I’ve
never felt a pair of shoes that fit both form design and function more
perfectly than these. I mean, right out of the box I knew I wanted to race in
these.
One of the unwritten but oft spoken rules of running is NOT to race in brand new shoes. Ya….well I did. And there was much rejoicing.
The
particular race was the Spartan Charity Sprint held at Killington VT on September
23rd 2013. (More details\review of that in another post, or hell, read Relentless Forward Commotion's deets )
If
you’re not familiar with Killington or Vermont as a whole, there are some
things you should know: It’s hilly and it’s wet. And this shoe dominated on
this terrain. I’ve never felt a pair of shoes that fit both form design and
function more perfectly than these. I mean, right out of the box I knew I
wanted to race in these.
 |
Photo courtesy of Relentless Forward Commotion. |
I’ve
trained and raced in a few different shoes. Vibrams, Brooks and InoV8s to name
a few. And I like them all for different reasons. But this shoe is perfect for
OCR.
There’s
cushion. These are NOT barefoot or minimal or zero drop. This shoe is
comfortable without being overbearing. It doesn’t feel like I’m running in
pudding, but I definitely get enough protection from the shoe. I don’t feel
like I’m 3 inches off the surface either. I supinate quite a bit (big toe rolls
up and out) and these shoes felt great on my compromised ankles.
Hey,
it fits! I asked for a 9.5, and they fit. I used to wear the big ol’ white
Reebok High Tops back in high school so I was familiar with Reeboks sizing
(even if they’re VERY different shoes). The fit even stayed true when soaked
thru. You’re not going to do a Spartan Race and have dry shoes….
Look at the bottom of these things! That’s some grip, some really good grip actually. The traction was fantastic on the steep slopes, and look at the heels. I was able to jam my foot into the mountain side when descending the steep stuff. I had slid all over the place in my other shoes the day before, not this time. And check out the sides, there is traction there to help on a rope climb if you do need to use your feet.
The laces never
slipped during a double knot, the colors are kind of cool and they have pull
tabs that you can hang the shoes from.
So there’s the Pros. Cons?? Well, this is
tough one. I haven’t found one yet. For a shoe that MSRPs for 85 bones, you can’t
really go wrong here. If you’re not a minimalist or a barefooter, this is great
off road shoe. I’d love to run in them on Peavine and do a high desert review......
Update 10/25/14
I've since put these through a Rugged Maniac, a few Hashes and many trail runs. They are still holding up excellently. There has been no stretching or misforming of the shoe. Nothing is falling apart. I've pretty much beat the hell out of these.
I'll try to remember to post a Snow update, but I think they'll be excellent.
Update 9-21-15
I still have a pair of these. I ran a loop at Infinitus in them and still regularly train in them.
Update 5/816
I still have them. They're pretty much packed out now. My feet have grown or the shoe shrunk, or something. The tread is almost shot and I've run countless trails in them.
I still really dig this shoe and keep putting a new insole into it.
