Best trail running shoes for men and women in 2024

The best trail running shoes can make going off-road a more enjoyable and beneficial experience so we’ve rounded up and reviewed some of the best options on the market for men and women.

The benefits of trail running for triathletes are huge, from building core strength to technique gains and pure off-season enjoyment.

By incorporating materials like Gore-Tex, the best trail running shoes can help you stay warm while running in winter. This is especially true if you invest in the best running socks as well.

To help you narrow down your options, we’ve rounded up the best men’s and women’s shoes we’ve tested for trail running. After the reviews, read our buyer’s guide to find out what to look for in a trail running shoe.

Best trail running shoes for men

Inov-8 Trailtalon GTX

• £140 / $160

The Inov-8 Trailtalon GTX are very competent running shoes for winter trails. Their Gore-Tex membrane keeps your feet from the wet and muck while letting them breathe. The graphene-infused sole is also very grippy on the slipperiest slopes.

Inov-8 offers the Trailtalon in two widths, not three like in other models, but the wide fit (UK11, 102mm) was still comfortable for me. A brighter colour scheme than the grey on test would be welcome.

The Trailtalons aren’t the most cushioned trail running shoes, which appreciates your feel of what’s beneath you without reducing comfort. James Witts

New Balance Fresh Foam Hierro V8

• £140 / $149.99

If your winter trails look pretty dry and firm, arguably this 319g New Balance Fresh Foam Hierro V8 could be for you; in fact, it’s so comfortable and cushioned that this could double as a road shoe.

Yes, its Vibram outsole’s peppered with lugs but they’re relatively shallow at 4mm. That cosy feel derives from its Fresh Foam X midsole, which is seen on many of NB’s road and off-road shoes.

That cushioning doesn’t come at the cost of pace, though, as it’s lively. It also feels stable – much needed on the trails. Like the majority of New Balance’s road and off-road shoes, it comes in two different width options: standard and wide. I pitched for the ‘standard’ as my feet are more akin to a pair of skis than a pair of human feet.

Despite their slender nature, these fit perfectly with room enough around the toebox but nice and secure in the midfoot. They’re a great shoe for road to light trails, but not the heavier stuff. JW

Altra Olympus 6

• £155 / $175

Looking for a roomy trail shoe that still feels secure? Then the Altra Olympus 6 should nestle on your radar. Firstly, it’s a maximalist offering, hitting the scales at a mighty 415g. Its largesse stems from myriad factors including what Altra term its “plush-compressed EVA”, rather than just compressed EVA in the midsole.

Despite that, it’s zero heel-to-toe drop, ensuring you don’t feel like you’re wearing high heels in the mud. You actually feel nice and connected, albeit it might be too bulky for some, especially those used to hitting the trails in a more streamlined shoe.

To that end, the toebox is roomy enough to house a small family. It’s what Altra’s famed for and is designed to liberate your toes with every foot strike.

It’s comfortable from the get-go thanks to a “premium Achilles pillow” and does have a bullet-proof quality to it. There’s also a neat hook-and-loop tab to attach gaiters if you’re going hardcore. JW

Adidas Terrex Agravic Speed Ultra

• £200 / $220

The Adidas Terrex Agravic Speed Ultra is a lightweight, carbon-plated trail running shoe which commands a high price. 

Substantial heel-to-toe drop seems to propel you forwards as you stride. But decent cushioning stops the Terrex Agravic Speed Ultra’s sole from feeling too harsh.

Traction is surprisingly good considering the mixture of low-profile 2.5mm and 3mm lugs.

However, the narrowness of the outsole reduces stability, potentially too much for less sure-footed trail runners on rough terrain. 

Saucony Triumph 22 GTX

• £190

The Triumph 22 GTX costs nearly £200 and doesn’t include a carbon midsole. Saucony justifies the price with the use of Gore-Tex for waterproofing purposes. 

The Triumph 22 (334g) shorn of waterproofing’s £20 cheaper at £170. Which highlights a major hurdle for trail aficionados. This is a road shoe wrapped in a waterproof top. 

That’s not to say it isn’t comfortable and doesn’t fit securely. It does, the former achieved via Saucony’s highly responsive PWRRUN PB cushioning; the latter thanks to an adaptive lacing system and a comfy tongue. 

It’s also pretty swift for such a cushioned shoe and one featuring a 10mm drop from heel to toe. So, there’s much to like. 

But its lack of simple off-road features like added grip on the outsole suggest this is more a waterproof run shoe than a trail shoe. 

Also note that this waterproofing moniker can be misleading. Although the upper’s virtually impenetrable to water, the drawback is that if your socks get wet – which happens on the trail – that moisture can wick downward into the shoe and then you’ll still have wet and potentially cold feet. JW

I’m not a huge fan of the colourway of my Scott Kinabulu 3 test sample. That’s not to say you won’t be, but there are three further colour options if the “amazon green/fog grey” doesn’t float your boat.

Which may well be floated as there’s much to like about the Kinabalu 3 (363g) including comfort. “Dual density kinetic foam” adds a certain luxury while Scott’s Evolved Rocker2 technology’s designed to augment that comfortable landing with a smooth transition to toe off. Which it achieves, albeit there are faster shoes here, especially the Inov-8.

Your feet feel extremely stable and supported thanks to the padded heel cup. Padding’s not excessive, though to reduce the chances of absorbing water. An overlay runs around the base of the upper to protect abrasion caused by dirt and grit, which is reinforced by toe protection. A lugged outsole adds grip but again not to the level of the Inov-8.

Best trail running shoes for women

Salomon Genesis

• £140 / $150

The Salomon Genesis use the brand’s signature laces, making them the easiest trail running shoes to put on and take off. And because the laces lock in, there’s next to no chance of them undoing mid-run.

Salomon running shoes are usually too narrow for me, but sizing up in the wider-fitting Genesis gave me enough room in the toe box.

The deep lugs give lots of grip in deep mud while the sole strikes a balance between softness and responsiveness. Another nice touch is the airy and hard-wearing upper which also protects your feet from winter weather. Jude Palmer

La Sportiva Levante

• £187 / $155

Designed specifically for women, La Sportiva’s Levante is a gem of a shoe with great trail specific features such as a protective tow bumper, lace garage and a great balance between cushioning and responsiveness.

With performance in mind, the Levante certainly feels fast with its snug fit and light weight feel (210g for a UK5).

The standout feature is the integrated ankle cuff which keeps dirt out of the shoe, a real bonus for wet winter running. I did find getting the shoe on trickier to start with and a heel loop would be appreciated but after a few wears this became easier. 

The Levante felt really responsive especially on the uphill as my feet were able to flex onto my toes with ease. The toe box felt roomy enough for my toes to wiggle and the shape of the shoe plus the gaiter means my ankle felt held on steep descents. There is plenty of grip for all but the muddiest of runs. JP

Altra Timp 5

• £155 / $155

If you love a zero-drop trail shoe with masses of wriggle room in the toe box to let your wonderful biomechanics do their thing, the Altra Timp 5 is for you. I loved the look of this shoe with its bright fun vibe and it has a lot to offer in terms of cushioning for those longer runs as well as responsiveness for shorter faster runs.

Whilst it is broad across the toes I found it to be tight in the midstep although this did loosen over time. My UK5 came in at 269g.

The gaiter hook and heel Velcro are welcome additional features commonly found with Altra shoes. If you are wanting to transition from shoes with more traditional drops of 5 to 8mm then take your time to wear the Timp 5 in however, otherwise your Achilles won’t thank you. The Vibram soles offer great grip on all but the muddiest of trails. JP

Dynafit Ultra 100

• £160 / $179.95

Promoted as an ultra-distance shoe the Dynafit Ultra 100 certainly has plenty of cushioning in the sole and the grip to cope with all sorts of different trail conditions that we tested.

With a stack height of 30mm and 6mm drop and padded heel cushion and tongue, the Ultra 100 offers comfort on longer runs but perhaps not the responsiveness on more technical trails. 

On its website, Dynafit recommends sizing down two sizes which seemed a little unusual. In fact, the opposite was true as I needed to wear a shoe two sizes bigger than my normal so that I could get the right width in what is a pointy toe box.

This made the shoe feel overly long. The stretch lace cover towards the bottom of the tongue is a great place to stash laces but I found it made adjusting the laces harder. JP

Arc’teryx Sylan

• £180 / $200

The Sylan sets itself apart from most other trail shoes with its rocker profile, a feature I have seen migrate over from road shoes. The shape of the bottom of the shoe encourages my feet to rock to the toe which made running feel easier and more efficient.

On flatter less technical trails I felt faster.  The downside is that this made the shoe feel stiffer in the sole and less responsive if you are the sort of runner who likes to feel the trail.

The upside of the relatively high stack height of 28mm/23mm is great cushioning but is this to the detriment of weight with my UK5 coming in at 292g.

The knitted ankle sleeve is a real bonus to keep out debris and a really useful pocket on the tongue for stashing laces.  

It feels true to size and has a fairly wide toe box although at the end of longer runs I felt some midfoot tightness.  JP

How we tested

We tested these trail running shoes as autumn turned to winter in the UK, making for slippery off-road conditions.

Therefore, traction was a major consideration: could the shoes maintain grip when we were pushing the pace uphill and downhill?

And in the wet and cold, could the shoes keep our feet pretty warm and dry without them overheating? So we also looked for breathability.

We tested a mixture of racy, lightweight trail running shoes and heavier, better cushioned options. With the former we assessed how propulsive they felt. With the latter we appraised their long-distance comfort. We considered the stability of both kinds.

As with any running shoes, we were after well fitting and comfortable trail running shoes, ideally offered in a range of widths.

Trail running shoes: buyer’s guide

What are trail running shoes?

The road or pavement may rule the triathlon amphitheatre throughout the summer months, but when autumn arrives there’s a wealth of opportunities to slip into a pair of trail running shoes for both racing and training.

Of course, you can run in your road shoes, but there are subtle (and not so subtle) feature differences – grip, toe bumpers, water protection – that make off-road running in off-road run shoes a more enjoyable and productive experience. In simple terns off-road running shoes are designed to cope with every type of terrain thrown at them, whether it be mud, hills, ice, snow…

What to look for in pair of trail running shoes

To keep feet cool in summer, look for a breathable upper. This is key year-round across all terrains but even more so on trail-specific shoes, because lightweight material also aids drainage come the muddy and wet off-season.

A distinct feature of a trail shoe’s rubber outsole are teeth-like lugs, vital for staying the right way up come field or fell. They come in varying sizes and depths, so select to suit your intended terrain types, from tow paths to ragged mountain routes.

Consider the laces themselves when buying: round ones can come undone while elastics stay put, and some models feature a tongue pocket to stow laces away. Always aim to try the shoes before you buy, and look for potential areas where rubbing may occur.

Nestled between the outsole and upper, is the mighty midsole; the bulk of your cushioning. Models vary in heel drop and stack height. Don’t go changing too fast when picking your trail shoes, your road shoe heel-to-toe ratios are a good start.

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