You are right. The whole idea is protecting the soles of your feet and it’s the word I should have used. I really don’t know how well these shoes do that either but they do look like they will approximate the “barefoot feeling” as much as possible with some protection.

Thanks for the heads-up!
James

“Not only do they look like gloves, they are just as comfortable and apparently cushion each toe separately.”

This isn’t really true – there is no cushioning at all in any of the current models of vibram fivefingers.