Trail Glove 5 3D

After wearing my Merrell TG5 to the point where the outsoles were basically smooth and the uppers had multiple tears, I finally switched to a new pair of shoes - the Xero HFS II. I figured with the similar stack height, it might be a spiritual successor of sorts to the TG5. Other than a couple of times wearing them casually when brand new to get used to them, they have only been used for running and I've put about 200 miles on them so far. I'd say it's probably 70% pavement and 30% trails, including a 23 mile trail run this morning. I got these for my trail 50K coming up in October, but don't always run the trail (obviously). I can easily run there from home on my long run days, but not worth it for my shorter runs (<10 miles). The structure of the shoe is holding up very well. Not issues with any pressure points or holes where the toe bends. They're not the widest shoes out there, but completely comfortable for my foot shape and size. No issues with hot spots or rubbing. I tend to wear my shoes loose enough that I don't need to untie/tie them, but just slip them on. They're still plenty secure for running, including at 5K race and marathon tempo pace (8:00-ish per mile and 9:40-ish per mile, respectively). I do tighten them when doing sprint/interval training though as there is a little slippage if I don't. I got white b/c it was on sale at [Sierra.com](http://Sierra.com) and super cheap ($40). Don't get white. Between the sweat and dirt/dust, the mesh upper is a gross grayish-brown. I will oxyclean them at some point, but it's gross right now. Sidenote - you may have noticed the insoles sticking out of the shoes in the picture. I always remove the insoles to let them dry faster. Helps minimize odors. Trust me, it works. The outsoles are wearing very well, or not very much. I really think this is largely a form issue more than anything else, although my relatively light weight (155lb) does factor in. You can see that the wear is pretty minimal after a couple hundred miles. It definitely baffles me when people report shoes wearing smooth after 50-75 miles. I have to believe there is a lot of friction (twisting, braking, dragging, etc.) being introduced due to poor running form. Including my upcoming race, I should put on another 200-215 miles on these shoes. I'll do a 400 mile update, if anyone is interested. tl;dr - the HFS II is a fine long distance running shoe and, given proper form, the outsoles look like they will last a good long while.

In my experience, I found the HFS II sizing to be on the small size, despite what their website says. I bought my normal size and it was snug. I went up half size and it felt better in every dimension. I do agree that it is a little lower volume than my trail gloves (I had the 1, 3, and 5), but still comfortable with loose lacing. Looking forward to the next 200!

Im looking for an alternative to altra mt king 2, stack between 1-2 cm but not 5 cm stack? the merrell trail is to narrow for me but other than that pretty perfect with a firm and rather low stack.

Topo Pursuit has replaced Lone Peak for me. I felt Altra's quality has drastically declined and Topo is a good alternative. I am mostly a Merrell Trail Glove person these days, Pursuit is the one trail shoe I own that's not barefoot style.

I did "One Shoe(s)" for a while, but don't anymore. Merrell Trail Gloves in black are my primary travel shoes. If you're not a minimalist shoe fan (you should be, but that's a different cult and sub 😄), pick something from your list, I'd reco you aim at black for dressing up (a bit...they will never be super dressy). HOWEVER - after the one time my Merrells got wet, didn't dry, and went full funk, smell-able from the next country over, I was convinced to always travel with some ultralight and packable backups just in case. Cheap "sock shoes" from Amazon (go with black) are my current go-tos for that. They double as airplane slippers and pack super small and light. Something like the pic, or find some that work better for your feet. I've also carried ultra-light water socks at times as my backup pair. Being adapted to minimalist shoes means I can actually do a lot of walking around town in these types of things if the need arises, but even if that's not you, you can certainly get to/from the airport or store or whatever you need to do that day - without blowing out the entire planetary neighborhood with mutant shoe funk in your main pair (which are now wrapped in double plastic bags in your one bag until you can wash them in a "sanitize" cycle a few times). See the pic for an example, but search for "water shoe", "water sock", "sock shoes", etc. Buy 4-5 cheap pairs, see which ones work best for your feet, pack the best compromise of small+light+happy feet. https://preview.redd.it/qhcojee6fx5h1.png?width=466&format=png&auto=webp&s=7775fad8d14a67c377316104ba6e0bf0dea228cd

I’ve always been a fast hiker but I could never make the trail gloves work because of the impact. Well now I’m 57 and having heart issues so I need to learn to slow down. I found that my old trail gloves are now the perfect shoe. I focus on gliding at 80% and they feel like dance shoes.