- Yeah, where do we start here?
Hey, I'm Alan with REI and I'll...
Shoe with shoe. (guitar music)
Should I say that these are all my shoes?
Not this one though, dude,
I don't have this ugly shoe.
I'm Alan and I'm here to help you find the next best shoe.
(scoffs) Next best.
Trail, running shoes, trail running shoe,
and I'm here to help you figure out...
- [Director] Let's just slow down.
Take it from the top.
(high pitched tone.)
- I'm Alan, with REI,
and today we're going to talk about how to choose
your next pair of trail running shoes.
Shoe type, cushion, heel to toe drop.
Those are the three most important factors
in choosing your next pair of trail running shoes.
Remember to check out my video
on sizing and fitting your trail runners
'cause that's still the most important factor
before making a final buying decision.
There are several factors that help determine
what category a shoe falls into.
When you're thinking about buying
your next pair of trail runners,
think about the type of terrain you'll be on.
Some shoes are made
for a little bit more uniform, packed trail,
and some shoes are made
for a little bit more rugged, burly trails.
Is mud on the menu,
or are you mostly gravel grinding?
To help keep your options straight,
we've helped categorize shoes
in three different categories,
light trail, rugged trail and off trail.
So let's start with light trail.
If your runs are starting to take you from the road
to unpaved trails,
you may reach for one of our light trail options.
Light trail shoes are awesome.
They're that transitionary shoe between road shoes
and trail running shoes.
You'll notice on the upper
that there's a lot of same features.
Breathability lets you kind of feel good
as you're moving along.
On the bottom of the shoe,
you'll notice that the traction
is gonna give you some light traction
for hard pack surfaces and gravel paths.
Oftentimes there's even a transition zone to help you
in case you run is still consisting of a mix
between road and trail.
If your runs usually lead you to a little rougher terrain,
then a rugged trail shoe might be a good option for you.
A lot of our trail runners fall into this category,
so there's a wide variety to choose from.
We're going to go over to benefits
that come with our rugged trail options,
protection and traction.
Traction on our rugged trail options
help you feel secure (vines creak)
when you're running on gnarlier terrain.
Does gnarly sound okay?
- [Producer] Sounds great.
Okay, cool.
They usually accomplish this
with a couple of different ways.
Oftentimes they'll use stickier rubber,
like the trail tack on this Cascadia.
A lot of times the lugs
will be a little bit more aggressive,
helping you feel really secure
when you're bombing down the hills.
They'll still be able to shed mud,
which will really be helpful
when conditions get a little bit more wet.
When we're thinking about protection,
we may be thinking about the upper part of the shoe,
and that's a good thing.
We do have some reinfoced toe guard-
(chuckles) reinfoced.
This is helpful when we can see that there's reinfoste,
reinfourer, forss, rainforest hogards.
Reinfooer, God, Jesus. .
- [Producer] You're doing great.
- Thanks dude, yeah.
We can see a reinforced toe guard.
(applause)
We can see a little bit of stability features in the midsole
and we even have a ballistic nylon rock plate on this shoe,
to help us feel those roots
and those pointy things coming down.
- [Director] Uh...
- [Producer] Opposite to that.
- [Director] Opposite to that.
- [Producer] Help you not feel...
- [Director] Prevent...
- Oh, to not feel.
Did I say feel?
Let's talk about the off-trail options.
These shoes take a lot of the characteristics
that we find in rugged trail, and turn it up to 11.
(steam whistles)
(explosion)
These shoes have a lot more structure in them
and provide a lot more stability
when you're doing things that might
take your adventure to the next level.
They allow for a lot more protection on the top of the foot
by reinforcing a lot of key parts of the shoe,
including the toe.
They give you a lot more sticky traction on the bottom,
when you're doing things like boulder hopping
or bushwhacking.
They're also a great option for folks
that are looking to shed weight
and transition from a backpacking shoe
to an off-trail trail runner.
- [Director] Do you own a pair of off trail shoes, Alan?
- I don't, no. (chuckles)
A lot of times, folks transitioning in that space
will notice that the traction kind of propels them forward
a little bit so they can move a little bit faster
in the back country.
It also feels pretty supportive and sometimes even more
supportive than low hikers,
which allows them to feel secure underfoot
when carrying a pack.
So let's talk about cushioning.
Cushioning comes in a wide range of options
ranging all the way from barefoot,
like this running sandal here,
to max cushion option like this ultra Olympus here.
And everything in between like this Brooks Cascadia here.
Your barefoot styles and your minimalist styles
are gonna have less cushioning underfoot,
which basically means that you're gonna feel more things
on the ground as you run.
A lot of folks like,
and describe this feeling of feeling connected to the ground
as an enjoyable part of their trail runs.
Next up you have a moderate cushion shoe.
This shoe will help you feel some things under foot,
but keep you feeling...(chuckles)
I don't know what you're feeling.
(all laugh)
This shoe is going to help you feel things under foot,
but keep your feet happy after longer distances
because of the cushioning throughout.
A lot of folks liken this shoe to their work horse shoe,
a shoe that they do a lot of their trail runs in,
day in and day out.
It's a pretty comfortable option.
Then we have a max cushion shoe.
And if you're like me,
sometimes you just need a little bit of that cushioning
to feel comfortable on your trail runs.
It's still gonna give you a lot of protection
and grip under foot,
but definitely help you feel
like you're running on clouds a bit.
I tend to rotate the trail runners I'm in,
and some days I'm super excited
to strap my feet into these, feel fast,
and connected to the ground
when I'm going for a short trail run.
Other days when I'm trying to log longer miles
and feel nothing under foot,
except that cush foam underneath,
I tend to go from my max cushion shoes.
So let's talk about heel to toe drop.
Heel to toe drop is the difference in height
between the heel of the shoe and the forefoot.
Heel to toe drop comes in a wide range of millimeters.
No, sounds like I'm describing hex wrenches.
Heel to toe drop, commonly referred to as just drop,
comes in a range of anywhere from zero
to 12 or more millimeters.
This Solomon Sense Ride has a difference in height
from the heel to the forefoot of about eight millimeters.
While this ultra superior is pretty uniform throughout
and actually has a difference of zero millimeters.
So now that we know what drop is,
why is it important, and how might it affect
your trail running buying decisions?
Shoes that have a higher drop,
like this Solomon with an eight millimeter drop,
can tend to promote heel striking,
which means you land on your heel first.
This is usually due to a slight difference
in weight between the heel and the forefoot of the shoe,
which means you would land first here before you land here.
Shoes with a lower drop,
ranging anywhere from zero to six millimeters,
tend to promote a midfoot or forefoot landing.
This is due to the uniform weight in both the heel
and the forefoot, allowing your foot to land
as it naturally would.
If you're looking to transition from a lower drop shoe
to a higher drop shoe,
or from a higher drop shoe to a lower drop shoe,
remember to give your body some time to adjust.
It might feel like you're working new muscles,
or you might feel strains in new places.
That's totally normal.
Just give your body some time to adapt.
If you're concerned about that transition,
talk to your doctor.
So we've gone over shoe type, cushioning,
and heel to toe drop.
Hopefully that helps you narrow down
your next trail running decision.
(chuckles) Trail running decision is not to go and run.
(all laugh)
Hopefully that helps you narrow down your options.
Remember to check out our video on size and fit
as that's still the most important thing
before finalizing your purchase.
See on the trail, I dunno, do you want to...
- [Producer] I like, "See you on the trail."
- See you on the trail, yeah, cool.
Thanks for watching.
See you on the trail.
(all laugh)
(rocks crunch)