Hi friends in good company! Longtime competitive trail runner here. I had just won my first 25K on trail and was given a pair of super stacked Hoka Stinsons that were lauded as a great “road to trail” shoe. The stack was incredibly high. I was in the best shape of my life, and on my second run with those shoes (on trail), I rolled my ankle so hard that it broke off the tip of my fibula. There’s no way it had anything to do with lack of strength in my stabilizers. It was 100% the long fall from such a high stack!
I used to run in Hoka Speedgoat 5s, but I am now back to old versions of Brooks Cascadias and any SG5 I can find on EBay in my size. I’m so sad that both of those shoes are now more stacked than they used to be.
I’m NYC based too but I grew up having to run in the winter in Chicago where there’s obviously a lot of snow and slush. I personally find the longer nubs and more rubber incompatible with how much asphalt/cement we have here. Pumas have the best grip/traction I’ve found in road shoes by a nautical mile. I know they have a winterized version of the velocity 4 with a GoreTex upper. I know GoreTex isn’t breathable but it’s been wet and slushy enough that the benefit of keeping your feet dry at the temps we have had is worth it. This is what I’d recommend for maximum usability beyond snow seasons.
Beyond that you’re probably looking at a road to trail shoe or a gravel shoe. These would be the Hoka Stinson, Mount to Coast R1, and Salomon probably has some offerings too. I’d steer clear of more technical trail shoes because if you use them for any volume here in nyc you’re just going to wear down the nubs and cleats and make them less effective as a trail shoe while having an ineffective road shoe.
There's a variety of 'ATX' shoes or light trail shoes which fit this well.
Hoka do the Challenger and the Stinson (stability) as this kind of all terrain crossover, for example.
I often use the Stinson for light trail or longer light trails that I might use a road shoe on in the summer for example.
I used to use Speedgoats as my typical rave/festival shoe (I had a really rave-y neon colorway that was on clearance), but am now working through a pair of Cliftons. Tbh you don't need anything super technical or streamlined, since comfort is going to be the biggest concern. Just get something with good cushioning. I prefer the Cliftons to my previous Speedgoats. I've also daily driven Stinsons and taken them in a variety of environments and they are also great for being on your feet for really long.
Top Trail Running Shoes on Reddit
1
Mount to Coast
H1
85% positive of 177 users
Versatile road-to-trail, but struggles on wet, technical downhills.
between_2_pines_
