Arc'teryx - Sylan Pro

Arc’teryx Sylan Pro. Monster of a midsole and rocker geometry and they feel like road race shoes. Upsetting ankle stability so they’d be perfect on a trail like this

I was given a pair and ran around 100 miles in them and found them to ultimately be too unstable and uncomfortable. Different shoes work for different people, so I’m sure others have had different experiences, but these were ultimately a hard pass for me.

My take, Arc shorts (Incendio) are awesome. Favourite shorts personally (7inch). I also have a superlight weight Arc merino t shirt for running which has been a comfortable alternate to all the synthetic I have. Can’t recall the model. I’ve had two pair of their shoes, the OG Norvan, and more recently the Sylan. OG Norvan was good, Sylan was a very different shoe, quite unique, a little stiff with a little of rocker and a bit unstable. Would not recommend. I’ve mostly run in Salomon, and would choose both their shoes and their Hydration vest over Arc, but greatly prefer Arc’s apparel (including Norvan jacket). Also, I just got my first Norda’s, and to me they’re the Arc or shoes. Premium material, great fit (for my feet) and look great. The durability on feel and upper so fair have been really strong.

The MTN is roomy and i also like it. The reason why i ended up mostly running in the Kjerag is mid foot lock down. For whatever reason in the Topos i simply couldnt get my feet totally locked in on very steep techy downhills. They are great for me on mellow rolling trails and whatnot but for whatever reason my foot and the shoe just couldnt come to agreement on steep downhills. The Kjerag is light and feels like it has zero padding but my foot doesnt move once its in the shoe and so by default it became my go-to. Recently, i have found success w/the Arcteryx Sylan Pro, though. Excellent foot lock down **and** some actual soft feel underfoot. Thats been nice.

I love the arcteryx sylan pros. They are like the Goldilocks shoe for me. The prodigio pros are well liked but I didn't get the lockdown I needed. 

Fit is so so so subjective, so I wouldn’t worry too much about what anyone else says in this regard. Where are you getting the blisters? Toes? Arch? Heel? I’m a fan of a larger lug and I am constantly amazed by how ill equipped many of my fellow UK runners appear to be at autumn/winter race start lines. 5mm feels like a minimum for me but those shoes are harder to find these days as brands all surge towards the middle ground/gravel/door-to-trail. I’m afraid I don’t have many answers for you! I have recently enjoyed the Arcteryx Sylan Pro (currently on a mega deal on the Arcteryx Outlet website as they have been discontinued…), very good grip, nice shape to the midsole (rockered), super tough and durable. They are a little heavy but they fit my foot perfectly so am willing to pay that tax.

this might be unpopular, but get a good pair of trail runners for hiking. i currently wear the Sylan Pro Shoe by Arcteryx and they’re great. i’ve also had multiple pairs of Hoka trail runners and i’ve never had issues with blisters. my boyfriend has a pair of Altra trail runners because he has wide feet and he loves them!

My friend and I ran the whole trail a few weeks ago and both used trail runners: I wore the Arc'teryx Sylan and he had the Nnormal Tomir. We didn't have heavy packs, but I would not use hiking boots on the TCT given how warm the island is and how little technicality the trail has. Enjoy! [https://www.strava.com/activities/14782948235](https://www.strava.com/activities/14782948235)

Arc’teryx Sylan, nearly perfect for almost all conditions aside from deep winter. 

Trail Rotation: Norda 01, La Sportivia Prodigio Pro, Mount to Coast T1 Treadmill: Mount to Coast R1 Tried & Didn’t Like: Arteryx Sylan Pro, Speedlands GTX

I am going to challenge you on this - the Arcteryx shoes use the exact same outsole compound as the Nordas - Vibram Megagrip Lite-Base. As for tread pattern, that's very much terrain dependent and personal preference - so it's really subjective. For the record, I have and love many pairs of Nordas. I also have and love many pairs of Arcteryx shoes. I run primary in the Coast Mountains of Canada and both of those shoes perform very well in that region. I think that the durability of the Nordas is unmatched - you're absolutely correct, but I also think that the durability of the LD3, LD4, Sylans are very good. I have run many hundreds of KM ( I do keep close track of my milage for each shoe) with various pairs of Arcteryx shoes and I have had no major issues beyond normal wear and tear. I guess I just get frustrated by this narrative that Arcteryx shoes are "bad". They may be bad for you, but they are not bad for me. And they are not bad for many others.

This is my first time getting arcteryx shoes, I’ve never had my feet be in such pristine shape after an ultra !

My other ultras I had to change shoes half way through because I was getting horrible blisters and even in the shoes I changed into by the end my nails were black and I was full of blisters. A lot is from my toes hitting the front of my toes on down hill on high elevation races. Unfortunately due to my foot shape it’s harder for me as I have very narrow feet but a few very long toes lol so it’s hard to find a shoe where im not sliding around in but where my toes also arent slamming into the front. I had zero blisters this time and it was a very very wet race where my feet were soaked the entire time. I also have had very bad Achilles tendonitis for years and it would be flared after long runs and these have a great heel drop and cushion that I find my persistent injuries don’t flare up. You’re very lucky you don’t have shoe or foot issues because I think that’s not very common!

I was between these and norda when I tried them in the store but norda just felt not right on my feet sadly

Really roomy but not in a way where they feel big, historically I’ve gotten extra narrow shoes so I usually avoid a wide toe box but these are perfect there’s absolutely no hitting the front or sides with my toes yet they feel secure

I have persistent tendonitis issue and find the foam super helpful for me but it does add to some instability on technical trails. But thank you!!

This! I couldn’t believe how unscathed my feet were. The ultra I did in Canmore over the weekend got a huge unexpected dump of snow and it unexpectedly became a very snowy, muddy, wet race where my feet were technically soaked the entire time but my feet weren’t cold and I had not a single blister. Even my hands had blisters from my poles but none on my feet. Last time I did that race in my Solomon’s in non-snow dry ground my feet were destroyed

Interesting! I have very long narrow feet and had to size down for these . I have been using them on technical trails with high elevation and been okay, really have had issues with any other shoe I’ve tried.