Women’s Trail Runners

Sometimes mens and womens models are exactly the same, too. Just different colors. I tried on some Brooks trail runners in mens and womens. They were exactly the same but the mens were royal blue and the womens were teal. So I bought the mens and then bought more pairs online.

I heard the hardrocks this year are bad. You might find some closeouts of older models online.

I work part time at REI and we are supposed to occasionally try on the different shoes so we'll know more about how they feel, to advise customers. I don't get around to doing this very often, but I have tried a fair number of trail runners.

From your description, I am thinking my feet may be pretty similar to yours. My feet didn't like the Hardrocks all that much, although in theory they sounded great. But I have high arches and like a lot of toe room. I had a pair of Vasque Velocitys a few years ago and when they wore out went through a couple of pairs of Vasque Blurs with good success. This summer I got a pair of the new model Blurs and was pleasantly surprised that they have been given a lot more wiggle room in the toe area. I tried the Velocity model and found the same for them.

Because I am greedy for high arch support even in a shoe that has it, I also wear green Superfeet in all my shoes.

But you will have to experiment. I can't emphasize enough how important it is to try on shoes thoroughly! Fit is so very individual. Someone else's recommendation can be a start, as can be the manufacturer's description re: characteristics like cushioning or motion control, for example, but until you do a bunch of experimenting you will *not* be able to tell what will work best for your feet!

My wife likes the Adidas Supernova trail runners for a similiar fit that you are looking for. She also likes the Salomon XA Pros, but feels that their durability isn't as good as the Adidas.

My wife likes the Salomon Exit Peak (or similar names), but she always buys the Mens fitting.

Cheers

Montrail really broke their shoes in 2009. I know at least two shoes that had carried montrail shoes for years. Both started to carry inov-8 shoes to fill the gap.

Most of of the women (and girls) I know are using Salomon Comp2. A couple are using Inov-8.

–Mark

The Inov8 sound intriguing. Anyone know of a brick and mortar store that carries them? Easier to try on a bunch of different sizes / models that way.

tried 2 pairs of Inov ordered online, shipped them both back. one pair was mens and one was womens. Nice shoes – very narrow toe box. one pair had a weird stitch poking in inside the shoe. i usually wear size 6.5.

> Anyone know of a brick and mortar store that carries them?

Kristen… you are in luck living in the bay area.

The best option is zombierunner that opened a shop this summer in Palo Alto!! They carry a number of models. They almost always have 282, 295, 305, 310, 330, 390 in stock. Often have some of the mudclaws as well including the 212. They are happy to order other models you can examine in the store before buying. They are hapy to take returns if you haven’t used them (e.g. walked around the house trying them out). The store is great… much easier that stopping by Don and Gillian’s condo. I have been told the coffee is good. If it’s near lunch time try the wrap place next door.

In santa cruz, downworks is carrying a few models.

Some of the local REIs sometimes stock Inov-8… I don’t know if any currently have inov-8 in the stores.

–Mark

" Anyone know of a brick and mortar store that carries them?"

The Foot Locker in Seattle carries quite a few of the low cut models. No 370's or 390's last time I was there a year or so ago.

I wrote essentially the same letter as my original post to Montrail (i.e. Columbia Sportswear) customer service, and just received this reply:

"Thanks for your interest in Montrail and your inquiry regarding the Hardrock.

Next spring Montrail will introduce a new style called the AT Plus which will be similar to the older Hardrock style.

Thanks for your interest in Montrail.
Best Regards,
Joe Web
Customer Service

Montrail, INC.
1414 Harbour Way South, Suite 1005
Richmond, CA 94804
800-330-6800
http://www.montrail.com

Please consider the environment before printing this email"

Thanks Mark, I'll check out zombie runner in Palo Alto. So much easier when you can try stuff on.

Mary that is good news. I've been wearing Hardrocks since 2004 (not the same pair) and would love to stay with essentially the same shoes.