The trail running market has been expanding, which is great. It is hard to choose five shoes in such a competitive market. I am not judging the list that was presented, but I would suggest viewers consider Tarkine, an environmentally focused company from Australia making a great shoe called the Trail Devil (reviewed by Believe in the Run- with a great US exchange rate), and Speedland, a US company committed to making exceptional "equipment" shoes for the trail running community. I am not knocking the big companies, but if folks don't support the upstarts, all we will have is the big companies.
I have the Rift's, great shoe. One thing I noticed though is that the paint on the foam comes off by scrubbing the dirt off . The performance is not affected at all. It also has bigger lugs than the Xodus which is awesome. Now if they would only keep the same design but add Vibram material😍
Apologies for the wind issues, we were working with what we had on a blustery day in Estes Park! What's your favorite trail shoe so far in 2023? Drop us a comment, and if you like our recs, pick them up at the shop links in the description. Thanks for watching!
Agree on the Tecton X 2 - great for almost anything except sticky mud! Saucony Endorphin Rift was disappointing for me; the Edge runs more smoothly. Don’t forget the Newton BOCO AT 7 and the Merrell Agility Peak 5. Two new models worth checking out.
Hang on... Didn't taylor comment on the blister inducing sidewings in his written review of the Summit Pro's? (I had the same experience until I cut them with a box cutting knife)
Whilst I'm not a trail runner there is a Cross Country series in my local area every winter which attracts a lot of runners and friends and I enjoy it (essentially a hilly route through woodland on musddy and rocky trails over various distances). I and my friends mostly use the Inov8 trail shoe range (personally I have the Trailfly G270). Have you guys tried these? They are light, graphene outsoles and really versatile. And you can run from home to the trail if you want.
I took a gamble a couple years ago and brought multiple pairs of hoka speed goat evos on sale. I'm on my last pair- are any of trail 2023's any better? Love my road 'super trainers'- are any of these in that category?
I’d say the Saucony Endorphin Rift is the closest to a super trainer for trails. No plate or anything, but essentially a more stable, more built up version of Saucony’s trail racer. It’s a bit less stable than the speedgoat series (for me) but still a solid option. That being said, the newest speedgoat is gonna be the closest to the evo, for obvious reasons
The Speedgoat EVO is a legend for sure. The upper is of the Tecton X 2 is definitely similar, but not sure which one compares directly to that. If the terrain is pretty chill than the Nike Ultrafly is legit for both comfort and performance, but it's too narrow of a focus for us and the drawbacks of the upper fit kept it off the list.
I don’t think the Ultrafly runs heavy I have this and the edge, edge is faster and turns over quicker Ultrafly comfier and cruises better. Dunno why all the hate on the Ultrafly apart for the price but on discount not a bad buy
It's a great shoe in the right conditions, absolutely. We just had some problems with upper lockdown and instability on anything other than groomed trails which kept it off the list
Any thoughts on the Salomon Genesis? I found this shoe very comfortable in a recent race of 40 miles w/ 11,000 vert, wide toe box compared to other Salomon models. Dry rocky conditions is its comfort zone.
All of your reviews for trail runners are geared toward racing and running. I know this is a running channel but hikers also use trail runners. Mostly the Altra Lone Peak but now that there are many new choices hikers are starting to branch out more. Keep that in mind when doing reviews and include that if you think it would be a good shoe to hike in. It would need to be light weight, durable, dries quickly, good grip and most other qualities that the lone peak has. I could just go buy another pair of lone peaks but I would like to try something different.
The overlays on the Tecton X 2 are so unnecessary (and look dumb). It is likely a perfect shoe if it had a bit more bite to the lugs and a full Matryx upper. Endorphin Rift is my surprise Shoe of the Year so far, but it's a close race with the Speedland GS: TAM. Both I use for very different purposes, but I can't believe I'm saying I prefer the Rift over the Edge!!
The trail running market has been expanding, which is great. It is hard to choose five shoes in such a competitive market. I am not judging the list that was presented, but I would suggest viewers consider Tarkine, an environmentally focused company from Australia making a great shoe called the Trail Devil (reviewed by Believe in the Run- with a great US exchange rate), and Speedland, a US company committed to making exceptional "equipment" shoes for the trail running community.
I am not knocking the big companies, but if folks don't support the upstarts, all we will have is the big companies.
Can’t wait to try the rift and thunder cross! Thanks Taylor for always being so helpful with trail shoes
I have the Rift's, great shoe. One thing I noticed though is that the paint on the foam comes off by scrubbing the dirt off . The performance is not affected at all. It also has bigger lugs than the Xodus which is awesome. Now if they would only keep the same design but add Vibram material😍
Nice hats
Apologies for the wind issues, we were working with what we had on a blustery day in Estes Park! What's your favorite trail shoe so far in 2023? Drop us a comment, and if you like our recs, pick them up at the shop links in the description. Thanks for watching!
Kiger 9!
Saucony trail shoes you can’t go wrong with them.
Wait... No Trabuco Max 2´s? Damn. Have em, love em.. Comfy tanks that grip like hell!
Taylor ❤
Did the new balance not make the cut it’s a great recovery trail shoe took it up the manatu incline and ran 5ml back down handled great
Agree on the Tecton X 2 - great for almost anything except sticky mud! Saucony Endorphin Rift was disappointing for me; the Edge runs more smoothly. Don’t forget the Newton BOCO AT 7 and the Merrell Agility Peak 5. Two new models worth checking out.
Agility Peak is very solid, Merrell's 2024 stuff will likely be on here come next year
Hang on... Didn't taylor comment on the blister inducing sidewings in his written review of the Summit Pro's? (I had the same experience until I cut them with a box cutting knife)
With the high stack on the Rift, how stable is it on technical trails?
Whilst I'm not a trail runner there is a Cross Country series in my local area every winter which attracts a lot of runners and friends and I enjoy it (essentially a hilly route through woodland on musddy and rocky trails over various distances). I and my friends mostly use the Inov8 trail shoe range (personally I have the Trailfly G270). Have you guys tried these? They are light, graphene outsoles and really versatile. And you can run from home to the trail if you want.
Yeah G270 is legit, I believe we gave it shoe of the year award a couple years ago.
I thought the plate was used to help stabilize the shoe. So that wasn't the case with the Edge or was something else in play here?
Like from Spain. My vote goes to nb summit unknown v4. A nice weekend for everyone.
🔥
I took a gamble a couple years ago and brought multiple pairs of hoka speed goat evos on sale. I'm on my last pair- are any of trail 2023's any better? Love my road 'super trainers'- are any of these in that category?
I’d say the Saucony Endorphin Rift is the closest to a super trainer for trails. No plate or anything, but essentially a more stable, more built up version of Saucony’s trail racer. It’s a bit less stable than the speedgoat series (for me) but still a solid option. That being said, the newest speedgoat is gonna be the closest to the evo, for obvious reasons
The Speedgoat EVO is a legend for sure. The upper is of the Tecton X 2 is definitely similar, but not sure which one compares directly to that. If the terrain is pretty chill than the Nike Ultrafly is legit for both comfort and performance, but it's too narrow of a focus for us and the drawbacks of the upper fit kept it off the list.
I don’t think the Ultrafly runs heavy I have this and the edge, edge is faster and turns over quicker Ultrafly comfier and cruises better. Dunno why all the hate on the Ultrafly apart for the price but on discount not a bad buy
It's a great shoe in the right conditions, absolutely. We just had some problems with upper lockdown and instability on anything other than groomed trails which kept it off the list
Trail running shoe shoed be flexible, right? Why they have stiff carbon plate inside nowadays?
Can we please get a racing trail shoe versus vid?!?
Any thoughts on the Salomon Genesis? I found this shoe very comfortable in a recent race of 40 miles w/ 11,000 vert, wide toe box compared to other Salomon models. Dry rocky conditions is its comfort zone.
Loved this shoe, wore it for western states this year.
@@ehongg Great to hear, I found this shoe to be awesome as well, you just don’t hear much about it in comparison to other trail shoes currently.
No Xodus Ultra 2. Those trail shoes are better than the first version, and the first version was great.
That probably deserves to be on here, tbh
All of your reviews for trail runners are geared toward racing and running. I know this is a running channel but hikers also use trail runners. Mostly the Altra Lone Peak but now that there are many new choices hikers are starting to branch out more. Keep that in mind when doing reviews and include that if you think it would be a good shoe to hike in. It would need to be light weight, durable, dries quickly, good grip and most other qualities that the lone peak has. I could just go buy another pair of lone peaks but I would like to try something different.
Nnormal
Topo athletic rules
My pair of Hoca Tecton X2 wore down really quickly. Especially in the heel. And only after 200k
Where's my Walmart $33 low budget shoe ?
Why isn't anyone flexin with the trail running bucket hat?
I clicked the link to find Taylor's "Tracksmith Offroads GoCap " and it is definitely different. Can you point us in the right direction? thanks!
The overlays on the Tecton X 2 are so unnecessary (and look dumb). It is likely a perfect shoe if it had a bit more bite to the lugs and a full Matryx upper.
Endorphin Rift is my surprise Shoe of the Year so far, but it's a close race with the Speedland GS: TAM. Both I use for very different purposes, but I can't believe I'm saying I prefer the Rift over the Edge!!
TAM is definitely in top 10, can't beat the fit of the upper
Booo. Where's the New Balance More Trail V3?
They’re too busy becoming a young “culture” brand chasing the sports & entertainment money forgetting who they are.
@@Phatta57855 I can't argue with the branding element. You've got a point. But I still think they're spitting out good running shoes.