Another Trail-Running Shoe Recommendation Thread

La sportiva akasha

It sounds as though Altra Lone Peaks might suit you. Definitely wide(!) in the forefoot, with a relatively normal fit through the rest of the shoe. The outsole has relatively aggressive lugs. They are moderate-high cushion. Plenty of mesh. They are zero drop, which is not for everyone. I’ve only had mine for a few weeks, and haven’t had the chance to try them out on any proper tracks, but there are plenty of reviews out there.

I must say I question your need for a wide shoe if you fit Salomon and Sportiva, they are two brands known for being relatively narrow! Perhaps it’s those models in particular that are wider, but I know I have tried shoes from both brands and found them too narrow up front.

Good luck with whatever you end up with!

Andrew,

I’ve tried the Akasha several times this spring, and while I really wanted to like them, they just felt too narrow for me.

Alex,

I tried a version of the Altra Lone Peaks about three years ago. Can’t quite remember the version now (I see they have a few different ones now…?). I also can’t recall the exact issue with them, but I do recall them not feeling right, out of the box immediately. You bring up a valid point with the Salomon and La Sportiva. The first thing to wear, and puncture prematurely, on the both of those brands have been the outside of my forefoot. If I have a productive backpacking season, I can’t make it the entire summer without buying two different pairs of shoes.

I switched over from Altra Lone Peaks to NB Leadville V3 recently.  Have you tried lacing with a heel lock?  Seems to help me a lot on them.

Hi WISNER!

What do you think of the cushioning of the Altra Lone Peak vs the NB Leadville V3.  I tried both at a shoe store and was worried about the zero drop so I went with the NB, and sometimes it feels great – like a cushioned moccasin, and other times I feel like I need more cushioning.  I wear custom orthotics – in all my shoes, so I need shoes that have the cushioning in the shoe – not the insole that I remove/replace.

Previously I had some Hoka OneOne (Stinson I think?), but they were too narrow in the toe box.

I’ve had two pairs of Lone Peaks, the 2.0 and 3.0.  This is my first pair of Leadvilles…but I’ve run in many other NB models for a long time.

I think the Altras start out feeling really good…but their overall quality isn’t that high; I feel like they’re still figuring it out.  Sole rubber started peeling from the toes at about 100 miles and cushioning seemed to disappear (bottomed out) quickly as well.  I feel like they’re not using the best quality foam; it seems to lose its structure quickly.  At least that was my experience.  The heel cup also completely fell apart in about 200 miles, no structure left whatsoever.  So they just feel sloppy now.

I feel like NB is using a firmer foam, has better structure, and is built better overall.  I may be wrong, but I expect to get much more mileage out of the Leadvilles than I did the Lone Peaks.

The heel lock lacing was attempted several times, but to no avail.

Saucony Peregrine 6 or 7 sound like one you should try, I have the Akasha’s and the Leadville’s and they are wider in the toe box and have mesh uppers good traction 4mm drop, I am a woman and wear the men’s and I don’t have a problem with the heal.

Thanks for the fresh recommendation! I just ordered the Peregrine 7’s on Zappos to try on. It sounds like the prevailing thought is to move up a half size.

I went trough a couple of pairs of Altra Lone Peaks (2.5 & 3.0) and found that as mentioned above, the cushioning tended give up and bottom out pretty quickly. The uppers let go before the cushioning on the 2.5’s and the opposite happened on the 3.0’s.

After the 3.0’s died quicker than I felt they should have, I tried a pair of Leadville v3’s. Fit was really good, except the heel. I always felt it could lock down a bit better. On the v3’s I had there was no extra eyelet to the rear for doing a heel lock with the laces. I fixed this by heating up a smallish nail and melting a new hole aft of the last factory hole. Helped out a lot and made the heel fit better than it had before. Not perfect, but a lot better than out of the box.

When the Leadvilles had about 150 miles on them I started researching my next pair of shoes and decided to give the Topo Terraventures a try. First run the stock insoles wouldn’t stay put. I ended up putting some double stick tape on the bottom and that helped. Overall they’ve been pretty vanilla. Not 0 drop, but pretty low at 3. Durability is good, overall a good shoe but not sure I’d buy another pair. I’ll probably give the Altra LP 3.5’s a shot to see if they have managed to get the cushioning figured out or  I’ll give the NB Vazee Summit Trail V2’s a shot. My road shoes are NB Vazee Pace V2’s and I like them a lot so maybe the Vazee Trails will work out for me..

Thanks Jake … Ordered those Topo Terraventure’s and am going to try those as well.

I have about 30+ trail miles on my new Terraventures and I like them so far. Please note that they have a minimal sole and you WILL feel some soreness in your feet on long hikes/runs. Let your feet adapt slowly and you should be fine.

They are slightly more cushioned than the Topo Athletic Oterros (now discontinued).

RE the TerraVentures – I’ve put about 130 miles on mine since I got them the second weekend of April this year. The first outing I broke them in with a 21 mile loop with about 6,000′ of gain/loss over the course of the loop. Lots of wetness from rain showers the night before and about 6 creek crossings. Other than having to stop every now and then and un-bunch the insoles they were great.

No hot spots or anything else. The soles are a bit on the thinner side, but not as thin as say the Altra Superior. On the plus side, the Topo’s do have a rock plate which helps out a bit. Overall they’ve been a solid shoe and the cushioning is still holding up where by this time with the LP 3.0’s the cushioning was already on the way out.

I’ve run on INOV-8s for years now and loved them. I recently bought the Altra Lone Peak 3.5 after hearing good reviews. The are very comfortable but a little sloppy.  In the Altra series I’d go with King MT.

I’d recommend the INOV-8 Roclite 305 or 290. Toe guard and grippy rubber. They just reintroduced the Trailroc series so the 285 is an option too.

Good luck.

So I knew almost immediately that the TOPO Terraventure’s wern’t going to work based on the wide heel cup. They reminded me of the Altra’s. Back to REI.

I also ordered the Saucony Peregrine 7’s and while I really wanted them to work, (especially with the badass outsole lug pattern), they had just a liiiiiiiitle bit too much play in the heel, even after I tried the heel lock lacing pattern on them. Back to Zappos.

I had a moment of panic yesterday as I have a seven day trip to the Weminuche coming up Friday and my last Wildcat 3.0’s are absolutely trashed after last weekends trip. I went to a local yuppy sports store and tried on some Brooks Cascadia 12’s. Fit like a glove and felt exactly how the New Balance shoes did (for me) about four years ago. I’m a little skeptical of the beefy-ness of the toe guard and outsole, but remain optimistic that this could be a good option for some years to come.