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Second this, with trail you have to factor in the surface & elevation in terms of it slowing your pace but also increasing your HR. I dabble in both road & trail, they are both quite different but great. And just like in the road sector, trail shoes have been evolving over the years. I started with 2x pairs of Salomons (speed cross for the mud/snow & Elevate GTX for everything else). Eventually got the 1st gen Brooks Catamount for when it was dry/events. Now got a pair of ASICS Trabuco 14 GTX that I absolutely love. A hydration pack is helpful, you can often find them cheap in the middle aisle in Aldi or decathlon is a good shout. And if you get into the longer distances then you get to eat actual food, which is nice.
The older I get, the more cush I need. While shoes I own are much nicer on my joints (Speedgoat, Prodigio Pro, Aero Glide) I never wear them when it gets technical. Of course the heavy and not too soft Akasha seems a bit outdated to those latest models but I have yet to find a better mix of run/scrambling shoe. Maybe if I was younger or better trained I just go with the Bushido again...but then... I also used a lot of Salomon models: S/LAB Sense SG (good scramble shoe, to harsh to run in for me), Ultra Glide (very good to run in but no scrambling shoe) XA Elevate (I would put it in between Bushido and Akasha - but it's not available anymore). Also: Sportiva rubber has so much better grip on rocks than Salomon's...
Contragrip wet traction was the best - it was on the XA Alpine and XA Elevate and the Sense Ultra, Sense 6. But since then it has gotten worse. The Ultraglide 1s were pretty terrible.
Salomon makes wide versions of most of their stuff, although color choices are sometimes limited I've never had an issue with durability over the last 10+ years or so or wearing them, mostly the XA's BUT I also don't get gore-tex shoes - it's not necessary (and a bit hot) in my climate, & in my experience the goretex elements always fail long before the shoe/boot gives out, no matter what the brand, but I'm also kinda hard on shoes.
Both Asics gortex and Salomon gortex Ive found to be the best I've used. I get probably 2-3000km out of them? Say 8km a day of sandstone gravel fire trails and rocky escarpments for a year. I would get 12-18 months out of them. Sometimes I just wear out heel rubber and foam is still good so I build it back up using Sikaflex or something to go another 6 month lol
I have the Catamount 2 and I really like it (ran in them today), but actually prefer the Cascadia. Also, another vote for skipping GTX. You probably don't need it (or want it) for most runs.
Massive hiker here. Noticed you asked for a shoe and not a boot. I understand this choice for a single buy. My favorite hiking shoes are the Salomon GTX or similar. There are a lot of models, so if you can try some on that'll fine-tune your personal preference. But this shoe hits my feet and ankles comfortably, AND has a wicked tread for the thousands of rocks it'll be bumping over on Phoenix and AZ trails. Hint for affordability: if you get your size in a brand, I often find that reputable merchants on a large online auction site sell NEW hikers at a bit of a discount. Runnerup brands would be On Cloud and La Sportiva. ymmv (literally) of course
I have a pair of 4 year old Goretex Salomons that are still waterproof despite the age and lack of care (never really cleaned aside from spraying off dirt), so might be a technical defect if the puddle never got past the tongue of the shoe to let water in (if it has no gusseted tongue). Though that is quite coincidental and unlucky you went through 2 brands/shoes like this. I'm also not familiar with La Sportiva since I mostly buy Salomon, but that material looks like mesh to me. I've never seen a pair of Goretex shoes with that kind of material.
Rankings by Use Case
Top recommendations from others in the same boat
Best for Deep mud and soft ground

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

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

Top pick
Nike - Pegasus Trail Series
Best for Steep technical descents

Top pick
Salomon - Genesis Series
Best for Technical rocky terrain

Top pick
La Sportiva - Prodigio Series
Best for Ultra-marathon racing

Top pick
La Sportiva - Prodigio Series





