Cascadia 13

Fellow Pennsylvanian here... and this struggle is real! I'm somewhat in the same boat as you as I've been trying to find shoes that are protective against the rocks and roots of our region while also being durable enough to get your money's worth out of the shoes. Here's my progression of footwear over the past 5-7 years or so along with some insights you can take as suggestions. None of these options are zero drop though except the Merrell trail gloves. Adidas Terrex - Pros: good coushion, plenty of padding and protection against rocks. Cons: not wide enough for my feet and they changed the cut of the heel stabilizer to be too high. Merrell Trail Glove - Pros: out of box comfort and very light. Cons: not at all good on rocks. Asics Gel Venture - Pros: out of box comfort and good tread. Cons: not durable, not wide enought, bad quality control. Merrell Moab Speed 1 - Pros: great durability of shoe body, available in wide sizes, and sufficient protection against rocks. Cons: tread is not durable. However, this is probably my favorite trail runner and I wish it was still in production. Its a 500 mile shoe with 300 mile tread. Brooks Cascadia 13 and 15 - Pros: quality tread and good rock protection. Cons - not as wide as I'd like in their 2E size and the heel lock fabric deteriorated quickly causing blisters on my heel. New Balance Hierro V7 - Pros: good coushion and heel support. Cons - that damn flappy thing on the heel, lack of padding in the tongue, durability. Brooks Cascadia 16 - Pros: great rock plate, awesome tread, and wider toebox in 2E size. Cons - shit quality. Regardless, I went through 3 pairs and just dropped the 3rd in the trash after hiking up Old Rag in Shennandoah a week ago. 500 mile tread on a 250 mile shoe body that is not worth the cost. Merrell Moab Speed 2 - Pros - lightweight and PA approved rock plate. Cons - durability and the redesign in general. Wore these on a 260 mile section hike and they messed up my feet and gave me blisters on top of my toes. Was fully refunded though. Merrell Nova 4 - arrives in the mail today in advance of a 120 mile AT section in central Va in a couple of weeks. Might move onto Topo Terraventures or Ultraventures next.

I ran through the winter in New England, and I did fine with Brooks Cascadia with goretex and ankle gaiters, along with kahtoola exospikes. My feet generally stay pretty warm, so insulation wasn’t necessary.

Same here I got the last year model cascadia gortex on sale and they have been a hell of a solid trail shoe and the gortex keeps me dry and warm even during my Canadian winter

I got a pair of Brook’s trail runners that already had goretex. You could check to see if they have any at their outlet store in Bothell. Otherwise, I have put nikwax on a pair of hiking boots in the past to make them more water-resistant.

I wear my Brooks trail running shoes when the course is wet. They are Gore-Tex, so great for wet turf, but still let my feet breathe, unlike some waterproof golf shoes.