Minimal trail shoe suitable for mud and wet grass - midfoot striker suggestions

[Deleted User]

Thanks for the feedback and Tiago re the Puregrits. I have a pair of Brooks road shoes which apart from the massive ( for me) toe to heel drop are comfy to wear. If the puregrits aren't so great on wet and muddy stuff I will add them to my contingency list perhaps for summer running if it ever stops raining. I was hoping to be able to try one of the pure project shoes on the weeks trial but my local shop was oversubscribed, so I would be interested to see how you get on with them Chris.



I shall have a look at the trailrocs Tiago. They have some in Mu local running shop so will give them a go and see if they fit my wide feet. Thankyou for the recommendation.

Macs Mum. Trail shoes like slippers sound great. I shall look them up too.



Unfortunately my local shops don't seem to have much fell / trail stuff in my size so I am going to be using Wiggle who have a good selection in stock. I am looking forward to trying them all on

[Deleted User]

Oops lots of typos in the above post. Apologies.

[Deleted User]

Plenty of mud and wet stuff around at the moment to give the Pure Grit's a thorough testing on.  First impression is that they are slightly narrower than my Ghost and Cascadia's but they certainly feel lower to the ground.  They still feel well cushioned though.

 I shall report back later in the week.

marrows

Kittih wrote (see)

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Marrows: I wouldn't mind getting Mizuno trail shoes, the toe box is supposed to be wide, unfortunately the heel to toe drop on the wave harriers seems to be quoted as 12mm which doesn't work well for me with mid foot striking.

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I am mid/forefoot striker and use mizuno wave harriers happily.  surprised by the 12mm figure - they feel reasonably low profile to me unlike speedcross. I have raced 10K and marathon in them. On roads I use kinvaras.

JT141

I prefer a very minimal shoe, but tried the Salomon Speedcross 3 for the first time today. They're not an all-rounder, but I put them through 20miles of mud and water and stayed surefooted the whole way. On harder terrain they're not ideal (too spongy), but on soft ground they really gripped, even in ankle deep mud. They shed the mud well too. My running stayed efficient as I wasn't sliding about all over the place. In conditions like that heel differential etc goes out of the window. As a specialist mud offroader I thought they were great and think them and the Fellcross would be well worth a look.

[Deleted User]

Look forward to the report Chris.

Marrows - interesting that the Harriers work fine for mid / forefoot striking. I shall order some to try on once I have tried the first batch. Thanks for the feedback. Maybe as JT141 the toe to heel differential doesn't matter so much if the surface is so forgiving and not flat.

JT141 - I have the Fellcross on order to try from Wiggle but your comments about how the speedcross 3's coped with mud is really useful. Thanks. I shall add them to the list of the next shoes to test.

[Deleted User]

Not sure why Salomon continue with the speedcross3 because the Fellraiser & Fellcross are far better for running hilly/muddy terrain!! 

[Deleted User]

Took the Pure Grit's out for a spin this afternoon.  First impressions are very positive. 

I did a moderately fast 5k route in my Kinvara road shoes first so I could get a fair comparison, then quickly swapped to the Pure Grit's and did a 3k trail route.  They certainly compare with my Kinvara's for feel, and allow for a faster cadence than in my normal trail shoes (Brooks Cascadia's)

The grip is fantastic on wet grass, even on up/down hill bits.   Picking up the pace, they don't loose grip.  Although they are not out and out mud movers, I was still confident in their ability to keep me upright.  The sole didn't get clogged at all; not even in the sticky, agricultural Lincolnshire mud.

The only issue I did have was when it got to the really sloppy stuff.  I had to slow right  down and pick a very careful path.  But if you intend to run through the deep muck, choose a different shoe. 

 

[Deleted User]

Very interesting, thanks for the review Chris. I might give them a try once the trial is finished with.



Well my first three shoes to try on arrived from Wiggle today. The xtalon 212, mudclaw 300 and the vivobarefoot breatho. In fairness to the breatho I could only get hold of them in 1/2 size larger than my normal size. They felt comfy but much too large and wide. I think even if they were a size smaller they would still be too wide for me. I liked the look of them though so a shoe for someone with generally wider feet than me perhaps.



Mudclaws. First thoughts were nice sturdy shoes with lovely large grips on the sole. Nice and tight around the heel and midfoot but roomy enough in the toe box not to squish my toes. Sole slightly cushioned. Heel counter a little high so digs into back of heel a little when on downward slope occasionally. I really like the shoes otherwise.



X-talons. Noticeably lower profile in feel than the mudclaws. Uppers elastic and flexible and really hug whole of foot. A bit tight on little toes but as uppers are stretchy feel like they might give a little on the toes in time perhaps ? Flexible sole with nice aggressive lugs. Don't feel as cushioned as mudclaws and uppers, padding round heel and tongue all thinner than mudclaws. Not such a fan of the thin laces but they would be easy to change.



So far I really love the mudclaws but I also love the x-talons. The x-talons win on lightness and the snug fit but the main negative is the squeeze on the little toes. The mudclaws are comfy round the toes but don't have the same snugness or light feel as the x-talons. I can't decide between them.



I am still waiting for the fellraisers to arrive so will use that as an excuse to defer my decision for now.