I like Topo a lot in general, but for off-trail I have a preference for the Bushido III Wide which is much more enjoyable than any other Sportiva shoe. I wear the same size in them as Topo and they fit toes better than my upsized Mutants and Akashas did.
Ive used trail runners for years now. I will, just to clarify add that I do have a lot of mountain running experience also. That gives ankle strength and experience in lightweight footwear on rough ground. But heres my thoughts
I actually struggle to walk in boots. My ankle moves like an ankle should. Even lightweight boots make me stumble about like some special case. On my ML assessment I wore some boots a customer broke an eyelet off of in the shop I was working at. I had to unlace them around the ankle. The assessor noted I was moving better.
On top of that, knee deep bogs, river crossings, torrential rain. None of it is an issue. Walk through it all and in no time, minutes even, the water is out and you forget your feet are wet. Gore tex holds the water in the boot. Gives a horrid sloshy cold feeling. River crossings in Scotland, no messing about with wet boots or taking boots on and off all the time to wade.
I use poles a lot. With boots you can kind of switch off and walk with ankle support. With trail runners you have to watch the ground more. Poles have allowed me to catch myself if I do turn an ankle, catching myself on my other foot is kind of instinctual now.
Just the weight saving on your feet is a bloody good reason to skip boots.
Thicker socks in winter and you'll be suprised how warm your feet will stay. Darn Tough are ace socks. I've used runners year round. Be aware that some running shoes have large areas of lamination or leather. That will hold water in. Compare something like the upper of a La Sportiva Mutant compared to a Hoka Speedgoat. The Mutant will drain instantly compared to a speedgoat.
Comments relating to waterproof socks.
Dexshell are the best it seems and very highly regarded by the Winter Spine racers, but keep your toenails clipped right back. After a week of solid use, they're done. If water goes over the top of the sock, you're back to square one. Wet feet and water trapped inside your sock. I have used them and loved them, also used them and felt like they were a pain in the arse. I generally use them in my approach shoes on mountain rock climbs and scrambles.
Im currently hiking around the UK and using a pair of La Sportiva Akasha's. Great shoes, not the stickiest rubber in spotivas line up but not the hardest. Steer clear of Scott runners. Unless they changed their rubber compound because my Supertrac RC II's were phenomenal in the dry. Up there with my approach shoes. But in the wet, the became the superdeaths
Hi there,
I run in Prodigio Pro and I would not buy them for hiking. They are too racy, meaning a bit narrow, the sole shows magic when you run faster etc.
Akasha 2, Saucony Pergerine, Prodigio 2 are all better choices. I use Pergerines for the more techical hikes and Akashas for long, easier trails.
Love prodigio pro for the actual running.
La Sportiva Akasha ii are my do it all shoes. Bushidos just don’t last very long for me, maybe 200mi before the outsole is worn almost flat and there is no grip. Akasha lasts forever.
I have run 10+ hours on trabuco 13s. In very technical high altitude terrain. Wide, cushioned enough without being soft so they work well on technical terrain, rock plate, and one of the best grips in the market. The upper is quite poor, in 250km in rough terrain the shoe looks awful, but still in use. Asics sent me a replacement pair.
I tried lots of pairs looking for that long technical race. Nothing really was so confortable so I ended with my trusted trabucos. Maybe a v11 or v12 will work better in high mountain races, more durable upper and better lug pattern for rocky terrain, but less runnable.
Pairs I tried, and ditched for not being wide/confortable enough to my foot:
Mafate 4 speed,
Topo MTN racer 3,
Sportiva akasha 2,
Salomon génesis (and slab genesis),
Hierro v9,
Zegama 2 (wide enough, but doesn't work for anything really technical, I use them for easy runs),
Tomir 2.0 (weird sensation with the insoles)
Lowish stack, good grip outsole and not too soft.
I have a quite difficult foot and not much shoes fit me well. I use to take for this kind of races trabuco 11 and 13. I would try tomir 2.0, akasha 2, trabuco, mafate speed 4/speedgoat, slab genesis, Topo MTN racer.
This year im running 45km +4.000m in high mountain very technical terrain and im thinking to try the mount to coast T1. Last year I did a similar one, 43km +3.700m/-4.000m with the trabuco 13s and quite happy with them, i ended with "fresh" legs.
I had same problem with speedgoat 6 wide and Topo mtn racer 3, among other lot of shoes. Mafate speed 4s are a little wider/more volume than the speedgoats if you want to try hoka. I dont run on them more than 3 hours because they still feel narrow to me and cant size up more.
Shoes that fit me well and could work for runnable with some technical sections:
Asics trabuco 13s: My do it all shoe. From runnable to really technical, the upper gets ripped of easy. Not tall, not too soft but still cuishioned. I have run on them 10+ hours race in very technical high altitude terrain.
Asics fujilite: If you are not heavy they could work. I use them for shorter racers and high intensity workouts. Very confortable, but dont have a rockplate and you could feel too much ground if the terrain is rocky.
Merrel agility peak 5: Easy running and can handle some technical sections. Dont know if the 6 fits in the same way.
Nike Zegama 2: Confortable for easy to moderate terrain. Too soft for really technical stuff in my opinion. Fits nice.
Sportiva Akasha 2 and tomir 2: Maybe not the best for the runnable sections, but nice on the technical ones. They are roomy and confortable.
I havent tried them but thinking of getting a pair of mount to coast T1 for this years big objetives. They are supposed to be roomy and confortable for long races.
I went from trabuco 11, to 12 and now 13. They feel wide and roomy, and too squishy what I like when power hiking a lot. The outsole and the shoe itself is more running oriented than in 12 and 11, but still confortable. Haven't try the 14s, but they keep doing it less and less technical and more running oriented.
With this fit I also liked agility peak 5, zegama 2s (they are very soft), Sportiva akasha 2.
Topos MTN racer 3 if the arch fits you looks nice, too narrow for me.
I know, but haven't tried myself, Inov8 fit is quite wide and confortable.
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.
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