The Best Trail Running Shoes Available Now | Our pick of the best off-road options to buy

It's been a big year for trail running shoes and we've seen some fantastic new options appear as well as a host of updated classics. We're not going to tell you this is the absolute best list of trail shoes available at the moment, though - the range of trail shoe options and the variety of terrains make it a mammoth task to undertake.
Instead, we're going to give you a detailed rundown of our top picks, with each of The Run Testers picking their current favourite trail shoe.
You can also find an overview of some of the trail shoes that we've used over the past year that we think are well worth taking a look at.
Hit play for our favourite trail shoes you can buy right now.
JUMP STRAIGHT IN:
00:00 - Intro
00:54 - Nick's Pick - Adidas Terrex Speed Pro SG
03:02 - Kieran's Pick - On Cloudultra
07:14 - Jane's Pick - Nike Wildhorse 7
09:50 - Laura's Pick - New Balance Fresh Foam Hierro v6
14:02 - Mike's Pick - Adidas Terrex Two Ultra Parley
15:36 - Tom's Pick - Merrell Moab Flight
More Trail Shoes Worth Looking At
17:24 - Salomon Sense Ride 4
17:58 - Hoka Zinal
18:32 - Saucony Peregrine 11
19:15 - Salomon Speedcross 5
19:42 - The North Face Flight Series Vectiv
20:12 - Hoka Speedgoat 4
20:53 - Nike Pegasus Trail 3
21:27 - Higher State Soil Shaker 2
21:58 - Inov-8 G 270
22:32 - Brooks Catamount
23:04 - Merrell Rubato
23:42 - Inov-8 X-Talon G 210
24:20 - Inov-8 TrailFly Ultra G 300
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[@justincoloma]

I’ve put 200 miles on my Peg 3s so far and absolutely love them. The comfort is really superb when it comes to those long runs.

[@LilMacXC]

Love running on the trails. This was very helpful!

[@TheRunTesters]

Glad it was helpful.

[@George-lz6ue]

Great review team. I run some pretty firm rocky trails (Australia) only 1 km from my front door, so am coming off my Speedgoat 3s for a pair of Hoka Challenger 6s which are a more competent hybrid door to trail shoe. Your helpful review has given me thought for my next rotation. Thanks for sharing!

[@ashleyhopkins9395]

BIG UP SPEEDGOAT 4!🐐

[@alanorcharton8855]

Thanks. +1 on the catamount for dry hard / rocky western type trails. Has a nice rock plate - it’s very responsive and light - taken up to 30k. It’s a little firmer- good for paved too but would probably not choose for mud.

[@expatadventureturkey9324]

Great content covering how the shoes are used and why they were chosen for the type of environment and usage. Great job everyone 🤙🏽

[@TheRunTesters]

Glad you liked it Michael. Thanks for the note.

[@TrailrunnerTroy]

Thank you and Merry Christmas! Best tech trail shoe of ‘21: Speedland PDX! Long haul: Craft CTM Carbon Ultra (100 mile road-trail) and Norda 001 (moderate trails beyond 50 K).

[@almckinnon1753]

Thanks to your Vlog I bought the Adidas Terrex Speed Pro SG and they arrived just in time for my race today. This was a proper UK day with rain, fog and just miserable. The course was extremely muddy, with lots of places to slip. These trainers were amazing , not one foot wrong and I managed to keep a decent pace the whole way around the 10K course. I won the race with the next person coming in just short of 6 mins later. Trainers were amazing thanks guys 👍🏻.

[@TheRunTesters]

Congrats on the win and glad the shoes worked for you! I (Nick) spent Christmas up near the Pentlands in Edinburgh and used the Adidas shoes for hilly, icy, wet, muddy and long runs and they came up trumps every time, huge fan!

[@almckinnon1753]

@@TheRunTesters Cheers Nick, yeah I can’t wait to run in Scotland when I see my family. Happy New Years to you all.

[@TheRunTesters]

And to you!

[@luisodriozola79]

Going to a race with unbroken untested shoes... That could have gone very wrong. Congrats on the win!

[@almckinnon1753]

Great vlog on trail shoes. I used to do all my running on trails but not long ago I found the love for the road, especially with all these super shoes around now. I have The North Face Flight Vective and the Catamount both are good for road to light trail. I use the Peregrine 11 for the proper trails. If it’s properly muddy I then use the Inov-8 Mudclaw 300, very good shoe and it’s saved me a few times in bad conditions going downhill especially on a race called “The Terminator” near me, proper hilly and muddy race. I like the sound Nick’s choice on the Adidas Speed Pro or the other Inov-8’s. We’ll see what Santa brings haha.

[@Yulfi]

Nice-both of my trail shoes made the list, so I guess I made wise choices. Cool.

[@Sheerin777]

A more up to date version of this would be great folks! ❤

[@demianstimson1522]

Always enjoy your reviews. I am a very recent (and relatively old) convert to running so this is my first winter running in Finland and I am in the market for a studded shoe. For about a month after the first snow and freeze, when the temperature stayed between -10° and -20°, I found Puma Velocity were fine. But recently the temperature has been yo-yoing between +2° and -5° which means a cycle of thaw and freeze so the surfaces are treacherous with mirror ice and the like so studs are the only way of getting out, even on normal footpaths (also, my local running track has been converted into an outdoor ice rink). I wonder if any of you have experience of VJ Sarva - I can find very little about them beyond the odd blog post but it's always positive. I guess studded shoes are not something you need in Blighty most of the time.

[@DeeGee69]

My pick for running on snowy paths or partially melted snow here in Montreal is the Asics Fuji LIte 2.... I find them extremely stable, grippy uphill and downhill and can handle long runs of more than 20k easily.

[@JoutarouKuujou1]

The wildhorse is on sale, I'll give it a try, thanks Jane

[@Wendy-ed5qc]

I like how the hierros felt except the heavily padded tongue. Made the top if my foot sore.

[@rlester9254]

Good review glad wild horse 7 works for you I find them comfortable but the grip is non existent on wet roots and rocks

[@Skatemar]

In Australia, the majority of the shoes mentioned cost between $200 and $300. I found the Merrell Moab Flight for $70 delivered after doing some research online. It's a fantastic shoe with plenty of cushioning and outstanding traction.

[@itr0863]

Best bang for the buck, mate. I use the regular OG moab for my longer hikes and for shorter ones with the family i will use the moab flight. I think I got both for around $150 on amazon. Sure there are better shoes out there but you can’t beat the price per performance.

[@mikehall6433]

You guys definitely need to get up to the fells for some proper off roading 😉

[@michaelalbrecht3395]

The saucony peregrine 11 👍💪

[@challyho2u244]

I like hiking and I’m looking for a trainer for in spring/summer to wear what do you think is best?

[@shinguts4838]

Bonjour superbe vidéo j’aurais une question à vous poser ? Actuellement je cours en Asics trabuco 9 et je pèse 95 kilos je voulais savoir si l’amorti est meilleur que les Trabuco ? Je vous remercie par avance pour votre réponse.

[@fablav6250]

Do you plan to test the Nike Vomero 16… or it is not worth it?

[@mattbarrett6186]

Think I’m still running with the saucony peregrine 4’s for many moon ago. It’s a fantastic shoe on gravely trails and on grass and mud. For mud it was inov 212’s. However short cross country races I’ve move moved away from trail shoes to spikes for that added grip and lightweightness

[@sarahdotcom]

I am a huge fan of the original On Cloudventure. But they have ruined them with the latest version - too padded in the heel, too soft and too wide. Would the Cloudultra be a suitable alternative?

[@michaelpalm2210]

Brooks Cascadia 16.....😁

[@patsyohara5870]

Could anyone recommend a good budget/mid-range trail shoe as not looking to break the bank. I do most of my running on road but am looking to dip my toe in the water with a little trail/hill running and add into my programme. Live in Scotland so it will likely be wet, muddy and hilly.

[@petertousignant6566]

Coincidence that no one picked the same shoe as one of the others? Plus so many brands, might be every brand that makes a trail shoe

[@ThomasLaang]

No Altra shoes?

[@TheRunTesters]

Being 100% honest, this is because we've not had many Altras to test. They're not as prevalent in the UK.

[@michaelalbrecht3395]

If you can get a pair of altra shoes go with the lone peak 5

[@stephanalexandrov8534]

I am sorry, but "the best trails shoes" and not even one model of La Sportiva is just funny 😆😆😆