wide(er) light weight trail runners?

New Balance?

I have a pair of New Balance 110's that I love. I also have a problem with shoes being too narrow. I ordered the 2e last and have been very happy with them. I will be ordering another pair soon. They are both lightweight and have a 4mm drop, which is a plus for me as I like "barefoot style" shoes.

Vivobarefoots are wicked wide, but they're minimalist. Not sure if you're into that, but I've never felt a wider shoe in my size.

to be completely honest im really new to backpacking. not totally new to minimalist footwear, but i cant really grasp too much of a comparison because i have havent hiked much minimally as an adult. i run alot at the gym. usually wear size 10.5 nike free runs. once i started to really look into what im doing here i realized this isnt going down with nike frees.

i need somthing that can handle terrain. im not totally opposed to minimal, im kind of for it, im just scared for my feet. i want to be able to dry as quick as possible and still have some sort of comfort. and i dont think completely flat shoe could work for me.

i have a huge trip planned across the country and the brunt on the backpacking will be august in utah, and colorado.

As I think I mentioned somewhere else recently, I have very wide feet and even when I wear 4Es I have to size up to what is technically almost 2 sizes above what my foot length might require – in other words clown shoe territory. So I feel your pain. Too narrow or short however is far, far worse than too long or wide. For long distance hiking the stakes are also much higher, so try to ere on the size of too large.

New Balance is a great, probably the best, source for many different widths in most of their shoes, and they have a ton of models. They have 2E and 4E widths for a lot of their shoes. If you use their home pages you can search by width, as well as size and other features you care about and get a complete list to check out.

I suggest you try out a pair of reasonably inexpensive 2Es or 4Es in your size and go from there. NB has lots of supporting models. If much of your hiking in Utah is going to be on slickrock you might especially want have a sacrificial pair – one of the few case where the outsoles may wear out before the uppers.

And watch out for those minimalist folks, they are constantly trying to recruit into their cult, with their funny robes, incense and (nearly) bare feet.

Look at Brooks Cascadia they come in wide widths.

I recently purchased a pair of the Brooks Cascadia 7 based on some really good reviews. While not being specified in wide widths they do tend to run wide and can be tightened up towards the top to prevent heel slip. My usual width is 2E and then I size up by 1/2. If you can get over the bright colors then I would recommend the Brooks as a somewhat light yet comfortable trail shoe. I cannot attest to how quickly they dry as of yet. New balance has also been my choice in the past.

I seem to remember a post on here not to long back by someone who was trail running and searching for a wider shoe as well. Might want to try and search that out. I think he settled on a model by Pearl Izumi, maybe the N2, but I could be wrong.

New Balance go to 6E in a few models.

Cheers

I do believe that New Balance MT110s had a wide version of the shoe. They are super light but maybe too light for rugged terrain. My wife wears her WT110s backpacking and doesn't seem to find this problematic. Durability wise, my wife has blow through the side of 3-4 pair of WT101s from trail running. I believe they widened up the toe-box a little in the WT110s. I find the mesh top to be a little thin for my liking but these are the tradeoffs for such light shoes. Great drainage on these shoes if you plan on walking through water or in rainy conditions.

See if there is a New Balance store in your area. These are the kind of shoes that you want to try on before you buy.

Good luck!

The new Pearl Izumi line has a wide footbox. Several of the Montrail line are super high volumes as well. I bought up 8 pairs of their Sabino a couple years ago.