 Here we go video to publishing today trail running shoes that didn't quite hit the mark in 2019 So cheers everyone. I hope you're having a great day and this video so this morning you may have already seen it But in case you have not I published another blog at 5 a.m. About my favorite my top three trail running shoes from this entire year and what a year we have had Lots of vertical lots of mud lots of snow lots of exciting places to go check out here in Colorado But also around the world and I also mentioned that when you're considering a trail shoe It's different than road shoes because trail shoes are Designed for specific types of trails whereas road shoes It's like you've got asphalt and you've got more asphalt You've got concrete and more concrete whereas trails you've got vertical you've got sandy conditions You've got roots you've got you know boulders to deal with you've got all sorts of different factors that play into Different types of trails out there, which impacts the very vast The very the vast opportunity to purchase trail shoes on the market So also I want to mention Even though these shoes that I'm about to share with you didn't work for me Who knows they might work for you because they might fit your body type of better, okay? Alright, I'll leave it at that. Let's dive in the first shoe that did not quite hit the mark in 2019 these Solomon X Alpine pro I didn't really know what I was getting myself into when I picked up this shoe the Solomon X Alpine pro It's a six millimeter drop a 24 millimeter stack height in the heel 18 in the forefoot So it's got that six six millimeter drop which is actually right where I like it for most shoes But it just didn't quite work out for the Solomon X Alpine pro as far as weight goes It's actually a pretty decent weight in in men size 9 you're looking at 10.6 ounces or 300 grams So not crazy heavy But also not crazy like kind of middle of the road with respect to weight now Why is the Solomon X Alpine pro not working for me in 2019? The simple way to say it is that it's too stiff through the outsole way too much hard rubber Right there on the outsole of the X Alpine pro And if I had to put it into a particular category that was not running I would say for all the rock climbers out there this it feels like a rock climbing Approach shoe so you can wear shoes to go to where you're gonna rock climb and then you switch out and you put on Your rock climbing shoes this feels like an approach shoe very rigid very good for like Technical hiking it feels more like a hiking-esque shoe. There's a chassis in there It's just really really stiff and a little rigid and I like a little more nimbleness Is that a word a nimbleness through my gate cycle through my foot strike even up in the mountains where it's really rocky I will say my foot was really well protected but at the end of the day this outsole just was a little too much hard rubber out there and The upper was pretty was okay. The midsole was meh, but that outsole again. You can see the ridge there It's just a really sharp defined ridge, which I think is perfect for hiking up Rocks and boulders to get to a rock climbing place. So anyway, that is the Solomon X Alpine pro the first the first shoe That did not work for me in 2019 okay, we're gonna set this down here shoe number two that did not work This one was it was close very close the Hoka mafate to there it is the hoka mafate to Again a little stiff. Whoo. Okay. It's been actually sitting outside Remember my tip of the day you don't leave your shoes outside because they get stiff because the cold if you're in cold Weather this is feeling really stiff right now. So despite having an incredible stack height of 33 millimeters in the heel and 29 in the forefoot that is a huge stack height It's despite that stack height. It's just not feeling Nimble enough for me once again And you're probably picking up on the the types of trail shoes that I like just a little more nimbleness And I thought that after putting maybe 30 miles into the shoe It would start to open up a little bit like the midsole would break I actually was hoping that the midsole would break down and just get a little softer It never really happened now. I will say I'm a small guy. I'm a hundred and you know I'm a hundred and twenty pounds. Basically if you are a big runner like 250 pounds You're just a big strong runner this shoe might actually work out for you And you might be able to just break up that midsole a little better I'm a smaller guy and I should have um, anyway, it just didn't work out For the hoka mafate to because it never really opened up if that made sense the outsole amazing great grip upper Great it's got that matrix upper so Kevlar built into the upper which means the upper is going to be really really durable Again, it just comes back down to that midsole for that much For that much midsole I was expecting a little more forgiveness for my legs And one last point is just a little bulky for big mountain running And but the outsole pattern is that it's an aggressive outsole pattern very great Lug depth and just a really solid lug depth But it just feels it felt a little too clunky Climbing 14ers here in Colorado, which means who knows maybe it could work for undulating hills Or really muddy conditions with undulating hills. So anyway, this is the trail shoe of 2019 the hoka almost threw it away the hoka mafate to it just didn't work out for me in 2019 okay setting that down there and the last trail running shoe of 2019 that did not work for me the innovate terra ultra g 260 makes me a little sad because I love innovate. I think watch out I think innovate in 2020 is gonna continue to push the ball forward for trail running shoes Especially they make road shoes as well, but I think they do great in the trail running scene this guy right here a 17 millimeter stack height all the way so a zero drop shoe It kind of shocked me ultra is really the only other company that hones in on zero drop all the time So I was surprised to see 17 in the in the heel 17 in the forefoot a pretty lightweight shoe Okay, so we're looking at 9.1 ounces or 260 grams. That's pretty good. Okay now. It's being Ooh, I like that see this midsole is spot on like as far as just a little more nimble now If you need a stability trail shoe this probably is not gonna work for you But I just love this so so much that midsole movement there. However, the main issue is that 17 is not quite enough cushion for the ultra distance I was my legs were barking at me at the end of my long runs up in the mountains So we're talking, you know, we're talking anywhere from 15 to 23 mile long runs up in the mountains getting vertical My legs desired much more cushion So if this could be and I rumor has it something might be coming down the pike But I would be I would love like at least 21, but maybe even like 23 Probably nothing more than 23 millimeter stack height all the way across I think it would just provide a little extra cushion for those long mountain runs or those Long mountain races like ultra races, which is I believe where this shoe is being advertised as this could be an option for your Ultra racing in 2020 so it didn't work for me But who knows maybe it works for you and yes question of the day here we go What trail shoe of 2019 just missed the mark for you a little bit like you bought it you ran in it But it just wasn't quite what you were hoping for that's a question of the day for the second video Thank you for watching. Thanks for being here. We're just gonna keep reviewing. I think it's good There's a lot of shoes that we all ran in in 2019. It was an exciting year Some were amazing some just missed the mark a little bit like all these I would say the one that I struggled with the most definitely was the Solomon these two were close, okay? But I'm excited to see in 2020 what happens for innovation for all three of these there you have it Thank you for being here. Thanks for watching and I'm gonna toss it back to the blog that published this morning my top three Trail shoes of 2019 and then we'll toss it back to another We'll toss it back to the Mofate to first impression just to see what you think about my first impression of this shoe All right. Thank you for being here. Thanks for watching. See beauty work hard and love each other. See you tomorrow