Looking for a new pair of trail runners. My current pair are New Balance MT 101s. I like that they are lightweight and not too structured but need something with a wider toe box and possibly 0-drop heel. Most of my hiking now is in California, so grip in the mud is less important.

Currently considering the Altra Superior - http://www.altrazerodrop.com/fitness/en/Altra/Men/superior-men. Anyone out there tried these out or have other suggestions?

Bonus points if you can point me to some stores where I can try on lots of different brands in the Bay Area.

Inov8 has some great options with lots of toebox room and heels with very little our no lift.

I've used LOTS of minimalist trail runners. If I had to throw out my favorites

If your looking for something similar to the MT101 i'd say the merell mixmaster is a pretty good shoe to compare it to. It's slightly heavier, but has a more flexible sole, and more durable shoe overall without a huge weight penalty.

Similarly the Altra superior would fit the bill and is now my ALL TIME FAVORITE HIKING SHOE. I've been using this shoe for the past 4 months for hiking and think it's the ideal hiking shoe. Wide toebox, durable upper, comfortable protection for rocks, grippy, and tough. and they look good!

Merell Trail Glove - Super minimal, yet an awesome shoe. I think this is as minimalist as I'd be willing to go for a hiking shoe. I ran a 30 miler in them and my body really felt it. It's an excellent shoe but as with the inov8's durability is an issue.

I really like inov8's a lot. I use the flite195 daily for road running, but would not want to hike in many of their shoes. When I thru hiked in 2008 i destroyed a pair of inov8's fairly quickly and was a little disappointed with their overall durability. With these shoes I've also found that for better or worse they have a lot of ground feel. Which is a good and bad thing depending on the terrain. I think that other than durability inov8 makes excellent shoes.

order from runningwarehouse.com

they have excellent customer service (all of the shoes i've mentioned above)

and free 2-day shipping and free returns


hope this helps

Edited by Marty_Mcfly on 02/16/2013 22:06:23 MST.

Ordered the Altra Superiors, should have them on Tuesday. If they pass initial inspection I'll take them out next weekend :). Thanks for the great info!