Purchasing trail runners (where to buy)

[Dylan Atkinson]

I'm in the market for trail runners and I've stopped by REI and tried on a few (La Sportiva Wildcat and Raptors, Vasque, Brooks, Salomon) with little success on fit. I try to avoid REI if I can – where do you folks purchase your shoes? Bonus: any of you in the Bay Area have a place other than REI?

[Ralph Wood]

I like to buy my running gear from the guys at Arch Rival in Mill Valley. There's another store in, Corte Madera and in San Anselmo as well.

I have really wide feet and the Salomon XA Pro 3d ultra's are what I use for technical trail running and as my backpacking shoes.

Asics for beach and road running.

Arch Rival really helped me dial in my proper size and fit.

[Bruce LaBelle]

The Bay Area (assuming your Bay Area location refers to the SF Bay Area not one of the others around the nation) has several stores that carry trail runners. Here are two that I'm familiar with and know they have a good selection: San Francisco Running Company in Marin has an large selection. Brett, the owner, has won the Quad Dipsea and has some national caliber ultra runners on his staff who are very knowledgeable about running gear. The store is near Tennessee Valley, so it's worth a trip to the area for a trail run or hike whether or not you stop by the store to look for shoes. If you're near the Peninsula, Zombie Runner in Palo Alto has a very large selection. It's especially worth a visit if you like high-quality coffee – they are one of the few running gear companies that has an in-store coffee bar.

Bruce

[Sharon J.]

There's transports http://www.transportsrunswim.com/ in Berkeley/Oakland

[Daryl and Daryl]

Big 5 Sporting Goods sales. Typically pay about $40-50 for some type of New Balance or Hitec (spelling?).

[Dylan Atkinson]

Bruce,

I am indeed referring to the SF Bay Area.

Thanks all for your suggestions – exactly what I was looking for!

[jh]

Hi Dylan,

I have no idea where they are sold in the Bay Area, but I have noticed lots of good reviews of Altra shoes (such as the Lone Peak) on here. They seem to be well-suited to PCT-like conditions.

Edit: This is one location from Altra's website:
http://community.sportsbasement.com/stores/bryant-street/

[Dylan Atkinson]

Jacob,

Sports Basement is a few blocks from my house :)

I'm off!

[Ethan A.]

Bruce, Zombierunner is a great store for seeing and handling a lot of different trail shoes in one place, and they make great coffee, but only one down side – they have very little inventory in terms of sizes. I've never once been able to try on the few shoes I picked out in my size – often they'll just have one model in my correct size. To keep cost/risk down they seem to carry little inventory.

So definitely worth a visit to see/handle the shoes, but call ahead to see if they have your size. Also generally great running advice.

[Author]

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