I’ll start off here with a disclaimer, that this post is not sponsored content in any fashion. I paid full retail price for these shoes. Similar to the Wildhorse, I picked these up with the winter months in mind. I was particularly drawn to them by the sub $150 price point and the Vibram sole. I have worn them on a number of trail runs in the Catskills this fall, starting with an 18 miler and a 10 miler in pretty quick sequence.

I’ll start with the cons- despite the little built-in neoprene gaiter around the ankle, these kicks took in a lot of trail debris. To be fair, the ground was covered in leaves. So I’m not sure it was actually shoe’s fault. I also experienced a bit of tongue slippage on my left foot. This is not something that I had experienced before with Nike. I had to stop during both of the longer runs to empty out the shoes and straighten out the tongue. These shoes also seemed on the heavy side of the spectrum and felt a bit blocky compared to other trail runners I have worn. Last and least important, they did not look as good in person as other trail shoes that I have worn in the past.

The upside- The fact that I was able to knock out 18 miles right out of the box without developing a single blister or hot spot speaks to how comfortable they are. The midsole does not seem quite as cushy as the Wildhorse, but that is most likely a tradeoff for being so sturdy, which they certainly are. The Vibram sole gave me some killer traction, even on patches of wet leaves. I’m hoping they will provide the same grip in ice and snow this winter. All things considered, I would probably just pay the couple of extra bucks and get the Wildhorses again. But I certainly don’t regret picking these up.