Trail Shoes - Whatcha Using?

[magikwalt]

Today I picked up a pair of Go Lite trail shoes. The local store put them on sale at 50% off and they had my size. Big toe box and super lite with an aggresive tread.

My everyday trails shoes are New Balance 471 which Big 5 is kind enough to put on sale every 4 months or so.

I saw the multiple posts on problems with Soloman trail shoes.

So what else is out there that people like or hate??

[zippetydude]

I like the Salomans, but I wear them around town, not on the trail.

For long hard runs I like Montrail Hardrock the best. They have wide widths, which I need, and are light and very tough.

For good price, I like to catch the New Balance 806 on sale at Big 5. They run a little more than the 400 series, but not much, and I like them better.

I've seen rather extreme ads for Pearl Izumi, but I never see them on sale for an amount I consider reasonable. Anybody got some feedback on those?

z

[KathyW]

Brooks Adrenaline ASR's (when I stay on a trail), Five-Ten Insights(when I go off the trail and do some scrambling), Kayland MXT's (when there's snow but it's fairly warm), or Lowa Mountain Experts (when there's lots of snow or it's colder). I even have a pair of plastic boots, but they haven't come out of the closet in a while - maybe I'll use them again in 2010.

[zippetydude]

Walt: How are the Go Lites?

Kathy: How are those Brooks?

I haven't used either, and I'm always open to try new shoes. Are they trailrunners?

z

[tinaballina]

Salomans, but i now have to buy the guys shoes. the rei peeps say i hike to much and i am too hard on my shoes so i have to go with guys. Love them, although the shoe laces suck and shred every two months on me. When that happens i take them back and they give me a new pair. Love that even more than the shoes. i will say recently i started wearing sock liners as well, saves the pedicure.

[magikwalt]

I am wearing the Go Lites at work today and have found them to be very cool temperature wish. I will take them for a spin tomorrow morning. The front 2/3rds of the sole are like soccer shoes except the front of the cleats are on a 45º back slant. The heal is a standard heal. They look like they'll be great for going up but I'm interested in how they work coming down the slick parts.

[KathyW]

The Brooks Adrenaline ASR's are wonderful for trail hiking and trail running. I just bought my third pair. The older pairs never wore out, but I put tons of miles on them and they aren't as cushiony as they used to be. I don't like the heavy trail runners, so these shoes are perfect for me - they are a cross between a running shoe and a trail running shoe. Brooks weatherized and added additional traction to the regular Adrenaline GTS running shoe to make the Adrenaline ASR's (All Season Running). They are stability shoes.

http://www.brooksrunning.com/product/12 ... %20ASR%206

[Dave G]

+1 on the Brooks. I've been trail running in these for about five years now and I love them. I used to wear the regular (GTS) Adrenalines for road and the ASR's for trail, but the ASR's are so light that now I just use them for both. Not in the least waterproof, however, despite Brooks' claims

I wanted to add that I like The Montrail Hardrock too. It is a more rugged (though heavier) shoe than the Brooks. But it seems that they have had quality issues--I shredded four pair in less than a year. Happily, Montrail kept replacing them free of charge This was a few years back, so maybe they've fixed the problem since then.

[Blooty]

I need ankle support. I like the Hi-Tek Boot, but the last pair I bought hurt my feet. I go through a pair a season, it seems.

So it's off to REI.

[KathyW]

+1 on the Brooks. I've been trail running in these for about five years now and I love them. I used to wear the regular (GTS) Adrenalines for road and the ASR's for trail, but the ASR's are so light that now I just use them for both. Not in the least waterproof, however, despite Brooks' claims :roll:

I have the Adrenaline GTS's too. I wear the GTS's when I'm sticking to the road, but the ASR's will work on the road too; so if I'm going on a trip and only want to pack one pair of running shoes for both road and trail I bring the ASR's. It was the Running Store in Redlands that got me started on the Adrenalines. I went in there and they made me try on tons of shoes and run in each pair until they found the right shoes for me. I couldn't decide if I wanted the ASR's or the GTS's; so I bought a pair of each. Now I just pick up a new pair when I see them on sale. I'm on my third pair of GTS's too.

The lesson I learned was that getting fitted for a pair of shoes sure does help. Over the years, I wasted a lot of money on shoes and podiatrist fees because I wore shoes that didn't fit well.