UKH

having just been up the Elen in More mile cheviots got me thinking, id probably have to suggest three -
mud/snow/winter - MM Cheviots
General use - Inov-8 mudroc 290 sadly discontinued but roclite 295 are similar
Distance - NB Leadville

In reply to ow arm:
i hope the OP isn't too annoyed but Given that shoes are so personal, can I add the question

'And why?'

In reply to ow arm:

A nice pair of brogues, some Hunter wellingtons, or UGG boots.

In reply to ow arm:

Havaianas flips lops ; the footwear of choice for today's responsible visitor to the hills.

Excellent ventilation qualities.

In reply to ow arm:

I'm loving my Salomon Fellraisers at the moment.

In reply to ow arm:

I didnt think it was that controversial a question ffs guys

In reply to ow arm:

Fell and trail can have very different demands, even within the individual categories the demands can be quite different.

A lot of the fell terrain I cover is tussocky, peaty, steep and wet. My favoured shoe on this stuff is the Inov8 X-Talon 190. For longer stuff and more mixed terrain I'll go for Salomon Speedcross, the grip isn't quite so good and the heel is a bit less stable, but they don't cripple my on the trail sections. If it is going to be good trail, I'll either go with Adidas XT or if it is dry road shoes.

In reply to ow arm:

I realise that shoes can be a personal thing especially the fit, but there are so many different ones out there it would be unfeasible to try them all, so a little shared info could save a lot of hassle.

thanks Nick ive not got round to trying x talons, they seem to be a very racy shoe

In reply to ow arm:

They are, very light and fantastic on soft ground, but very little protection. Mudclaws are equally good in terms of grip, provide more protection, but are heavy in comparison.

In reply to ow arm:

Race/save for best - X-Talon 215
Allrounder/summer trail - Montrail Rogue, Roclite 295 (cheap 243s on top of wardrobe waiting to go)
Sacrificial winter mud/never dry out - old Walsh Ultra (too wide, heels move around on steep stuff)

In reply to ow arm:

I'm another fan of the Mudroc 290 for general use - enough grip on most soft stuff (unless it's really muddy), but also OK on rocky paths (although I wouldn't choose them if I knew it was all going to be rocky paths).

In reply to The New NickB:
Do you find that the Inov8s and Salomons are narrow? I tried a few pairs of each make on in a shop in central Birmingham at Christmas, but they all seemed so tight, so I went instead for a Mizuno pair (Wave Kien) that just seemed to fit comfortably, as had the Mizuno pair that I had come to replace. I bought that pair because it is what they had in the shop that I went to.

I do have wide feet, but I wonder if the lacing was just all wrong in the shop, and whether I should have taken more time over it. A several years old pair of Roclites fits me very well.

The first Mizuno pair lasted nearly 700 miles, the current pair has a big tear in the uppers after 120 miles. Not happy! Both are good for off-road rocky/stony routes, and fine if there might be the odd stretch of tarmac, but not great on steep muddy stuff. In deeply gloopy, tussocky terrain where you go in up to your ankles, they are as good as anything else would be, I reckon, though I can't be sure. They grip my feet well, at least.

When it is dry, I find that road shoes work fine.

In reply to SteveRi:

Steve - not tried montrails before, just looked at the specs now its got an 18-9mm sole, how do you find the sole thickness and 'drop' of these compared to the roclites for off road use?

In reply to mbh:

I think I have pretty average width feet, both are fine with me, although I did try some fellraisers and they felt a bit narrow. Inov8 are notorious for inconsistency in their sizing. I understand Inov8 now offer a wide fitting version of some of their shoes.

In reply to ow arm:

They're a bit taller overall but the drop isn't much - doesn't feel like the 9mm they list.

For 30 quid on Sportshoes I thought they were worth a punt and get on well with them. Go up 1/2 size though. Tread's fairly light - nothing like a proper fell shoe.

In reply to ow arm:

its a fairly difficult question to ask as in summer i might wear light trail shoes up a mountain, or in winter ill wear my fell shoes on a trail, thats why i asked fell/trail

In reply to ow arm:

I have a few.........

For soft ground - X-talon 212 for racing, Mudclaw 272 for training

For harder ground - Salomon Speedcross, Roclite 295, Roclite 315, Salomon Mantra, Nike Wildhorse

Really depends on conditions as to what I wear. Quite a few of my runs have sections of road to get to the trails, find that the Speedcross and Roclites are a good compromise between having a bit of cushioning but still reasonable grip.

In reply to ow arm:

whatever's cheapest..

I dont think they vary that much. I wish shoe companies would be innovative at reducing manufacturing costs then changing their range every year..

I loved the mudclaw's 300's and then the red xtalon 190's?

out here I still have my 300ers but will probably go for a traily shoe in future as we dont have true fell terrain

In reply to Roadrunner2:

The Nike Kiger/Wildhorse are really good as a trail shoe Iain if you've not tried them, they both consistently get good reviews - most people are surprised as historically Nike have just made slight changes to a road shoe, ie Trail Pegasus etc, but these are brand new designs.

They're also quite heavily discounted ( in the UK at least ). I picked up a pair of Wildhorse for £45, and the Nike discount store at Livingston had the new v2 Kiger for about the same price ( rrp about £90 I think ).

In reply to ow arm:

I lament the discontinued Innov8 Terroc 330. Not a brilliant shoe in any area but I thought it was good all rounder. Have had Innov8 315 Roclite, 325 Griproc and all very comfortable for me. Bought a couple of pairs of Terroc 330s when going cheap but not found anything similar fit or style since.

Salewa firetail EVO or Wildfire have been recommended.

In reply to ow arm:
a bit on a whim this evening I purchased a pair of Adidas Kanadia Tr7 from sports direct £47, ill let you know how they go in a week or so

some good suggestions on here so far but definately leaning towards inov-8 as favourites

In reply to wbo:



Mizuno Wave Harriers. Total all-rounder, suited to trails and hills alike (though neither as foot-hugging nor as aggressively studded as most specialist hill shoes), comfortable, suits my broad forefeet where narrower hill shoes typically don't, consistent sizing and quality, frequently available cheaply as discounted previous models... if I was somehow limited to one jack-of-all-trades shoe for everything, I could cope with these!

In reply to Prof. Outdoors:


Yep, I used to wear Terrocs for almost anything (have never got on with Mudclaws etc.), tried a pair of Flyrocs of the same nominal size and found them too tight and short. So have basically stopped buying Inov-8 shoes altogether because (despite their many fans) I've found them both inconsistently sized and of suspect durability even for someone who regards trashing a pair of shoes over a few weeks' hard hill use as normal. (Had a pair of Roclites in 2008 I quite liked, but was still repairing half-detached studs after first use...)

In reply to petestack:

the harriers look good, ill put them on my wanted list.

In reply to ow arm:

Has the Mizuno Wave Harrier been discontinued ?

Not showing under Trail Shoes on their UK website, the 4 trail models they show are Wave Mujin, Wave Kien, Wave Kazan and Wave Hayate - is one of these a replacement ?

http://www.mizuno.eu/gb/sports/running/footwear/?best_for=Trail&who_are...

In reply to ow arm:

Folk say they're poor on wet rock, and they probably are if you're hammering it, but then so is almost everything! Not optimum on steep, wet grass and moss either, but I've worn mine for courses as diverse as my Ramsay Round, ultra trail races, mountain marathons, training runs of hugely-varied distance and terrain, backpacking trips and even the last Ben Nevis Race after throwing out all the slighter shoes that rub holes in my feet.

In reply to steelbru:


Hope not!

In reply to petestack:

I think they have

Luckily I picked up a spare pair on eBay nearly new for 20 quid to keep in reserve for when my current pair wear out (although they show no sign of doing that any time soon).

Awesome all round trail/fell shoe

In reply to r0b:
Are they very different to the Mizunos I've tried, the Wave Ascend and the Wave Kien ( which are falling apart after 120 miles)? Both are a great fit for my wide feet.

In reply to ow arm:

I'm just starting to get my head round fell and trail shoes. At the moment I own a pair of Roclite 305s and a pair of second hand Walsh Knee-Wreckers. Am I right with the basic idea that big studs = great grip on mud, rubbish on rock? Is that true of all shoes? If that's the case, is it a case of compromise for most mixed runs? And, more padding tends to correspond with worse 'feel' and therefore more chance of going over on ankle etc.? There seems to be a lot of compromises... I guess this is why most of you guys have numerous pairs of shoes - a pair for really minging mud, a pair for harder-packed stuff, then a pair of race shoes that you just have to cross the line in - you don't need to walk the next day...

In reply to Mr Fuller:
I think you can focus too much on the shoes. Nice if you can afford loads of pairs, but if you run a lot, then you just get out in anything vaguely grippy, as long as it fits. It's the running that counts, not what you run in.

In reply to mbh:

Yeah, good point. I've run everything from 2-day races on hardpack to 3 mile jogs in thick mud in my current Inov8s and I've never thought there was that much they weren't good at, apart from really really thick gloopy mud.

In reply to mbh:

I didn't like Wave Ascends when I tried them, heavy and clumpy. Not seen any of the new models.

In reply to Mr Fuller:

Thats mostly what Ive found too, not had any probems with Walshs and knees though.

In reply to Mr Fuller:

The general rule is that nothing works on wet rock, but some rubber compounds are better than others. Studs tend to reduce the surface area in contact with hard surfaces, making the situation worse.

In reply to ow arm:

I've been wearing Mudclaws for years and each successive change that Inov-8 have made has generally been for the better, until the last one. The plastic strips which run up the shoe and incorporate the eyelets peel off after a few months, allowing the fabric to tear. I've got nothing like the amount of wear out of my last couple of pairs of Mudclaws that I got from previous versions.

In reply to ow arm:

My shoe of choice at the moment-

http://www.decathlon.co.uk/kiprun-trail-xt5-ss15-blue-id_8324505.html

I still love the Salomon Fellcross2 when on total fell though!

Dave D.

In reply to ow arm:

Currently using saucony peregrines for mostly trail and mud and they've been superb. Good feel, enough grip and wear well. Considering ones with a more aggressive sole for of trail

In reply to Turdus torquatus:


I was looking to replace some worn out Roclite 295's, and didn't think the new version looked as well made, in particular a pronounced join between fabric upper and front of shoe. Just bought some Nike Wildhorse instead, see how they go.

In reply to ow arm:

Walshes, of course.

In reply to Robert Durran:

I had a run up the moelwyns last week and took the walshes, fine on grass and scree but struggled on mud and rocks

In reply to Dave Douglas - Awesome Walls:
the tread on the kiprun looks similar to salomons fellraisers/fellcross, never even thought to look in decathlon.

as soon as my colds shifted ill try out the adidas kanadia tr7 I bought a few weeks back, I expect theyll be a good all rounder.

In reply to ow arm:

My friend and I did a fast very muddy 20 miles on Saturday. I donned the Kiprun while he sported the Kanadia. Whilst he's a better runner than me my Kiprun held fast while he skated behind me...

In reply to ow arm:

Just normal Asics gel trainers....don't really get the opportunity to run in mud.

In reply to ow arm:
I am with the furer on this youtube.com/watch?v=NMYEYUBNodo&

In reply to sbrt:

not bad but I prefered the kinder downfall is it in yet version

In reply to ow arm:
WHAT
I've run for several years in La Sportive Wildcats and I love them
WHY
I'm totally unaware of having anything on my feet, the Wildcats seem to become an integral part of my feet.

BUT...THE BAD NEWS
When the last pair expired last summer, I was disappointed (to put it mildly) to learn that they are no longer imported into this country in women's sizes. I tried several different makes and models and chose a pair of Salomon Fellraisers.

AND....THE GOOD NEWS
They are turning out to be superb too - so much so that I have now bought another pair in case they too disappear from the market. Traction is good on both gravel trails and fell terrain around Aviemore and they're good in mud and snow too. They're not waterproof but I'd rather have shoes that drain quickly; in snow I use merino socks to keep my feet warm when the shoes get wet. Icebreaker and Smartwool both work well in that respect.

In reply to ohsmeg:

good username, my only quibble with the fellraisers is that I found them to be pretty scary on any rock wet or dry.

In reply to ow arm:

Id recommend the Adidas Kanadia TR7 - fast draining, good grip on gravel, wet rock and trails, but not very good on wet grass, so it is what it says - a trail shoe. Im impressed with them for the price, but wont be on my list of 'favourite' shoes