Hoka - Rocket X Trail

Look at the width of the base of the shoe. That thing is going to be perfectly stable for anyone that has an ounce of skill. Looks like a pretty damn good 50/100mile shoe for everything except hella muddy terrain.

It's not for technical trails at all, but pops at fast paces on packed dirt and gravel. Lugs are small so they can't handle mud that well. A solid shoe for a non technical half marathon or shorter race.

You also need to be on the lighter side. I'm 180 and bottomed out the plate at faster paces. I need a stiffer plate for this to work for me. Side note I test shoes for Hoka..so I had a fair amount of miles on them.

I got a sneak peak pair and they are incredibly fun to run in. Feel fast and responsive and very comfortable. My trails are not technical. I highly recommend and might buy a pair as well so I can rotate my pairs into the future. There are also cool aesthetic details on the shoes and the lugs.

Not gonna lie. Tried this shoe on and I absolutely love it. Will be buying this week

I’ve switched almost entirely to trail runners including on a lot,of rugged terrain. I did find that when I was using Hokas that I had an increased tendency to roll my ankle after about ten miles. I like the padding, but have found lower drop shoes to be better for this. Altras are good, but I destroy them in about 300 miles. Trying Topos right now. Not as padded, but low drop with a wide toe box and they seem to be holding up better.

Trail runner will be fine. I was talking to a guy recently that said the AT requires real boots. But even by his argument, trail runners will be fine. The thing with trail runners is when you are tired, it is easier to roll your ankle. I have only found this to be a concern when I was using Hoka. Altras and Topos have less to zero drop and they don’t have this occur for me. Though Altras kind of suck for durability (expect 300 miles unless they fixed things). And Topos have less padding and are not as comfortable.