Urban-friendly trail runners

[Cole Crawford]

So I’ve doing a lot of travel recently – hostel backpacking in addition to backcountry backpacking – and my gear purchases have been motivated by whether or not items can serve double duty. Besides remembering that lighter is better for air travel as well as foot travel, aesthetics matter a bit more in town than on the trail. Finding clothing that’s functional but can also be dressed up is important to minimize total travel weight. I haven’t been able to find a good pair of trail runners that can also be used for casual or dress shoes. Ideally I’d love some that are highly breathable, durable, and comfortable, but look like black or brown leather shoes. Most look like a neon billboard. Some are neutral colors but have large logos. Anyone know of any trail runners that fit this description?

[Herbert Sitz]

Off top of my head, I think Montrail Mountain Masochist comes fairly close to what you want, at least pretty close for an actual trail running shoe:

 

 

[Sharon J.]

Altra is now making several of their road-running shoes in a casual in-town style.  You could probably get away with them on-trail (non-technical)

https://www.altrarunning.com/men/instinct-everyday

or amybe Vivo if you don’t need cushioning.

[Kentz Willis]

I really like my altra instinct everyday for casual work and around town wear. Haven’t taken them on a trail and don’t plan to. I don’t think the suede upper would stand up well to trail use.

[Ryan K]

Maybe more minimalist than you’re looking for, but I love my black Merrell Trail Glove 3’s.

http://www.amazon.com/Merrell-Trail-Glove-Running-Black/dp/B00KZOBTDS/

7 oz each.  I backpack and trail run in them, and wear them to work – I’m a teacher, so I don’t need to have leather shoes, but shouldn’t wear loud sneakers, so they’re an acceptable in-between.   I’m interested in trying the even lighter Vapor Gloves at some point as well.  I used to wear black Kigo Drives all the time, to work and backpacking – very minimalist and a little funkier-looking, but super cheap (only $35 now) – I just wanted a little bit more protection.

[Dale Wambaugh]

I’m about to go on a long urban journey and settled on pair of Ecco moc toe leather shoes.

There are many synthetic walking shoes that are nearly as light as trail runners that work for urban travel and blend better with street clothes.

[Pigeon]

Teva might have some options, probably more walking shoes than running shoes. Maybe something like this in brown?

[Cole Crawford]

Those Altras would be perfect if they actually were able to stand up to trail use. Looks like there a lot of options for hiking shoes that look good in urban settings, but not many trail runners. Maybe I’m looking for something that doesn’t exist or am trying to straddle too many uses with one item, but I’d love to have a single pair of shoes that could be used for running, hiking, walking around town, and still look good enough to go out to dinner in.

[Dale Wambaugh]

The running part is the part that is difficult. Walking/hiking/urban is easy.

[Jorge Villalobos]

I used the Merrell All Out Blaze this way for about a year, and, after wearing the soles out, I replaced them with the All Out Blaze Aero Sport (more breathable) about 3 months ago. I travel regularly around the U.S. and Canada, and am currently spending a month in Colombia.

I haven’t found ones that would actually look like “dress” shoes, while retaining all other technical capabilities of trail runners (especially breathability). But these, in the more muted colours (Blaze in “Falcon”, Aero Sport in Black), pair well enough with dark jeans or similar (I wear Outlier’s SDs for everything) and a shirt/blazer. Might be a bit sporty, but I’ve made peace with the fact that you can’t have everything, so it’s a compromise I’m willing to make.

A common alternative is the classic leather boot, but then you’re sacrificing weight and breathability for looks and durability (if it’s a good quality, resoleable boot).

All Out Blaze in Falcon

 

All Out Blaze Aero Sport in Black

[Sharon J.]

What about a dab of fabric paint to cover the logo?  Or if it’s a big sewn-on one, remove it with a seam ripper?

[Cole Crawford]

@Sharon: good ideas – I’m not big on the M(ake/Modify)YOG front but that would definitely help reduce the flashiness of some of the models that are on the border.

@Jorge: I like the look of both of those as well as some of the other Merrell offerings that are a bit more on the casual side – Bask Sol, Traveler Sphere, several of their mocs. Would love to get a pair of the Outlier jeans but haven’t been able to find them on sale anywhere yet and can’t bring myself to drop $200 on a single clothing item that isn’t down.

@Dale: definitely agree. It seems like many urban + hiking options exist, but few that are light / breathable enough to use for running. May just have to throw in a pair of Nike Frees or something else super compressible / minimalist for that.

 

[Stephen M]

I second Montrail, they have a range of runners that look decent enough to wear in town.

[Cole Crawford]

Dug up this link from a travel website that I found a while back: http://snarkynomad.com/finding-the-best-travel-shoes-for-men/. Possibly useful for anyone also interested in this question. Writer came to the same conclusion as Dale:

I think you’re stuck with the 3 shoe scenario if you need running shoes. I’ve never seen running shoes that are nice enough for a restaurant, or dressier shoes that are comfortable enough for running. The good news is that if you’re choosing to go with minimalist running shoes, they’re going to be pretty small, and the same is true for the flip flops, so it won’t be so bad.

[Dale Wambaugh]

Now hold on there! I could see a two shoe scenario, but no need for three. You could have good leather walking shoes that would be okay for hiking plus trail runners. Or the dress shoes could be whatever and do the UL thing and wear the trail runners for hiking and, wonder of wonders, RUNNING :)

Ecco makes their Biom series shoes that are on the leather sneaker side of things, but with a good Vibram-like sole at would be fine for day hikes. Clark is another brand that comes to mind.

[Jorge Villalobos]

@cole yeah, the SDs are pricey. They’ve been great, not gonna lie—only pair I’ve worn almost daily for about 2 years now, and look like new, so the hype is valid. But if they ever die, I may give the Prana Brions a try next, as they’re about 1/3rd the cost.

[Cole Crawford]

@Dale – I think the third shoes he’s mentioning are flip flops. A light pair of flip flops are pretty useful for hostel showers, beach, etc.

[Justin Baker]

Why do you think the altras wouldn’t stand up to trail use?

I don’t see why you need to get a different pair of shoes. All of the shoes mentioned look ugly. Athletic style shoes look fine and normal in a city. A pair of stylish running/training shoes would look more appropriate for someone your age than black leather shoes.

[Dale Wambaugh]

I guess flip flops are okay :)

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