Aerojust,
Your wish (sock post) is my command. Actually, I’d been planning on a sock post since at least the beginning of April. Regardless, it’s up. :-)

Wonderboy, Aerojust, IMTR, and Sara… thanks for starting the conversation re the necessity or lack thereof for trail shoes.

Travis,
I’d had contacting Oboz on my to do list since I first heard about them, but then I tried a pair of the Oboz Ignition on during my trip to Salt Lake City last month and didn’t like them at all. They felt really clunky in the store. Maybe it was something about the Ignition in particular that didn’t work for me, but I won’t be blindly ordering any of their other models for the time being.

I would for sure be up for hearing about the more obscure brands out there. Oboz seem interesting.

http://flatlandultra.com

when i’m on fireroads etc though I’ll run in a lighter road shoe like a Speedstar since again it just feels right…

- The fit is like the roclites, but a bit smaller volume around the toe

- the sole is typical f-lite, so more like a road shoe than a trail shoe, but made with inov-8′s sticky rubber and so grips well on dry and (unlike the roclites IMO) wet rock. They are not as good on wet grass though.

- The cushioning/support is very minimal, and after having to do a couple of miles on a road after a navigational mishap, my feet were feeling tired from the impact.

- there is next to no heel in them. They are more like a racing flat, and indeed might get used for track work and the odd 5k race I do.

- they are an amazing bright blue colour!

So, in summary, my initial thoughts are they might be good for short loosener/recovery trail runs but will mainly be be for short, sharp, rocky races of up to about 10 miles, but my roclites will still be my main trail shoes.

The close fit, thin sole and sticky rubber almost remind me of a climbing shoe!

Trail shoes for traction of course. If you don’t need traction you might not need trail shoes. I like the Roclite series – currently using mostly the new 295, but still also the 315. Light for trail shoes, good traction, and especially because they fit my feet well – obviously that is key to shoe choice. Not all Inov8s fit the same though.

I am curious about even lighter shoes, including the NB790, the Pearl Izumi XC which claims to be less than 10 oz, and the Inov230 F-lite and fell shoe they have not yet released – the Xtalon (or whatever).

So somebody should review those :)

- dogrunner
who has forgotten his google password, so today is anonymous

http://www.justusstull.com/2008/
06/16/brooks-adrenaline-asr4/

As far as the BOA system on the Northface? I liked it, but i would not trust it over 100 miles. I have a friend who has kicked his during a race and released the laces, i am not sure if he kicked it or knocked it on a root or rock? I would also be paranoid about it snapping. I did like the North face shoes, but they were just too small for my boats i call my feet :( I do wear them on some short trail runs.

Brooks ASR’s for me….and let me tell you why. While training in NM, I found that the gritty dust on the trails wore through the mesh uppers in weeks. A new pair of Asics had my toes poking through in 5 weeks…so I hunted for some shoes that didn’t have a mesh upper (like the running shoes from the 70′s) and found the Brooks ASR’s. Now I’m back in NH and have been wearing them no all my trail training and races. I also have been trying the Asics Trail Attacks and after 20 miles at Pittsfield Peaks 54 last Saturday, I switched back into my ASR’s and it was Ahhhhhh for my feet.
You can read my review on my blog here. http://ultrastevep.blogspot.com/2008/04/review-of-brooks-adrenaline-asr-trail.html

Thanks for this great writeup on shoes,
Steve