It's late in the season for summer footwear, but mine are all disintegrating at once, and that also means it's discount time. I'm looking for both a hiking shoe (usually a moderate to heavy trail runner), and an actual trail running shoe. My past hiking shoe was the Vasque Mindbender (12D), which was just about perfect. My trail running shoe was the Pearl Izumi Peak II (I think 11.5D), which was ok but a little "dead" and REALLY miserable if I had to hit pavement for any length of time. I did Pikes in the Peak II. My road shoe rotation is Saucony Virrata 2 (11.5D) for most miles--this is what I wore for R2R2R, which was probably a mistake but the thought of the Peak II for 50 miles was miserable--complemented by the Brooks PureFlow (11.5D). For faster work I use the NB Minimus Zero (11.5D) and sometimes the Brooks PureDrift (11.5D, probably a half-size too big.)
I'm a moderate pronator but find that emphasizing stability just wears out the inside of the shoe faster and makes it worse. My feet sweat like mad so waterproof anything is right out, except eVent. (I had a pair of Keen trail shoes that hurt like hell to run in and fell apart in no time, but the eVent top was very nice.) I like a fair bit of fore/aft flexibility, particularly in the running shoe ("feel" for the surface), and not too much drop. I'm fairly standard size although a little bit wide in the toebox, which means I sometimes need to go up half a size to keep from jamming my little toe (going to a 2E is too sloppy in the heel and midfoot.)
For hiking shoe, I'm looking primarily at the Vasque Juxt or Grand Traverse. For running, the Pearl Izumi Trail N2 sounds good; I'd consider the M2, but it seems like a little too much shoe for my tastes. Looking for any opinions on these shoes, other shoes I should be considering, and how the sizing/fit is.
I'm a moderate pronator but find that emphasizing stability just wears out the inside of the shoe faster and makes it worse. My feet sweat like mad so waterproof anything is right out, except eVent. (I had a pair of Keen trail shoes that hurt like hell to run in and fell apart in no time, but the eVent top was very nice.) I like a fair bit of fore/aft flexibility, particularly in the running shoe ("feel" for the surface), and not too much drop. I'm fairly standard size although a little bit wide in the toebox, which means I sometimes need to go up half a size to keep from jamming my little toe (going to a 2E is too sloppy in the heel and midfoot.)
For hiking shoe, I'm looking primarily at the Vasque Juxt or Grand Traverse. For running, the Pearl Izumi Trail N2 sounds good; I'd consider the M2, but it seems like a little too much shoe for my tastes. Looking for any opinions on these shoes, other shoes I should be considering, and how the sizing/fit is.
