Trail Shoes: The Dirt on What's Beneath Your Feet

By Russell Stigall

Let me drop a couple rhetorical metaphors on your plate. Road bikes are to road shoes as mountain bikes are to trail shoes, or, if you like, road shoes are to ice skates as trail shoes are to crampons. Simple, right? Now, using the correct tool for a job is, of course, an important part of any task. Using the wrong tool makes the experience less enjoyable both in process and in outcome: try to use tin-snips to assemble a grandfather clock, or a game of hockey in a pair of your old waders and you’ll say to yourself, “You know what…proper tools are important.” I think my drift has been caught.

Anyway…trail shoes are rugged and durable (while retaining most lightweight, cushioned features of road shoes) with dense mesh to keep out debris. They offer a mixture of deep lugged hard carbon and soft sticky blown rubbers to provide traction in loose soil and wet, slick surfaces respectively. They focus on dense, more supportive, more stable mid-soles to help prevent ankle sprains and reduce pronation. Some shoes have protective toe caps and thin, lightweight plates of Thermo Plastic Urethane (TPU) under the foot to protect from any sharp nasty protrusions poking up from the trail. Trail shoes should be abrasion resistant, should have good arch support, and should leave plenty of room for the toes to spread out since you’ll spend much more time on forefoot to climb and descend the short steep knolls and to corner the tight turns that make time on the trail as fun as recess on a jungle gym. The ability to navigate these topographical eccentricities with ease and confidence, without the fear of a rolled ankle or a stone bruise is what relates the inherent safety of a trail shoe to a more enjoyable experience.

Montrail: Leona Divide, Hurricane Ridge, and Hard Rock
www.montrail.com

Leona Divide: $95	Hurricane Ridge: $115	Hard Rock: $95

Montrail has put a lot of research into its trail shoes, since trail shoes — from light racers to rugged leather boots — is what it does. Montrail sponsors an ultramarathon team with young, talented members like Ian Torrence, Brandon Sybrowsky, and Steph Ehret who give them feedback on its products from the most challenging training and terrains.
Three of its core offerings are the Leona Divide, Hurricane Ridge, and Hard Rock. These are designed to be lightweight trail specific to walkers/runners. These are shoes you can use from a one mile wood chip path to the 100 mile Western States Ultra Marathon. They have semi-curved lasts to fit most walkers with a second density wedge in the medial mid-sole to assist with mild over-pronation and enhance stability. The forefoot is wide and high volume with the Hurricane Ridge being more so — due to the cut of its Gore-Tex waterproof upper. The mid-soles are designed to be stable with a low center of gravity and they wrap up around the forefoot and heel. A Thermo Plastic Urethane shank runs from toe to protect from trail protrusions and a toe cap should you kick a heavy or well-lodged object. The Leona Divide, Hurricane Ridge, and Hard Rock are light, flexible, rugged, and stable.

Adidas: Supernova Trail
www.adidas.com

Supernova Trail: $85

The latest offering from Adidas’ successful Supernova line is appropriately named “Trail.” The Supernova Trail is a fantastic entry-level trail shoe chock full of features at a price point you can sneeze at. For support the Trail has medial second density and for cushioning it has a tuned foam rubber called adiPrene and adiPrene+. adiPrene, in the heel, is less responsive to maximize impact absorption while adiPrene+, in the forefoot, is an elastic, responsive material for forward propulsion. The closed mesh of the upper helps repel water and mud (though it is not “waterproof”) and assists in a supportive, snug fit. The Supernova Trail has three types of outsole material: carbon rubber, blown rubber, and TPU lugs for durability, wet surface control, and traction on soft loose ground. With the Supernova Trail’s deep lugged outsole with blown rubber for slick surfaces and specialized forefoot and heel cushioning it is an excellent choice for walkers who transition from asphalt to trail.

Chaco: Z/1 and Z/2
www.chacousa.com

Z/1 & Z/2 Colorado sole: $90	Z/1 & Z/2 Terreno sole: $95

For walkers who like the breeze to blow the hairs on their toes, a trail sandal is a far better choice than going barefoot. Chaco sandals are made in America at a modest facility in Paonia, Colorado; they come with a choice of three specific outsoles, have ultra long- lasting polyurethane mid-soles approved by the American Podiatric Medical Association, come in a variety of flattering colors, and produce a tan line enviable by the most die- hard Teva fan. Of the three outsole options, the Colorado and the Terreno are the two most suitable for trail use. The Colorado is a lighter, more flexible option with lower profile tread while the Terreno is a deep-lugged “hiking boot” outsole that is as rugged as it is hard to pronounce. The Colorado and the Terreno are both made by Vibram and along with the webbing can be replaced when necessary — about as often as a senate seat. The Z/2 has a strap to wrap the big toe and offers more forefoot control, while the Z/1, being big toe strapless, allows the wearer to don wooly socks. A last word on the mid-sole: APMA-approved means that the polyurethane mid-sole is dense and supportive and molded to cradle the heel and support both the medial and lateral arches. Good arch support significantly reduces the risk of developing plantar fasciitis.

Mizuno: Wildwood
www.mizunousa.com

Wildwood: $85

If you are the type of walker who likes their trail shoes to feel like a pair of steel-belted house slippers; if you like lightweight, flexible, breathable footwear; if you hold your breath for stable, performance-oriented trail shoes, then puff your cheeks no longer, the Mizuno Wildwood is here. With its cushioned, low-profile, stable platform, the Wildwood is a dream on both street and trail. The Wildwood has a semi-curved last, a well-placed arch support and a broad, high-volume forefoot. Mizuno offers a unique cushion system in its line of walking/running shoes, with a combination of VS-1 tuned-rubber in the forefoot and heel and an efficient, light, “wave plate” under the heel. If you like the Mizuno Rider on the road you’ll love the Wildwood on trails.

ASICS: Trabuco
www.asicsamerica.com

Trabuco: $85

A fine, lightweight trainer, as happy on the roads as the trails, the ASICS Trabuco is a great entry-level trail shoe at a low price. A combination of hard NC Rubber™ with multi- directional lugs for loose muddy trails and soft sticky WET GRIP® for walks on the asphalt, rain or shine. The Trabuco has a medial post of DuoMax® to increase stability on uneven terrain and reduce pronation in hard surfaces. Rear and Forefoot GEL® cushioning and ASICS proprietary SpEVA® mid-sole material provide the Trabuco a high level of shock absorption and an increase in mid-sole durability. The Trabuco is fitted with a new (PHFTM) heel collar formed of “memory foam”; the foam molds to the walker’s heel for a snug fit and a reduction in heel slippage.

New Balance: 906
www.newbalance.com

NB 906: $100

The latest in a successful series of trail shoes, the 906 is true to its pedigree. The 906 offers some well thought out trail specific features as well as exhibiting excellent road capabilities. The multi-directional tread of the 906’s TRU-TRAK outsole provides traction on hills, whether up or down, and corners, should you turn left or right. A TPU plate, New Balance calls it ”Rock Stop,“ protects the mid-foot from pointy trail protrusions. The 906 has medial support for a stable heel to forefoot transition and a closed mesh upper to shed the gritty and the grimy alike.

Chaco Beckwith
www.chacousa.com

Beckwith: $230

Two words sum up the fine quality of the Beckwith: Italian Leather…woo woo! I know what you’re thinking, “I don’t use no hair pomade, or wear alligator belts and gold medallions snuggled deep in my nest of chest hair. What do I need with Italian leather?” Well don’t get your calzone in a knot, because Chaco asked the Italians to produce their boots not because Chaco thinks we all drive convertible Porsches, but because Chaco’s boots are made with a single piece of leather. The Italians don’t use barbed wire to corral their cows so their leather is almost blemish-free. With blemish-free leather you don’t have to cut your pattern into little pieces and stitch those pieces along bunches of seams and cover those seams with thick foam. You can make a boot without many seams (one to be exact) and have the fine Italian leather fit close to the foot and wick the moisture right off your wool socks — lord knows if a cow can sweat….
So combine the one-piece Italian leather with Chaco’s BioCentric® contour foot bed (identical to its sandals) a super rugged Skywalk® outsole, a water-resistant silicon finish, and lace-to-toe adjustability and you’ve got a glove-like boot for three season hiking in the most challenging terrain.

Pearl Izumi: Take
www.pearlizumi.com

Take: $85

As Pearl Izumi’s second year of improving the Take trail shoe design, it has left plenty of room for a third. Unless you have a foot like a loaf of bread you’ll find the Take of a voluminous quality approaching that of a blimp hangar. The Take has a very dense mid-sole, so you’d think it to be quite stable. Ah, but here your thinking is wrong. Pearl Izumi made the Push so tall and narrow they feel as tipsy as disco clogs. So you can see the Take didn’t work for me, but with qualities like a seamless upper, heel, and forefoot cushioning, an ingenious and effective lug pattern on blown and carbon rubber outsole, and super-cool matrix-black aesthetics when you see them in a store you’ll nod your head a little and say ”hmm.” If you can find socks thick enough to fill them up, you’ll find the Take sufficient.