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Reddit Reviews
Also could Size down from norda and Nike f. E . I like the 3s, needed something plush After 800km in nb Trail mores 3s, which are one of the highest plush Trainers when I remember right..
Beautiful fam! Have you had a chance to compare them to the More Trail V3? They seem to compare to one another (big ole stack trail runners). I have a More Trail but have been eyeballing the Trabuco Max since I'm a huge Asics fan.
I ran SpeedGoats for a few Spartan's and initially loved them, until I did my first Beast. Just not enough cushion there for me for those long miles. I went with the Hoka Stinson 7's and a pair of New Balance More Trail V3's. Both help my knees and feet make it to the end.
The Hierro v9 has a two-layer midsole and provides an excellent level of comfort, but the sole is made for trails with Vibram Megagrip, which means they grip really well but the caveat is that it is a soft rubber and if used on hard surfaces it will wear out quickly. If you can find the New Balance X More Trail v3, you'll be better served because the sole is still Vibram but with a more durable compound.
After reading through your post and responses, I can confidently say that you and I have identical problems. Altras don't last 100 miles in the Vegas desert. Topos high arch killed me. Inov8 was fine but felt lacking in the plushiness department. Hokas never stood a chance of fitting for both volume and width. You're doing mega miles so I can assume that you want max cushion. I present to you the New Balance More Trail V3. These things feel like trampolines, not in a bouncy way but rather a cushion/suspension sort of feel. They come in D, 2E, and 4E width options, the 4E being my choice. They are true to size in that width. The problem is that NB refuses to respond to my questions about why they seem to be phased out. They were only just released a few years ago. You can only find limited sizes at online stores which leaves me to finding them on Ebay, which I do. Due to their rarity, I do my shorter runs in the NB Hierro V9. This shoe took a drastic departure from the V8 in adding what feels like twice the cushion. It's almost to the point of the More Trail V3, but not quite. They come in a 4E width which fits me well. I highly suggest checking both of those options out. I was hesitant at first because NB isn't known for wide shoes, but they really do make them. Oh, and my feet are shaped like paddles. In fact, I think Altra's "original fit" is just a photo of my foot.
I’m in the v3 right now, which I like. But, I wish it handled the mud a bit better. I’m wondering if these have a bit deeper lugs on them?
I love everything about the V3 except I couldn't ever get a great heel lock. How do these fare in that regard?
The New Balance More Trail v3 was pretty perfect and was easily found for $100 but they discontinued it. No plate but it was great energy return. The Hierro v9 is a cross between the v3 and the hierro v8 but they dropped some of the shock absorption. Go on RunRepeat, they now have a Shock Absorption (SA) and Energy Return metric, on the graphs they provide for the metric you can click on the column and see all the shoes. So you can click on the higher energy return shoes and cross reference them to the high shock absorption shoes and then look at the price. The biggest issue is that they have only tested a subset of shoes.
The more a shoe is a tight (race) fit the more likely I have this happen. I don’t think sizing up would help those type of shoes. For example I can run in the New Balance Supercomp Trail for 14-15 miles if steep but I couldn’t do that same run the next day because those shoes are very hard on the toes. But I could do any steepness in the New Balance More Trail v3, which has a bit bigger toe box (but not as roomy as an Altra Olympus, which I find too roomy for moving fast).
Rankings by Use Case
Top recommendations from others in the same boat
Best for Deep mud and soft ground

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Salomon - Speedcross Series
Best for Quick draining and drying for wet trails

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Hoka - Speedgoat Series
Best for Road-to-trail transitions

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Nike - Pegasus Trail Series
Best for Steep technical descents

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Salomon - Genesis Series
Best for Technical rocky terrain

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La Sportiva - Prodigio Series
Best for Ultra-marathon racing

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La Sportiva - Prodigio Series





