Did the Vibram® brand originate in Italy?
Yes, Vibram® was founded in Italy at the end of the 1930's, when the mountaineer VItale BRAMani from Milan invented the rubber sole. The mounting of a rubber sole onto a mountaineering boot is considered to be one of the greatest innovations of the last century. Today the best footwear uses Vibram sole units and the name has become synonymous with quality and performance.

Are Vibram® products field tested?
Yes, Vibram sole units have always been rigorously field tested before launch. Vitale Bramani himself originally tested the first sole units in the Prealps around Lombardy. In 1954, the Italian expedition that finally climbed K2, "The savage mountain", used a wide range of Vibram® sole units. More recently, the Vibram Tester Team has been launched, whose aim is the field testing of all soles in order to verify performance and to serve as a guarantee of quality and function to the end consumer.

Who are the Tester Team members?
The Vibram Tester Team members operate in a variety of outdoor disciplines and are made up of professionals and enthusiasts from the various activities for which Vibram makes sole units: Alpinism, trekking, rock climbing, mountain biking, fell running, water sports etc. For the last few years Jean Christophe Lafaille has been the head team member, a mountaineer with an international reputation for his solo ascents in the Mont Blanc region and the Himalayas. Other well-known team members include Natale Villa and Marco Anghileri, both from Lecco in northern Italy and the ski mountaineering world champion Stéphane Brosse.

Do Vibram® specialize in the production of sole units exclusively for outdoor disciplines?
No, even though the brand is best known among outdoor enthusiast and alpinists, there are numerous Vibram® products specifically designed for use in the fashion industry. Designer names in the industry choose Vibram® for their quality of the material, comfort, design and look. Some of the highest profile collaborations are with Emporio and Giorgio Armani, Prada Sports, Hugo Boss, Dolce & Gabbana, Mephisto and Timberland. The third significant sector for Vibram is the resoling of footwear: a large number of shoe repairers highly recommend Vibram® soles for the repair of any type of shoe.

What additional guarantees do Vibram® offer the consumer?
Vibram® is a historic brand, with over 60 years of experience and was the first company to develop a rubber sole. This technology is now being used by numerous other producers, but Vibram® still offers the guarantee that every one of its projects has been designed and developed to be highly functional and to offer the user maximum "walking benefit". The vast pool of experience Vibram® has is unique and based on a in-depth understanding of foot biomechanics and advanced technical-chemical research. The Vibram® technical department boasts the most state-of-the art equipment available and can conduct a vast array of physical and mechanical tests on materials and compounds. Every product is then put through rigorous field testing by the experts in the Tester Team. Quality, performance, function and ultimate customer satisfaction are the features that have kept Vibram® in the number one position in the world for the production of high quality sole units for at least the last ten years.

Do Vibram® use different rubber compounds?
Yes, Vibram® has a vast range of differing compounds. Each compound has its own unique properties, based on certain physical-mechanical criteria (elasticity, density, hardness, slip-resistance, abrasion resistance, cut resistance etc.). Each compound has been produced to meet the requirements of specific products (casual, comfort, sport) and guarantees the maximum performance for a specific use.

Is the rubber that Vibram® uses synthetic or natural?
Vibram® uses both synthetic and natural rubbers because they each have differing characteristics and perform differently. Natural rubber is collected from the rubber plant and is extremely elastic, while synthetic rubber is oil-based and tends to be more abrasion resistant and durable. Vibram® blends together ideal quantities of natural and synthetic rubber in order to achieve just the right required performance and characteristics.

Is the "tank" sole pattern a Vibram® invention?
Yes. It was one of the very first designs invented by Vitale Bramini. And proved to be a brilliant idea and the perfect answer to the needs of every alpinist at that time. Since then, the "tank" sole design has been reproduced in its millions and now goes under the name Vibram® Roccia, Montagna, Montagna Block etc. Today, Vibram® produces thousands of "tank" soles every day, and the legend isn't aging. In fact, the Vibram® "tank" sole design is one of the most copied designs in the world today and almost everybody at some time has worn a shoe sporting a sole with this design.

Just how important is the tread design to the performance of a sole unit?
2 distinct factors affect performance: the mix and the tread pattern design. Accurate choice of these two factors make the difference between a good and bad sole. Vibram® is continually researching and testing new design solutions: "nail" designs patterns, the biomechanics of roll, stabilizing inserts, asymmetric contact points, thrust and brake points etc. Sole design is a fundamental element for a footwear product in terms of style but above all performance.