: for a tracked walk (or semi tracked, however you would prefer to class this walk) I personally found this style of footwear very good, and more than capable. They have negatives, as do boots, its a trade off either way, my preference personally falls toward this style over a more traditional full leather boots for probably 95% (arbitrarily produced number!) of walking most people will do.
But for some walks I can't wait to try them out, as suggested walking on big scree with them should be great.
They're no longer really waterproof, and the grip has really worn!! Bought a pair of Zamberlans (307 New Trail Lite HBS WMS for those interested) a couple of months ago to replace my Columbias. But I'm really finding these Zamberlans not too fun too wear -- chunky, and my heel lifts on the uphill. I could consider some sealskinz socks with my old boots, and risk the not-so-good grip. It sounds like getting vibrams at this stage with only 5-6wks to train in them may not be the best idea. 
