[Closed] Road to Trail Autumn/Winter/Spring Gore Tex running shoes for heavier folk?

Road an rocks in one is a bit of a challenge... where are you planning on using these? Do you really need Goretex, and good in the snow? The Speedgoat looks good. I'd personally avoid the Challenger ATR as in my experience the upper durability is horrible.

Mostly on trails (sometimes muddy, wet or snowy) and gravel, not much rocks or mud.

Goretex is nice for walks and hiking in the rain/snow, and for short runs in said conditions. Also adds some insulation in winter.

Speedgoat is allegedly quite bad on gravel and road, best in mud it seems. Their Wildcross GTX looks like a better speedgoat btw. Hoka seems good if you can afford to buy new ones..

I had always found Asics trail shoes were the perfect fit for me, right up until I tried a new version of my previous shoes, and they are the narrowest things on the planet now 🙁 If width is not a big issue I can attest to their quality and durability.

Now trying to find an alternative trail running goretex shoe that fits very wide feet

Now trying to find an alternative trail running goretex shoe that fits very wide feet

Read that Mizuno Daichi 6 GTX has a very wide toe box 🙂

Speedgoat is allegedly quite bad on gravel and road, best in mud it seems.

Bad in what way?

If it's muddy {or snow) I much prefer my Salomon Trailcross but other than that it's Speedgoats I use. I had the Challenger ATR before those. I didn't have any problems with those until the uppers started to fray around thr big toe area. TBH, by then the soles were on their way out anyway.

I do prefer GoreTex for wet/winter use - we have snow for over 3 months this year.

I currently have shoes from Hoka, Scott, New Balance, Salomon and Altra on the go, plus some Scarpa, Nike and Adidas tucked away - all my running is offroad.

I'm not heavy and shoes generally last quite well as well as a fan of Hoka One One shoes, but I managed to trash a pair of Speedgoats in less than a year - one of the lace eyelets ripped-out which rendered them useless. For any shoe with a serious offroad pretence, an upper that secures the mid foot is really important IME.

Currently getting some good service out of a pair of Scott Supertracs - but might be a bit too stripped back for the OP's use.

I haven't had Saucony for quite a while - generally OK, but a bit uninspiring

I wouldn't discount La Sportiva Ultra Raptors - tempted to try some myself.

Bad in what way?

Speedgoats have somewhat sharp widely spaced 6 mm lugs, that don't give them the most surface area for good grip on harder surfaces but are brilliant in looser conditions such as mud from what I gather. That said I haven't tried them.

I haven’t had Saucony for quite a while – generally OK, but a bit uninspiring

I wouldn’t discount La Sportiva Ultra Raptors – tempted to try some myself.

Saucony's latest shoes such as the Xodus 10/11 and Peregrine 11 have gotten very rave reviews over at Road Trail Run, perhaps they've improved.

The Ultra Raports have La Sportiva's stickiest rubber so I'd be concerned about durability, I don't need THAT much performance. The Jackal GTX would be the closest comparison to the ones I listed.

Read that Mizuno Daichi 6 GTX has a very wide toe box 🙂

Cheers @yohandsome I'll check those out

I'm a massive fan of my old Inov8 X-Talon 190's, but cushioned they are not. Salomon Speedcross seem to get pretty universal acclaim, so might be worth a look.

EDIT, just seen you've discounted the Salomon range. Ignore me. For what it's worth though, my Inov8's have hundreds on miles on them across a range of surfaces and while they are pretty well worn down now they've hardly disintegrated despite being the weight weenie of trail shoes.

For what it’s worth though, my Inov8’s have hundreds on miles on them across a range of surfaces and while they are pretty well worn down now they’ve hardly disintegrated despite being the weight weenie of trail shoes.

Good to know, may get a pure trail running shoe later (albeit VJ Irock 3 seems to be the one to beat there!). Ufortunately no gtx with inov-8 afaik.

Nike Pegasus Trail GTX, it’s a great all rounder.
Not a pure mud shoe but great for most other stuff and fine on the road too.
My pair have done 500 miles and are still going strong so durability shouldn’t be an issue.

I like gore Tex running shoes, perfect for the wet half of the British year, but really recommend trying them on.
The membrane sort of forms a closed sock shape to be waterproof, whereas normal trainers have a lot more adjustability in terms of fit and tightness where the tongue is separate from the sides/body. And they seem to have less give/elasticity. If a brand/model isn't your foot shape, there's less you can do about it with laces.

I’ve been running in Saucony for at least the last ten years, but just picked the Hoka Speedgoat over the Peregrine when looking for more cushioned trail shoes for longer distances of half marathon plus.

Grip on hard surfaces is good as the vibram mega grip is noticeably sticky. The cushioning is amazing, being significantly softer and springier than Saucony padding. The other benefit is the rocker that helps propel you forward, making my first runs in them faster than my previous Saucony switchbacks. The only drawback is the fit, which is slightly tight around the forefoot which is not something I’ve experienced with a wide range of Saucony shoes.

The Hoka Torrent is probably the closest equivalent to the Peregrine too, being a bit less padded.

Grip on hard surfaces is good as the vibram mega grip is noticeably sticky. The cushioning is amazing, being significantly softer and springier than Saucony padding. The other benefit is the rocker that helps propel you forward, making my first runs in them faster than my previous Saucony switchbacks. The only drawback is the fit, which is slightly tight around the forefoot which is not something I’ve experienced with a wide range of Saucony shoes.

Thanks for sharing, very interesting, my concern w hoka would be if it loses its spring as the light foam degrades. How does it work with mid foot striking? Or do you just switch to heel strike with them? 🙂

I wonder if theyre better for your joints or not, not concerned with max speed.

loum: good point!

I’m not too sure about the longevity of the Hoka but various reviews were positive around this.

I am wary of recommending the rocker style sole, I knew it would work for me having bought a pair of Saucony Endorphin shoes that have adopted it. It works for high cadence, mid-to-forefoot landing runners and I spent a while a few years ago working on my running form to improve this. I’m not sure how well it would work for a heavy landing, heel-striking running form

Ended up ordering the Peregrine 11 GTX, see how they fit, will also do some uphill stuff with a vest and hit 110 kg so hokas dont seem like the best choice. Do run front to mid foot however.

Doesn’t help that I’m 90 kgs.

will also do some uphill stuff with a vest and hit 110 kg

You wear 20kg in a vest?

You wear 20kg in a vest?

Just for some lunges/stairs/uphill HIIT, not for long runs or anything.

You wear 20kg in a vest?

It could just be a very heavy vest 🙂

More usefully, a mate of mine who's heavy but by no means huge, trashed the EVA in a pair of Hoka One One shoes in a couple of weeks to the point where they were kind of bottoming under his heels. To be fair he got a full refund, but it's not confidence inspiring for heavier runners. They also use two grades of foam, standard EVA in most shoes, albeit around a third softer than most brands in most shoes and a tougher, more resilient compound called RMAT in a few models.

More usefully, a mate of mine who’s heavy but by no means huge, trashed the EVA in a pair of Hoka One One shoes in a couple of weeks to the point where they were kind of bottoming under his heels. To be fair he got a full refund, but it’s not confidence inspiring for heavier runners. They also use two grades of foam, standard EVA in most shoes, albeit around a third softer than most brands in most shoes and a tougher, more resilient compound called RMAT in a few models.

Seems Hokas are better suited for lighter/gentler runners, esp older people seem to love them and ive read that some people with knee injuries do well in them.