Pegasus Trail 4 GTX

**Edit:** I've updated the data but Reddit's images can't be updated so you can find it [on my project page](https://redditrecs.com/trail-running-shoes/). Also added breakdown of the top likes and dislikes. Disclaimer - page has affiliate links. You don't have to use them, but they help cover the analysis costs. TLDR: I pumped Reddit data through an LLM deep analysis pipeline (goes way deeper than ChatGPT’s surface-level summarization) to see which trail runners had the most supporters and / or critics in the past year. Since preferences differ widely based on use cases, I also segmented the analysis for: * Ultra marathon racing * Technical rocky terrain * Deep mud and soft ground * Road-to-trail transitions * Wide feet and natural toe splay * Steep technical descents * Quick draining and drying for wet trails * Urban travel and light trails (Swipe the images to see the segmented charts) Anything you find surprising? Disclaimer: This isn’t based on what’s *best*, it’s based on what people repeatedly recommend and defend on Reddit. This is part of my project to tinker with Reddit data and LLMs. If you want to inspect or dive into the full data, google “RedditRecs” to find the project. I’ve highlighted relevant snippets to try to make them easier to parse, and I try to keep the data fresh by updating it weekly. Full methodology in the comments.

Hey thanks for seeing the value of the post and letting this stay up. I started doing this because I genuinely believe it would be useful to have this in the community. Reddit discussions are gold mine but it's easy to get overwhelmed with all the insights scattered everywhere. I personally experienced this when I was trying to research purchases myself. I felt that it was important to have a way to organize the insights to make them more accessible, that is more rigorous that the existing "AI overviews" that basically just skim and summarize a few threads. So I started doing this initially for myself. When I started sharing them, lots of people told me they wanted to see more, which is the main reason why I started doing more and across different product types and subreddits. My intention is not to spam with slop content. And yes, full disclosure I do have affiliate links on my main project page. You don't have to use them and I share most of the key data that fits into a post here. They are there to help cover the costs of running these analysis which can run into the hundreds for each product type, and continue to cost me to keep the data updated. Let me know if yall have any feedback! Ears are open

If you compare the charts, they don't really rank for any of the use cases *except* for road to trail and (urban) travel. Which I guess kind of makes sense. You can see more in the specific comments and breakdown on the [nike pegasus](https://redditrecs.com/trail-running-shoes/series/nike-pegasus-series/)

**Methodology** **Data collection:** I wrote a script that performs searches like “best trail runners”, “trail running shoes for technical rocky terrain”, “trail runners for mud” etc. on Reddit, filtered for the past year. An LLM goes through each post to determine if it contains recommendations. If yes, another LLM agent extracts the recommendations, identifies product model, and analyzes sentiment. Search results can go on forever. When to stop? I mimic what a human researcher would do - sort by relevance and stop when there seems to be no more relevant results (cumulative relevant results dropped below 40%). A total of 1,236 relevant threads were analyzed, representing 5,681 unique users. **Scoring:** If a user spoke positively about a trail runners, that trail runner gets a score between 0-1, depending on how ambiguous the user was when he/she mentioned it and how relevant was the user’s review to the use case. More on that below. **Ambiguity in user reference :** If a user doesn't specify an exact model (e.g., they just say "I love my speed goats"), their vote is still included but "spread out" among the possible current models. More popular/current models are given more weight (because probability that the user was referring to them is higher). **Relevance to use case:** Each user review goes through another LLM analysis to determine relevance to each use case. You can see the reasoning for the relevance score for each review by hovering over the % score on each trail runners’ page. (e.g. click “Technical rocky terrain” on the [Lone Peak Series’ page](https://redditrecs.com/trail-running-shoes/series/altra-lone-peak-series/)) **Ranking:** I calculated a final score that combines the net positive score (positive minus negative), and the positive-to-negative ratio, with a weighting ratio of 75:25. **Caveat:** Handling and merging different model namings, abbreviations, and nicknames is non-trivial, so a 100% LLM approach wasn’t sufficient. I did some eyeballing and manual clean-up, but there may still be mistakes. Let me know if anything seems off! [Full data with highlights for inspection](https://redditrecs.com/trail-running-shoes/)

Second the Nike Pegasus Trail. Its a good all rounder that looks good for everyday wear. Just that for your winter muddy runs, it's a decent option but perhaps not as aggressive as a Speedcross. FWIW, I recently did an analysis on Reddit data for trail runners. Basically ranked them by aggregated sentiment. Maybe you'll find it helpful [https://redditrecs.com/trail-running-shoes/](https://redditrecs.com/trail-running-shoes/) You can filter by price, suitability for wet or muddy trails, or technical trails (rocky, rooty, uneven) and get a breakdown of what ppl have said about the most often recommended ones (disclaimer some links are affiliate they help fund the analyses)

Hoka Speedgoat provides good shock absorption and underfoot cushioning, which should work well for your weak knees. Another option is the nike pegasus which are known for their cushioning as well. Note that for sizing, make sure you get shoes .5-1 size larger than normal. Your feet will swell during the day. Also note that different brands fit different. Same size in Salomon = tighter than Hoka or Saucony. Try a few models or get returnable pairs if you can. FWIW, I recently did an analysis on Reddit data for trail runners. Basically ranked them by aggregated sentiment. Maybe you'll find it helpful [https://redditrecs.com/trail-running-shoes/](https://redditrecs.com/trail-running-shoes/) You can filter by price and get a breakdown of what ppl have said about the most often recommended ones (disclaimer some links are affiliate they help fund the analyses)