altra mont blanc BOA has been my favorite shoe. maybe thinking about getting the timps boa when they run out, not a huge fan of the colorways though. still debating snagging some speedlands. need that BOA
I only run mountains and I wear altar mt blanc boas. I also where the regular my blancs. I’ll keep buying them used and third party to the work supple runs dry.
Terrain is what determines shoe. What course? Also this is a WILD time to consider fresh shoes. When is the race?
For Rocky and technical (courses like Broken Arrow 46k in Tahoe or most of trail stuff you see in places like PA): I wear things like LaSportiva Mutants or Lycans (RIP). Its a trade off with the slimmer last they are built on for the control in heavily rocky terrain, definitely keeping it under 50 miles for my feet in those models.
For buffed out west coast trails: something like the altra mount blanc
Road component?: anything over 5 miles on road and I am going for a mixed terrain shoe or the Mount to Coast H1.
Logging roads (gravel): mount to coast H1 or altra olympus with gaiters.
Road: altra via olympus 2
Winter/cold water?: LaSportiva Cyclin GTx
I personally wear non-waterproof Altra trail runners for hiking in the snow, with a pair of Kahtoola micro spikes for icy conditions.
It’s been ages since I’ve been on to San Jacinto, so I can’t advise on that specifically.
For *most* hiking in NorCal, trail runners are great. We are rarely hiking in mud, snow, sand or rain. Most trains are hard packed dirt or granite, and at least during three seasons, it can stay pretty warm except in the highest of locations.
Ymmv but if you haven’t tried them, I would suggest doing so for a summer, but avoid Altra unless you know for a fact you like zero drop. Those broke me.
I have hobbit feet (hella wide with high arches) so finding non-Altra shoes that fit is hell. But I’ve had good luck with New Balance Hierros, Saucony Peregrines, and Brooks Cascadias.
Hokas are far too narrow for me but they’re probably the most common shoe you’ll see in the backcountry nowadays. Topo are def coming up and seem to be well built.
And if you want something with some features of more robust hiking shoe but with a trail runner profile, look at Scarpa, La Sportiva, VJ, or Inov8
Top Trail Running Shoes on Reddit
1
Mount to Coast
H1
85% positive of 177 users
Versatile road-to-trail, but struggles on wet, technical downhills.
fuzzy_cola
