anybody here using the north face Arnuva 50 Boa shoes?

the lacing system looks pretty slick.

can anyone comment on comfort and durability...

Im looking at these for long mixed road and trail runs (marathon-50K) and possibly some backpacking

Ive been testing out a bunch of different shoes recently. and havent tried TNF and golite yet... these look pretty good though, choice of top ultra runner Dean Karnazes

The last pair of North Face shoes that I bought were pretty light, but when I took them on to the trail they were awful. I felt every rock underneath my feet, even though they fit plenty snug the heel somehow rubbed my foot and gave me blisters (my first blisters since I've switched to trail runners, I had forgotten how much they sucked) and the toe cover along with other parts of the shoe started to fall apart after only about 20 miles. I'd stay away from North Face Shoes

Andrew,

See, the lasts on TNF's fit my foot shape better (my heel gets sloppy in nearly any other shoe) than any other... I never get blisters...

Your experience proves the comments about hiking boots are just applicable on trail runners "Fit is King"... meaning it doesn't matter a whit that you pick the snazziest lightest shoe if it doesn't fit your foot. You should find a company (or two) that fit your foot perfect and then limit your choice to those manufacturers.

PS - I have a friend that swears by his Boa's, that compared to my adoration of my Ultra 103 means the Arunva 50 Boa is my next purchase.

Edited by jdmitch on 03/13/2008 12:16:34 MDT.

"You should find a company (or two) that fit your foot perfect and then limit your choice to those manufacturers."

Which is what I have done, I stick to Inov-8 and Montrail now, using TNF shoes was just a matter of trial and error. The very poor level of durability was one of the main points I was also trying to get across