The Trail Shoe Choice

Im running a trail half end of the month and need to purchase a trail shoe.

Ive had my eyes on a pair of asics lahar 4 gortex shoes that i can pick up for just short of £70. My only gripe is spending what i consider to be a reasonable amount of money on a shoe im gonna cake in mud and ruin :S i love clean lol

While i popped into sports direct, looking for a running jacket, i came across a few new balance trail shoes that about £25-£30, but i'd feel bad after going to a specialist shop and potentially wasting someones time. AAAAhhhhh, advice please  

Comments

  • Don't run on trails if you dont want to get muddy shoes! image

    how extreme is the trail you will be running on?

  • lol i just read my post back and it did sound really stupid lol

    to be honest, the trail im running, i think is going to be mostly foresty bridle paths so they wont get so muddy. hmmmmm. next question, are the asics worth the extra?

  • Ian MIan M ✭✭✭
    Ricardo86 wrote (see)

    to be honest, the trail im running, i think is going to be mostly foresty bridle paths so they wont get so muddy.

    A forestry bridle path this summer 

    http://sphotos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/600157_236098526508297_1725710270_n.jpg

     image

    I'd stay clear of gortex shoes in most circmstances, because once you've been though that, there's no where for the water to drain out.



  • You probably dont need a technical trail shoe then.

    The cheap options are: 1. use your normal road shoe. 2. if you dont want to risk getting them mucky then buy the cheap new balance trail shoe (provided you dont need any specialist support etc)
    If you havent done a lot of trail running then save the expensive purchase for later on!

  • I'd agree with Ian on the waterproof shoes, drainage is better because sooner or later the water is gonna get in somewhere, unless you are running in waders! image

    Ian - just run through stuff like that in my barefoot shoes over the dorset coast path this week, couldnt even see my shoelaces to undo them when i got back to the car! image

  • hahaha, gotta love summer. Wicked, cheers Ian

  • i might stick with a cheap new balance shoe for now then. until i really get into it. thanks for your advice guys image

  • I have some Asics Trail Attack 7 and I love them. They are on offer on a few sites now at around £40 but I think there might be a new model emerging as I've had my 7s for a while and they cost about £65 when I purchased them. At that kind of price I would expect the shoe to take a beating and have enough quality to keep going. If you decide on the Asics I wouldn't worry about getting mud on them, based on my experience they are built to last and I run a lot of trails, gravel, mud, water etc. They dry quickly as well which helps!

  • Bought these last night and already had notification of postage. Dont know what other sizes they have but there are lots of bargains on the site.



    http://www.prodirectrunning.com/products/adidas-running-shoes-adidas-adizero-xt-mens-running-trainers-blackmetallic-silverintense-green-27653.aspx



    Sorry dont know how to do direct links!!
  • Those shoes will do you well Keggi.... image

     

  • Amen on the don't get waterproof comments - once it gets in at the first puddle, it isn't going anywhere in a hurry and you've got a lot of damp running to come...

  • ok, so i found a pair of salomon xr crossmax for 47.50 image

  • New Balance MT110s are amazing. They are like slippers (for me at least) and are cheap (around 35 quid from Sports Direct), have good grip and excellent drainage. They even have a rock plate in them. I have run up to 20 miles on trail/road runs with no bother whatsoever.

  • How do people find trail shoes on proper cross country runs?  I need to decide if I need to buy trail for trails, AND spikes for XC - or can I get away with just trail shoes (I'm not high class, so if it costs me a few seconds here and there, that's OK,)   Cheers

     

    Edit... gotta comment on that photo Ian.  Good photo, and comically delivered!

  • MillsyMillsy ✭✭✭

    +1 for the New Balance 110. Did my first 50k in them this year. A bargain at less than £40 at Sports Direct.

  • I got some NB 110's from Amazon for about £35. Feel good so far.

  • Thanks for the advice people. Ive been offered some inov8 212s for a really good price. Anyone tried these out before? Definitely gonna try finding some mt110s at the weekend
  • Have to say I've heard a lot of good things about Talon 212's, the blurb on the inov 8 site certainly gives them a lot of hype. 

    I'm currently in the market for a new pair of trail shoes, Went for some Addidas Kanadia instead of the Talons and the Kandia's have died, I regret it now as the Talons were on offer in Go Outdoors for £50 at the time!.  Can't find a pair cheap at the mo, the cheapest I've found is £70.  Ricardo, have you found any cheaper on line or are the ones you speak of through a friend??

     

     

     

  • I think mine are the NB MTE110's. They are black with funny shiny greeny bits! I think they are absolutely fab. Really light, fantastic grip, hard-wearing sole which so far is not wearing at all, despite some road use. Comfortable to wear, even for road stretches, despite being very low profile and light. My last pair of off-roaders were a goretex pair and there is no way at all I'm going back there! Easy in, easy out is the only sensible approach to take to water.

    My only gripes would be that because they are cut so low round the ankle, they don't feel so secure (I've not had a problem, but do worry slightly if it is really boggy that I'll lose one), and debris gets in where the tongue meets the shoe.

  • Dankholes wrote (see)

     Can't find a pair cheap at the mo, the cheapest I've found is £70.  Ricardo, have you found any cheaper on line or are the ones you speak of through a friend??

     

     

     

    Mine weren't as cheap as that lol, where'd you find those?

  • Try amazon. That's where I got mine.
  • How do people find their trail shoes on smooth rocky surfaces?

    I have Mizuno Cabrakan 3's and whilst they are fine on mud, grass and gravel surfaces I slip and slide on smooth rocks. Earlier this week I went flying and almost ended up in the river. 20 yards further I went down again and ended up with a cut knee. I know rocks and wet timber can get really greasy so don't know if I'm asking too much of my shoes.

  • I just love my Innov8 shoes. They are the best thing bar none for running downhill on wet grass, and have cushioning too for hard surfaces or roads. Mixed surfaces is what I understand cross country should be about. However, deep gloopy mud is when the spikes come into their own. I got mine cheap and second hand, ex track spikes, and just screwed a set of longer pins in.

    The Innov8s may not be cheap, but they are good. Of course, they won't wear out as fast as road shoes either.

  • I'm with Blisters - Inov8 roclite 295s are just great on rock, mud and trail. I'm on the third pair.

  • My Oroc 280`s are great on wet rocky/wooden surfaces thanks to those little dob spikes, have to say these shoes have been a bit of a revelation..

  • So i christened my X-Talons yesterday. Such an amazing shoe! Where my pal was slipping, i had outstanding grip. So far, i cannot fault this shoe

  • Following all the rave reviews of Innov8 shoes from people on the forum I decided to look further. I noticed my local outdoor shop had some Roclite 315s and they seemed very comfy, however looking at reviews around the net I saw that people said they were not great on wet rocks. As the Roclite 295 has the sticky rubber sole and seems not to have this problem I have ordered a pair of these instead.

    It also seems that a lot of people use them for trail walking, which is an added bonus. 

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