Spring has sprung, and after a long, dark winter, it’s finally time to get back in stride and and crank up your run routine. With the wind at your back and the right trail running shoes on your feet, your Spring run routine will transcend earthly delights to something straight from the storybooks. Lucky for you, 2015 is the best all around offering of trail shoes we’ve ever seen.
adidas Outdoors Terrex Boost
Ready to give your off road efforts a little boost? The Terrex Boost for men and women is the first trail runner that features adidas’ BOOST™ cushioning technology. BOOST technology arguably provides more energy return than any other cushioning material in the industry – that means less fatigue, more miles, and more days training. Aggressive continental rubber outsole is like shifting your feet into four wheel drive, while Speed laces complement the Terrex Boost’s need for speed.
adidasoutdoors.com; MSRP $160
Best Update: Altra Superior 2.0
More than just an update, the Superior 2.0 revamps and recharges Altra’s versatile, lightweight trail running shoe. With less weight, more grip, and enough awesome to go around, this is the trail shoe for the purist off-roader who wants to feel the earth beneath their feet without beating up their body. Zero-drop profile and a foot shaped toebox lets your toes relax and spread out in uphill and downhill trail conditions. TrailClaw outsole technology features canted lugs beneath your metatarsals ready to make mincemeat out of your mountain endeavors. And because life on the trail gets messy, Altra outfitted the Superior 2.0 with quick-drying, durable, trail-specific mesh.
altrarunning.com; MSRP $110
HOKA ONE ONE Challenger ATR
The new CHALLENGER ATR is a highly cushioned all-terrain shoe ready to tackle those twisty and tricky trails. Hoka One One took the light-weight, smooth-riding characteristics of the popular Clifton and complimented them with a more aggressive outsole and increased support for smooth riding stability over uneven terrain. Hoka One One’s Meta-Rocker geometry offer a fluid, efficient ride. While not the best climber of the group, at 8.6 ounces with a 5mm drop, the CHALLENGER ATR is surprisingly agile and ready to gobble everything from quick jaunts to big miles is the big outdoors.
hokaoneone.com; MSRP $130
Editor’s Choice: New Balance Leadville 1210v2
The Leadville 100 is the race where limits are tested and legends are made. New Balance designed the Leadville 1210v2 for men and women to be the shoe worthy of bearing the Leadville name. N2 cushioning a REVlite midsole and Vibram outsole combine to let you move through the dirt and over rugged terrain in comfort with the efficiency, and agility you’d expect from a lightweight roadie. Up top the New Balance Fantom Fit utilizes ultralight support material fused with no-sew process reduces friction. A medial post gives added stability and a gusseted tongue keeps trail debris where it belongs – outside your shoe. Aggressive and responsive with plenty of protection, this trail-runner gives you just what you need to bomb down the trail and stay quick on your toes. More than just a great trail shoe, the Leadville 1210v2 is one of our favorite offerings from New Balance period.
newbalance.com; MSRP $124.99
Salomon S-Lab Sense 4 Ultra
Salomon is dedicated to mountain sport progression, you’re dedicated to stalking singletrack. Coincidence? Nope. Designed to go the distance, consider the new S-Lab Sense 4 Ultra the Ferrari of trail shoes. The new Sense 4 Ultra offers greater durability than the prior generation with a lightweight mesh upper that breathes like a pair of lungs. EndoFit offers a completely seamless interior that snugly holds your feet in place as you knock out the miles. A redesigned outsole not only sheds mud better, but provides more surface area to tackle the rugged world underfoot. All the while, the forefoot rock plate offers added protection for a smooth ride over tenacious terrain. Robust and lively, the S-Lab Sense 4 Ultra was made for running in the wild.
salomon.com; MSRP: $170
Saucony Peregrine 5
Low to the ground, lightweight, and packing tons of traction the Peregrine 5 is tremendous option for the devoted trail warrior. With the fifth iteration of this model, Saucony has fine tuned this popular trail option into a beauty of a shoe with a beast of an appetite for gnarly trail. The 4mm heel-toe offset readily accommodates trail runners of all types. EBO midfoot coupled with an updated rock plate provides protection with less weight while the flexfilm upper locks in a solid fit. New rubberized toe tip enhances durability and protection for rough road ahead.
saucony.com; MSRP: $110
Topo Athletic Runventure
Looking to breeze through the mountains like the morning mist? This lightweight trail runner is for you. The upper is a refreshing mix of abrasion resistant mesh and no-sew printing techniques that add feather-light structure to the shoe. Molded TPU midsole plate and 19 mm platform is firm enough to provide support and just enough stability to keep you balanced and agile on the trail when the surface is unpredictable.
A 2mm heel-toe offset ensures the benefits of a natural midfoot strike and low-profile lugs transition well from packed roads to pavement, and even handled light mud days winding through the redwoods. All told, the Runventure is the hidden gem of list. So go ahead, unleash your true dirt devouring nature.
topoathletic.com; MSRP: $110