Forums >Gears and Wears>Trail shoes - what do you recommend/like?
I have a normal to high arch, like a neutral shoe and I don't like a lot of stability. What trail shoes do you recommend/like/love, if any?
I have the montrail road and trail shoes. I like them. I too have a neutral foot. They aren't too heavy either. On my second pair!
Meanwhile, I am about to have a public burning of my Montrail Mountain Masochists because they do not work for me AT ALL. I tried, I really really tried... and I've come away with battered feet and black toes way more in the montrails than my other shoes. Basically, they are too long for my feet and no matter how I tie them, my feet slide forward and beat up my toes. And if I buy the next size down, they are too small.
Everybody is different. Montrail won't get more money from me.
I do like my Brooks Cascadia, though they might have more "stability" than you want.
My Mizuno Cabrakans (cah-brah-KAHN) seem to have a lot less structure and are flatter (heel to toe drop... the slant-forwardness). I like them ok... some of my neutral-shoe friends like them lots.
I use the Inov8 Talons and really like them alot. I run in Richmond on technical singletrack downtown and they have pretty good grip, minimal support, and are a very neutral shoe. I run in the Newton Gravity Trainer and also the Racer on roads and these are a suitable alternative for me on trails.
Meanwhile, I am about to have a public burning of my Montrail Mountain Masochists because they do not work for me AT ALL. I tried, I really really tried...
Amen brutha. Those shoes are shite for me.
I love Inov-8 and LaSportiva, they work well for my feet. Though I'm risking a public stoning for saying this outloud: my new Hokas are pretty sweet too.
boing! boing!
...though they might have more "stability" than you want.
But, for trail shoes...I assume I want some stability? I mean, otherwise, I would just wear my Triumphs, right?
I wear Kanadias by Adidas. The are really light. I use them to hike on a trail that is mostly fireroads. But they are very comfy!
Queen of 3rd Place
+1 on the Cascadias, and that's coming from someone who otherwise runs in racing flats. They are fairly light and flexible compared to most trail shoes, although I always feel like I'm putting on boots when lacing them up.
Ex runner
rectumdamnnearkilledem
Mizuno Wave Ascends are a nice shoe...I still find them to be too stiff/clunky/beefy, but mostly because my road shoes are relatively minimal and flexy--they are still pretty lightweight for a trail shoe. But, damn, they fit my feet about perfect. At least the 4th gen. of them do. They work great in snow, too. I've hardly used my Yaktrax the past 2 Winters.
Once I get back to trail running I'm going to look for something more flexible. Maybe not anything as minimal as some of the shoes out there, but less shoe than the Wave Ascends. I partly blame my f'd up left ankle on those shoes. Instead of absorbing roots in any capacity they teeter-tottered off...taking my ankle with. My perfect shoe would be softer, yet have aggressive tread for mud and sand.
Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to
remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.
~ Sarah Kay
Nerd
It seems strange to me to talk about the need for any type of "CONTROL" in trail shoes. The trails I run here in Colorado are largely very rocky and to expect a shoe to perform to correct a non-ideal gait just seems odd. My ankles twist and turn all over the place and a "control" type of shoe just seems to be contrary to what trail conditions will throw at you.
As for me, I have used my neutral Asics Nimbus road shoes at times, but in the last year I have gone exclusively to my Inov-8 Roclite 295s. The Inov-8 shoes are AWESOME........very neutral and considered a "minimalist" type of shoe. You would have to shoot me to take away my Inov-8s........
Keep the running and fitness up and keep the weight from coming back.
Run more miles than last year.
Consistently Slow
Saucony excursion-Run trail marathon last week. Feet not as beat up as on a road marathon.Right shoe did slide more than I would have like. May have been to loose. The last 4 miles I would draw my toes up on short down hills to prevent toes from hitting top of shoe.New socks. Toe nails cut. Large holes in toe of socks at the finish. All in all very satisfied with the shoe.
Run until the trail runs out.
SCHEDULE 2016--
The pain that hurts the worse is the imagined pain. One of the most difficult arts of racing is learning to ignore the imagined pain and just live with the present pain (which is always bearable.) - Jeff
http://bkclay.blogspot.com/
So, other than the Cascadias, which were way too much stability for me...the running store I go to didn't have any of your recommendations! So, I tried a few neutral trail shoes that I can't remember the name of and settled on the Montrail Rogue Racers. They were super, crazy comfy - very cushiony. Thanks for all the recommendations though!
Well, it's too late now, but if those don't work out for you I'll throw another vote in for Inov-8 (I dig the Roclite 295s). It can be extremely difficult to find a place to try them out; for me it ended up just being a leap-of-faith internet purchase, and I wasn't disappointed.
"Because in the end, you won't remember the time you spent working in the office or mowing your lawn. Climb that goddamn mountain."
Jack Kerouac
Good Bad & The Monkey
I thought the Cascadias were fine, but I found out the hard way that on trails they seem to be about a half size too small for me relative to other shoes sized the same.
I'm running somewhere tomorrow. It's going to be beautiful. I can't wait.
Poor baby