Trail running shoes

New Inov8 Trailfly G280s look good.

Heard good things about the Saucony Xodus Ultras too.

Heard good things about the Saucony Xodus Ultras too.

I got a pair of these in the summer, they're bouncy and well cushioned. I find them much more stable than Hoka's. Can also recommend the Inov8 Trailfly G270, fast, light, zero drop, so biased to forefoot strike. As above, those new G280's look good, will probably have a pair before the end of the year...

Adidas make loads of trail running shoes utilising BOOST. I had a pair of Terrex Two Ultra Trail which served me very well in all sorts of conditions. BOOST is older tech but it still works for lots of people. I use Saucony shoes for road running nowadays but still have a pair of boosts for sloppy winter conditions because the outsoles are so good, and the cushioning still works. I have Salomon trail runners now but they're firmer than boost. I'm wary of using squishy high stack shoes for trails which seems to be the trend now.

I had several pairs of Boost that were fine. The only pair that weren’t were the trail version because they didn’t take my orthotics.

Altra Lone Peaks are nice, well cushioned, neutral, zero drop with decent lugs. Or Timp 4s for even more cushioning but a bit less grip (great for mixed surface).

Both have nice wide toe boxes, which has been a revelation for me.

Everybody's opinion is going to be different. I run a lot of fireroad, and have been using Hoka Zinals most of this year, no complaints.

You need to go and try a load on. What works for others isn't too relevant

That would be nice but I’ll have to take a punt. I’m a long way from the kinds of shops that sell trail runners unfortunately and my current ones are getting beyond practical.

I use saucony peregrines in the winter, pretty low on the cushioning but may suit some, I’m not keen on the moon shoes type soles

Hoka Speedgoat’s are very well thought of, good cushioning, grippy outsole and a generally nice shoe to be in. They do run a tad narrow though.

On my 3rd pair of Altra lone peaks (2 in use at a time) and if you wide footed at all they are ace!

Norda

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/tr-men-s-trail-running-shoes/_/R-p-164313?mc=8666719&c=GREY

Get these, you'll never be able to tell. Spend the difference on your family.

You could try those.. might work might not. That's your problem.

Hoka Speedgoats will be too much for what you describe - what's the going rate on Torrents?

Read some online reviews before you buy .. there are shoes doing the rounds that do NOT last very long, usually with the uppers disintegrating. Hoka Challengers did that to me, others have form. You're unlikely to kill midsoles offroad

I purchased a paid of On off road trainers for my first (and last) Ultra. The first pair didn’t last more than 100 miles of trails before the top split, emailed On customer service and within 48 hours they replied, apologised and they sent me a voucher for a new pair, no issues at all with these. Also a bonus I purchased in sale from a shop and On sent a voucher for the full value.

Very comfy and I’m no expert runner and can’t fault them.

Get these, you’ll never be able to tell. Spend the difference on your family.

How's the sizing for you?

True to size or do they come up big/small?

I get on well with the Salomon S-lab ultras - great on estate track/fire roads but grips on the soft stuff too. Much more cushioned than most Salomon/Inov-8's with drop closer to a road shoe, but somehow stable and non-saggy Everyone else I know uses Saucony Peregrins.

How’s the sizing for you?
True to size or do they come up big/small?

Assuming they're the same as other Decathlon shoes, they'll be a touch long and very narrow.

One shoe not mentioned is the Nike Pegasus Trail 4. Well cushioned and a really solid road to trail shoe.

The Pegasus is a very good recommendation if you're not sure what you want. Very middle of the road. Probably the only thing it's not good at is LOTS of wet roots

I’m using a new balance hierro right now. They have been great and the most comfy trail shoe I have had but they are starting to seperate at seams after around 200 miles. I’ve been looking to the Pegasus 4 or peregrine’s. Used hoka torrents and rolled my ankle more than other shoes but they were super comfy

I've started to do a bit of trail running over the last few months. It seems to me that most shoes are designed more for running in California than Scotland, with super light breathable uppers which get soaked in no time. Either that or they are waterproof, which is fine for splashing through the odd puddle but much less use in a peat bog.

I've settled (for now) on a pair of Scott Supertrac RC2

They have an upper that doesn't absorb water but still breathes well enough to let the water out. Grip seems excellent on wet rock etc. Big toe box. Possibly too big for my wide feet. Not as cushioned as some of the options mentioned but that means good connection to the ground. Some people complain that the arch bit can rub. I can sort of feel this (with my flat feet) but I've done 20 mile hike/run sessions over munros without any issues so far. Only done a hundred miles or so in them but they are not showing any signs of wear yet.

It seems to me that most shoes are designed more for running in California than Scotland, with super light breathable uppers which get soaked in no time. Either that or they are waterproof, which is fine for splashing through the odd puddle but much less use in a peat bog.

I would disagree with that re California. Most UK off road runners prefer a very breathable (open) upper as we spend most of the time running through streams/bogs etc. Anything pretending to be waterproof or without an open mesh type membrane retain water and are awful to run in so GoreTex is definitely out. In fact I found things like saucony peregrine retain far too much water.

For proper off road its Inov8 for me. For more trail type running I like Hoka's. The Hoka's with vibram sole dont look that aggressive but I found them brilliant on roots/small rocks (but they are not great on proper mud)

OP you say you need padding because you run on your toes? Did you suffer from problems or was it just your podiatrist thought it would be a good idea?

sportpursuit have some inov8 going I wouldn't say cheap but less than full price
https://www.sportpursuit.com/catalog/product/view/id/2577486

I've been unable to fault Inov8. Especially as I've fairly wide feet and for the first time I can buy shoes which are my size, instead of having to size up for the width.

I was a Hoka fanboi for years, recently having 4 pairs (plus 2 pairs of boots) Clifton, Bondi, Speedgoat and Mafete, but the durability has got worse, so I’m down the Mafete which I’ll probably replace with something else. Stopped using Inov-8 as they simply fell apart. All my running is off-road on trails or fire roads (crushed rock) and using a combination of Scott, Scarpa, Adidas and Salomon.

For speed work & racing, Adidas Terrex Speed Pro have been good, they were less than £65 at sportshoes so you might get lucky.
VJ have the stickiest rubber that I've found, so good for the wet roots but expect them to wear quickly on the fire roads. La Sportiva are decent too but most of their shoes are pretty chunky. I've used a lot of inov8 in the past but can be a mixed bag - more money spent on advertising and gimmicks than anything useful. Yet to try Scott but have heard good things. Have always found the rubber too hard on Salomon, and many American brands also seem to go for durability over grip - studs makes it worse as there's less outsole touching the ground.

VJ Sport's are excellent - I have the MaxX which I've used for several ultra's and they're holding up superbly compared to the Xtrem's which I found did wear out rather quickly.  Quite tempted to try the iRock's when my trusty Mudclaw's finally need replaced.  I've tried Hoka (really comfy but the upper was not designed for wet, muddy trails, holds the moisture far too easily) and the Scott RC Ultra (again very comfy with a bombproof upper but for such an aggressive sole they had the worst grip).  I decided that I prefer a lower stack height so ended up settling on Inov8 and VJ Sport.  The MaxX are probably my favourite shoe if I'm honest.

OP you say you need padding because you run on your toes? Did you suffer from problems or was it just your podiatrist thought it would be a good idea?

Long story. Knee and back problems 17 yrs ago when i was playing football led to physio, referred to podiatrist. Orthotics fixed the problems. The podiatrist i saw back then was a legend - Adidas designer, known for fixing up professional sports people, etc. He did gait analysis with me in various running shoes to get things dialed in (if only he knew how slow a runner i am!) and recommended the padding. I had several pairs of Mizuno. It wasn't until much later when i saw a different podiatrist that Boost had just come out and he recommended it.

I do notice that my shoes wear really fast in that area, though, and as running shoes wear out I get sore right toes after running. That's normally the sign i need new shoes.

After much vacillating I’m going to try the Altra Lone Peak 6. They sound like they should work for my feet and fit a dual role of trail running and hiking.
Toes crossed!

I’m getting to think that any £50 trail shoe from a big brand name will suffice as trails. Only thing to consider is the size of the lugs depending on how muddy your trails are.

True fell shoes are grippy but have minimal padding, mid range trail shoes tend to have smaller lugs. Cushioned shoes with decent lugs can be had for around £70, eg Scott Supertrac at Sportsshoes

Speegoats very good also Pegasus and some of the Saucony off road shoes look very good. running in the road shoes now and they are excellent but not grippy. I would stay clear of Inov8. Had a few pairs and all failed or fallen apart far earlier than I think they should have done

The other day I was going to do the usual thing of recommending what I use, ie Salomon Speedcross. No real complaints TBH, although I found the durability of the upper on my 5 weaker than my 4. So, this week I decided to get curious about other options and ordered a pair of Merrell Moab Flight Trail. Maybe a bit more conventional and less techie than the Speedcross but I'm happy to give them a go.

Sports Shoes have another of their sales on if you're still looking.

Decathlon mt2 are on offer at 60 quid, down from 80. I have a few pairs for walking, fab shoe, new model, the bright blue equiv, is not as good.

I have had a couple of pairs of mt2s.

They're great on fells or very muddy trails but the sole is quite aggressive/wears pretty quickly on tarmac/is a bit slow

They also have the tr2s on offer for £40 which still have quite a bit of tread but less agressive than the mt2s. Bought some on a whim yesterday while I was in town, but not used them yet.

I’m using a new balance hierro right now. They have been great and the most comfy trail shoe

I have a pair of those for painting the house in. I absolutely loved them initially - then it rained and i tried running down a hill and they were horrific. The heel tab on the sole meant zero bite on wet grass or mud and the hard rubber made any rocky bits lethal. Worse than a road shoe. Definitely horses for courses - I can see why some folk would love them but if you're running involves wet grass, wet rock, mud of any kind then they're awful.

Yes that's right the decathlon mt2 s do wear quickly. I just looked at the soles, worn down, and inside cushioning, pretty much disintegrating. The uppers are as new, albeit faded via sun. I do walk on sharp rock though.

If I could get my size I d buy at the reduced 60 quid.

I went with a pair of Lone Peak 6.

First run in them this morning, on a very techy and steep 10km singletrack rainforest/jungle run. A mix of sand, slippy gravel/dirt and granite slabs, moto ruts . Conditions were drier than normal, but i was very impressed. A good amount of cushioning and considerably better grip than my previous shoes. After a couple of km i realised that when i ran uphill i wasn't clawing my toes because for the first time ever i had enough room in the toebox!

They feel a bit like comfy slippers ... in a good way.

Post-run i have (so far) none of the quad pain i sometimes get.