looking for good, light trailrunners

[George Matthews]

Looking for feedback before I start shopping (trying on before I buy) for trailrunners. What's new out there that is good and light that is less than $100 and under 24 oz per pair?

regular volume feet
not waterproof

[Paul Wozniak]

I've logged about 30 miles on my Inov8 Terroc 330s (330 grams). Wonderful shoes. Great fit in the heel and toebox. Very breathable. Water in, water out, dry fast. No hots spots.

I'm a size 10. Like most shoes that I plan to put serious miles on I bought 10.5's. Love em.

[Brian Lewis]

I suggest you specify any additional criteria you can — in particular, do you favor goretex "waterproof", or more of an emphasis on "gets wet quick but dries out quick too"?

I'm heading in the latter direction. Tried Salomon Tech Amphibians but got heel blisters from the "not really a heal cup" that it offers. I'm now using a Columbia Aquatooth watershoe, and the brief number of miles I've put on these so far looks pretty positive — a bit of an effort to put them on, and I don't know how long the stretchy "laces" will last, and like all water shoes, not a lot of arch support. But overall they seem pretty good (to *me*).

You might also specify things like whether you have a high/low/normal arch, tend to pronate or not, have fairly wide/narrow/normal feet, etc etc — better chance of a reply from someone with feet that are similar to yours.

[George Matthews]

less than 24 oz (680 grams) pair

less than $100 price

can get wet but need to dry out fast

[George Matthews]

shoe oz grams price
Montrail Highlander Trail-Running 20 567 85
Merrell Octane Trail-Running Shoes 22 624 75
Salomon Trail Runner 2 Trail Running 23 652 80
Vasque Blur Trail-Running Shoes 23 652 85
Inov8 Terroc 330 Trail-Running Shoes 23 652 90
Montrail Vitesse II Trail-Running 24 680 85
Salomon XA Comp 3 Trail-Running 24 680 85

[Russell Swanson]

I can't say enough good things about Salomon XA Pro 3D's. I wear the non-GoreTex versions (Gore-Tex in trail runners isn't really suitable for multi-day usage). They dry very quickly and breath very well. All of the shoes in the Salomon XA line are a different from each other. The XA Pro 3D's provide the most underfoot heel surface area which enhances lateral stability over the other XA's.

That being said, certain shoes fit certain feet. I like Salomons because they fit me correctly, with a medium volume foot and wide forefoot. Try prospective purchases on before commiting on or, if you buy online, but from a place with a good return policy.

[David Lewis]

I also love my XA Pro 3D's. I like the idea of the Tech Amphibians… but I don't think they are good for hiking it. I hate the heel cup on them. But I see that Adidas now has an ampibious shoe!!! Can't wait to check those out. They have the heel cup of a traditional shoe. They use some regular fabric mesh… so I don't know how fast they would dry… but something to look at anyway…

Apparently… BPL has disabled the ability to add links to your posts… so you'll just have to copy and paste below… massive link… so I used tinyurl.

http://tinyurl.com/2rgf4k

[George Matthews]

I will add to my try on list (under $100 and 24 oz)…
shoe oz grams price
New Balance MR790 15.8 448 80

shoe oz grams price
Montrail Highlander 20 567 85
Merrell Octane 22 624 75
Salomon Trail Runner2 23 652 80
Vasque Blur 23 652 85
Inov8 Terroc330 23 652 90
Montrail VitesseII 24 680 85

Salomon XA Pro 3D 30 850 125 (over $ and wt)
Adidas Cardrona 26 737 75 (over wt)

[Brett .]

This is another vote for Inov-8s. Their differentiated design point are the softer soles. Feels like wearing tight fitting tractioned slippers. Simplifying a bit, they have two types of uppers, mesh or foam. If you want the non-waterproof and quick drying type, go with mesh. I own the mesh 330s and love them. Thats 11.7oz per shoe. Inov-8 is coming out with a mid-top hiking "shoe"(boot), and I expect I will buy that to replace my 1800gram boots when I carry heavier loads.

Even different lacing patterns for different applications. This is a trail-geek shoe..
http://www.inov-8.com/lacing.html

[cat morris]

http://gearx.com/product_info.php?products_id=1853

[larry savage]

I bought a pair of these to use for work, they are a little heavy for running at 1#10oz. men's size 10. But the uppers are cool. This is a really good price point, I paid $55.00 from sierra trading post.
A shoe I do enjoy running in is the keen ochoco with it's asymetrical lacing. The unlined version is called the wasatch crest this year, sierra trading post has last years ochoco for $70.00.

[Brian Lewis]

No personal experience, but the New Balance 872 is reviewed on this site:
http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/new_balance_872_off_road_trail_shoe_spotlite_review.html

[George Matthews]

excellent feedback and links

this will be my 4th pair of trailrunners

my first two were picked based on bargains (both NB's)
and 3rd another bargain (merrell all mesh)
(all three lost were good initially but no for long)

this time i will go for a smart buy vs a cheap buy

[Brian Lewis]

Great point on the "good initially but not for long" issue.

I haven't been wearing trail runners long myself, and am inclined to try a couple of other models over the next few months to see if I can find something "closer to perfect" (after which — buy several pairs …). But your point is good; wearing a pair for a few miles in local walks isn't the same. Even putting a large number of miles on a pair isn't the same if I do it just a few miles at a time spread out over many weeks on local pavement.

I've had good luck overall with comfort and fit from randomly selected shoes in somewhat longer distances. My first choice was a goretex Salomon that felt great for 150 miles but wore little holes at the base of the toes (hence no longer waterproof …). A week later I did a 100 mile trip using a pair of non-waterproof Nike's (Air Zoom Kyotee). These started showing a little more wear than I liked after 100 miles (a piece of tread lug broke off the heel), and when wet they took way too long to dry. But also comfortable.

So I appreciate your list. I'll try a couple of other shoes on longish hikes this year once there's at least some snow-free trail where I want to go, and who knows — maybe this year I'll hit the hiking shoe jackpot and find a shoe that meets all of my desires and requirements!!

[Russell Swanson]

George,

To defend my beloved Salomon XA Pro 3D's (why can't they shorten the name?)…I think you're quoting price and weight of the XCR version. The non-GoreTex version weighs about 27 ounces (770g) and can be found for under $100.

Out of the shoes on your list I've used the Vasque Blur, Salomon Trail Runner 2, amd Montrail Vitesse…all lighter but no where near as much stability as the XA Pro's provided. At some point, function is more important than a few ounces of weight, at least in my opinion. Placing an arbitrary weight limitation on shoes might end up beign a detriment for you. Of course, I'll be cliche and say YMMV.

[George Matthews]

sorry – had bad data.
Salomon XA Pro 3D 13.9oz 394g $99

good reviews everywhere i've looked – i believe the added functionality is a plus

but i was thinking that each 1 oz on foot is like 6.4 oz in pack – that's the thinking behind the 24 oz limit
(3 oz is 19.2 oz)

[Brian Strong]

http://store.newbalancede.com/newbamrmetrr5.html

For anyone looking at the 872's? The update is out: 873…

[Monty Montana]

Two trail runners that I use are the Teva X-1C, which have mesh panals and weigh 24 oz, size 10.5, and the Keen Humbolt (11) which weighs 2 oz more but feels so comfortable because of the roomy toe box. I recommend getting the Keen a half size larger than usual.

[Ryan Faulkner]

Ive tried alot of different trail runners, and my favorite by far are the salomon XA pro 3Ds. They are not the lightest option for sure, but they fit me flawlessly, dry quickly, and have a unique kevlar lacing system. they have never failed on me, but for insurance, i get a new pair every 300 miles or so. For my next pair, which im coming up on soon, Im going to try out the salomon S-Lab XA3s, which are essentially the same shoe, but with a built in gaiter. They were origionaly designed for the salomon adventure racing team, but salomon just reccently put them on the public market.

Salomon S-lab XA pro 3

[Erin McKittrick]

I've used the Montrail Vitesse for many years (and many pairs). They've always worked well for me, and proved relatively long lasting for what I was putting them through (off-trail in Alaska is hard on light shoes).

[George Matthews]

I will go with one of these:

Montrail Vitesse $85 24 oz.
(many good reviews, good price, very light)

Inov8 Terroc330 $90 23 oz.
(many good reviews, good price, very light)

Solomon XA Pro 3D $100 27 oz.
(many good reviews, fair price, light)

[Robert McGaughey]

George, if your'e going to go with the Montrail Vitesse, which I use and love for climbing 14ers in Colorado, REI outlet has them on sale for $62.93, but not in all sizes. Best of luck….

[Gregory West]

Anyone have info on the Sportiva Slingshot?
http://www.sportiva.com/products/prod/307

editor's choice at backcountry.com

20oz, $75

I actually bought a pair cuz i found them super cheap, but haven't tried them out yet.

[Doug Johnson]

I am an instant fan of the new Golite Sun Dragon running shoes. I just got off the trail with them again and they are simply marvelous. Here is my Golite Sun Dragon Reader Review: http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/reviews/display_reviews?forum_thread_id=7210&cat=Footwear%20%2D%20Boots%2C%20Shoes%2C%20Gaiters&cid=53

Strange but they totally work! Well worth a serious look.

[Miguel Arboleda]

Doug, how do you find the sizing? I am normally a size 9, so if I get the 9 – 9.5 shoe, it ought to fit, no? Bill Fornshell seemed to have had some problems with his being too big. Did you have any of those problems? I'm ordering mine from Japan so, though I can't be completely certain, I'd like to get at least a little idea of how the sizing works out.

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