Extremely happy
Over the past several years I’ve tried out over a dozen trail running shoes, just to name a few: brooks cascadia, brooks catamount, brooks caldera, altra lone peak, altra superior, altra olympus, saucony peregrine, topo ultraventure, asics trabuco max, hoka challenger, hoka speedgoat, and other random Salomon, merrel, etc trail running shoes. This is the first shoe that I have wanted to keep.Two things take extremely high priority to me in a pair of trail running shoes. 1. I shouldn’t be hurt by roots and rocks (whether they achieve this with a hard rubber outsole, rock plate, or thick outsole, I don’t care much). 2. I have a slight hagmlunds deformity so I need an exceptional heel lock to actually hold anything in place. Other factors are also important like how grippy they are, is the midsole comfortable, does it have a gaiter trap, are there rubber overlays at the front to stop rocks from destroying the fabric, are they durable, are they lightweight etc, but these factors come second (to me) to those two important factors.THIS SHOE MET ALMOST ALL MY EXPECTATIONS. It is comfortable running over technical trails, has good grip, is compatible with gaiters, has some slight rubber overlays for durability, and the heel doesn’t slip that much. Although the heel does slip a tiny bit, note that it was the best out of all those other popular shoes, partially due to the Achilles tendon pads, and partially from the soft heel counter.IF YOU ARE BETWEEN THIS SHOE AND ALTRA OLYMPUS OR LONE PEAK, BUY THIS SHOE. Altra Olympus is built with slightly more traction and is a bit more rugged, but with the cons of a much heavier weight, stiffer midsole, heel slip, and steeper price. The lone peak is a comfortable shoe, but it’s thin midsole breaks down much faster, heel slips more, and doesn’t seem to get as good of a midfoot lockdown, so your foot slides around in the shoe on technical trails.Tdlr: this shoe surprised me after a long line of disappointments. If you enjoy trail running, hiking or backpacking, give this shoe a try!