UKC

I'm keen on running this winter on the trails in the forests near our house and on Mont Ventoux so I bought a pair of these.

Are they any good?

E

In reply to Enty:

Comfy, decent grip unless it is really muddy, soles wear out in a heat beat if used on the road, uppers tend to go at the top o the toes where your foot flexes. Lots of people find the lift on the heel too high, ankles can feel a bit vulnerable on twisty stuff.

In brief, not perfect, but plenty people like them. Mine a mainly used for fast lightweight walks in the mountains these days.

In reply to Enty:

Apologies, I have the Mk. II, not sure of any significant differences.

In reply to Enty:
The 3s are a bit lower in the heel than the 2s, not sure by how much though.

I love mine, very comfortable, very versatile.

They don't drain as quick as shoes with a mesh upper if your running through streams, but conversely keep dust/dirt out more than mesh shoes.

In reply to Enty:

I picked up a pair in Decathlon and was surprised how light they seemed compared to my Cascadias. I'm running two pairs of Brooks and they're both high mileage so looking for something new as well. However like Nick said, they seemed a bit high in the heel for my liking. I didn't try them on though as the wife herded me away from the trail running aisle before I did too much wallet damage.

For true winter conditions, I'm considering investing in a pair of Salomon Snowcross, which are studded and warmer for deeper snow/ice. At 200EUR though it's quite an investment and I don't seem to find anywhere (even here in the Alps) that stocks them to try on.

In reply to yorkshireman:


Funnily I was just talking about studded trainers with my wife last night as Sports Pursuit was selling some discounted icebugs. She is running quite a lot these days (I avoid it as much as possible!) but now we live in the outer suburbs she decided her semi-trail shoes (Adidas Kanadia - some spelling like that anyway) are fine. Downtown, where streets are ploughed, and there is lots more foot traffic, it can get really icy, but we've found further out and particularly if you go out onto the forest trails (if they've been walked enough to make them passable) just some grippy trail shoes work fine to bite into snow. I have some studded trainers from years back when I jogged more - just some basic nikes which I had studded at a local shop - they were great when I lived in the city centre but don't think I need them here.

Haglof make a studded version of their XC shoe too now, just saw them in the shops today, but like icebugs they're about €150. But if you were running on icy streets I don't know if you would want the aggressive rubber treads that the metal studs are set in rather than just a "normal" sole with a few studs. And if you're running in snow in the hills I'm not convinced the studs would give much more grip than the soles of xc shoes like the speedcross anyway?

In reply to Enty:

They are great .

Own 4 pairs ATM in varying stages of decomposition.

And a good pair for everyday wear.

I was actually going to start a threat about the Speedcross 3 snow boot.

Anyone ever had them?

In reply to andymac: I like them, probably one of the better all round shoes, can cope with anything, just not really pure fell. But certainly ample for general forest trails, even in winter.

In reply to andymac: Just go with seal skinz and a 1/2 size bigger..

In reply to Enty:

My favourite trail shoe. Alls Iain says a true all rounder. They wear down very fast on tarmac, so they are no use if your routes contain road sections. Abrasive rock does the same to them.

In reply to Enty:

I agree with comment on the heel height. Far too high and almost came a cropper twice when hill running in these. Great for normal forest type trail etc.

In reply to Enty: They do me nicely out on the muddy coast path. Given that one side frequently has a sheer drop of hundreds of feet, grip is important