My shoes have finally bit the dust. I have ran about 800 hard core trail Km's in them and have decided it is time to retire them. They have been a good shoe but I feel that they didn't fit my foot exactly right. Following is my review of these shoes.
Sole:
Advantages - The tread on this sole has a nice bite and seldom slipped. The sole was also extremely rigid and I never felt any sharp rocks through the sole.
Disadvantages - The tread would sometimes hold onto pea and marble size gravel and then they would slide on harder surfaces. I feel that a larger further spread out lug may be the better tread design.
Mid sole:
Advantages - I felt that the mid sole had plenty of cushion and the Gel was nice. I only have started to feel problems from the cushioning breaking down.
Disadvantages - The arch support would rub on the inside of my arch where it transitions into the ball of my foot. This is more of a problem having to do with my foot not fitting right and not the shoe.
Toe Box:
Advantages - The toe box had plenty of space. The toe box was perhaps the best feature of the shoes and how they fit.
Disadvantages - After 10 miles I would begin to develop blisters on the tips of my toes. This was later remedied with women's nylon "not-socks". Ultra and blistered toes are synonymous regardless of shoes, but I will do my darnedest to cut down on them.
Overlays, Uppers and Laces:
Advantages - There was never a shortage of support for this shoe. The overlays gave good support around the arch and top of the foot. I am constantly running side slope on slick rocks at steep angles and have found my foot to never slide laterally.
Disadvantages - I had a problem right at the beginning with the laces becoming too tight across the bridge of my foot that really caused some pain. When I loosened the laces they were too loose. After a couple of weeks this was no longer an issue. I also had a hard time keeping the fore foot tight and the ankle tight independent of each other. A two-lace-per-shoe set up would have remedied this problem. The uppers on the shoe were not cut low enough for my ankle bones and I would get some rubbing on the outside of my ankle bones of my down-slope foot especially when side-sloping.
Weight, Ventilation, Water resistance:
I felt these shoes were a nice weight, I never felt they were too heavy. They had the right amount of ventilation and breathed nicely. They were not that water resistant but they drained and dried quickly. Water would come in through the sides when running in deep mud or water (common in BC). I feel an extra 2 cm of water resitance such as sprayed-on teflon would do the trick without increasing the weight or the breathabillity. They are a nice shoe for running on wet trails in warmer weather when goretex might be too warm causing excess sweat.
Overall Grade and Recommendation:
I would grade these shoes at about a 6.5/10. This has more to do with the shoe not quite fitting my foot, than because of problems with the design or quality of the shoe. If I were to grade the overall quality and support and versatillity of the shoe they would be closer to an 8.5/10 but those problem areas just caused a pain that wouldn't have been there on a better fitting shoe. It is hard to tell that the shoe doesn't fit that well until you test drive them for a while. I also have slightly different sized feet.
I would recommend this shoe to anyone with a neutral stance who runs extremely rocky (especially sharp rocks) and challenging trails. This shoe would actually run the Wasatch 100, knee knacker or bonneville shoreline nicely. I feel that the blisters on my toes, arch and rubbing on outer ankle bones wouldn't be a problem for someone who has a better fit with this shoe. They never had any lack of ankle support and saved me from having bad ankle rolls as well. I also got quite a bit of road use out of the shoes with no problems. I would recommend this shoe based on quality and support, but make sure it fits well and feels good from day one. I probably will not buy it again because of the afore mentioned issues with fit.
What is my next shoe going to be?
I am going for the Brooks Cascadia 4's. I am way pumped to try this shoe out. It fits like a glove and has widely-spaced large lugs. It seems to have a wide base and looks very stable. I am interested to see how the overlays and ankle support compares. I will let you know in about 800 Km.
Comments