The North Face - Altamesa 300

I live in central Texas where it's predominantly limestone that gets slick as snot when it gets wet. I by chance found a pair of Northface Altamesa 300s at Ross for like $40 and couldn't pass that up so picked them up without knowing anything about them. I've been majorly impressed by their grip on wet limestone having had some really wet weather when I first got them. I definitely recommend those.

Shoes are very individual so you just have to check around and see what works for your particular foot shape. For example I can’t do Hokas, Topos were too narrow in the toe box, and brooks Cascadias were just too narrow period for me. Ended up going Lone Peak -> Olympus -> New Balance Heiros. Currently trying the North Face Alta Mesa 300s which seem promising as well.

After hitting durability issues with Lone Peaks / Olympus I’ve had a bit better luck with the New Balance Heiros though I still wish they lasted longer. Currently testing the North Face Alta Mesa 300s because of a recommendation the foam takes longer to collapse. For context I’m a thru hiker with really wide feet

Hello, here my feedback based on my experiences with trying on these shoes in store: Altamesa: I found it had good cushion except for where my toes were and it felt like they wouldn't soften no matter how many km's I put into them. Speedgoat 6: toe box felt weirdly roomy for a narrowish shoe and they didn't quite fit right. Hierro: I was able to try on the v7, v8 and v9 models all at one store. The v9 we're the best out of the 3 but I still didn't like the v9. It just felt oddly bulky which was a shame as I love NB shoes. The 1080's are my favourite. Stinson 7: I just bought a pair from MEC yesterday and they felt so good on my feet as soon as I put them on. I'm a little used to heavier shoes so that doesn't bother me. I really want a max cushion trail runners that doesn't need to be super technical trail focused. Salomon Ultra Glide/Ultra Flow: i really wanted to like these but they were a little narrow and just didn't have the comfy impact I was expecting. Altra Timp 5: I think these shoes are awesome except for the way the upper material bends at the toe box. It just feels weird and I can tell it will create problems for me a few km's into a run. I also have the Topo Ultraventure 4 which are great but I don't know how well I would enjoy them past 30km. I have Columbia Ecolite (the ones that look like they infused golf balls into the form) which have been great but just aren't on the same level as other trail shoes. I had the Brooks Caldera 6 which were okay and had great traction but they hurt my feet and caused blood blisters on the outside of my big toes so I was able to return them when I got the Stinson. I've tried on many other runners and I have the believe that you should go with the shoe that fells the best on your foot. E: forgot to add that I also tried on the hoka mafate speed 4 and I almost bought them as they were don't in the toe box compared to the speed goats 5 & 6 but I wanted slightly more cushioning. I think the mafate is a great comparison to the topo Ultraventure 4

North face altamesa might be a good option to check out? Lots of room in the toe box and more bouncy imo. The 500 is more roomy but may have more stack than you are looking for. I absolutely love the fit of topos but have similar complaints about bounce/ride in many of their shoes.

Don’t sleep on north face Altamesa or Vectiv shoes.

I bought north face trail runners in the sale and they have lasted me years. Definitely a great alternative for someone who runs and plays hockey !