Shoes: Love, Hate, Anticipation & Secrets!

A look at what shoes I'm loving, not a fan of, anticipating and a view into some speculative secret shoes!

Back in November, I made a post about the top shoes I’m most excited for in the coming 2025 year. Well, it’s now May and that means we’re at month 5 of the year, approaching the halfway mark real quick.

Throughout the year and these past 6 months, I feel like it would be a disservice not to mention how different and evolved I’ve become in my trail running journey — let’s broaden it and just say running overall. I’ve found myself going on longer efforts (I just did a casual Saturday marathon from my house this past weekend), a lot more elevation gain, and tons more technical routes than any prior year.

With this evolution, I have completely changed the types of shoes that work for me and what I look for in my current rotation. So, with this said, here’s a look at some of the shoes that I’m really stoked to try, as well as an extremely short review of some of the shoes I’ve gotten to try over the past 5 months.

My Current Favorites

PUMA Deviate Nitro Elite Trail

Photo cred: PUMA.com

If you’re in my inner circle, you know my obsession with this shoe. It’s hands down the surprise of the year for me. I find it to be so freaking fast, stable, the fit is perfect for me, and it handles a variety of terrain just fine regardless of the short lugs. I’d never worn a PUMA running shoe before, so this was my first experience with the Nitro foam. The hype is accurate and justified. The compound of this race-day foam has everything I could dream of in a trail foam. It’s soft, but not too much to where it’s unstable. It’s energetic and bouncy, and it wants to push you forward. I love this shoe so much. Side note — I’ll be racing a trail relay in this shoe on Sunday.

Salomon Aero Glide 3 (GRVL Included)

GRVL (Left) | Standard (Right)

I had absolutely zero plans to get this shoe…however I showed up to a Salomon event back in March where we got to demo the brand new Aero Glide 3 for a track workout. My perspective on Salomon road was changed forever. The energyFOAM evo is a very lightweight, max cushioned yet responsive ride. I didn’t know that Salomon made foams like this, and the Aero Glide instantly stood out to me. Well, by the grace of the running gods, I actually ended up winning the shoe in a raffle. It was divine intervention and I was sent home with a fresh pair.

Months later, I have no issues saying that this shoe is my favorite road shoe of the year to date. Yes, even above the Superblast 2, the Evo SL, and all of the contended road trainers. This shoe is so versatile, it can truly match any workout you’re looking to accomplish on the day — from short speed work to long ultra distances. I always reach for this shoe and I never regret it. The GRVL (gravel) variation of the Aero Glide 3 launched this week, so I’m looking forward to taking my favorite road shoe to the trails.

La Sportiva Prodigio Pro

I love this shoe, but it’s not perfect (for me). I realize shoes are so subjective. It’s a very personal and individual thing. What works for the masses might not always work with my wonky feet. This said, there’s overwhelming popularity with the Prodigio Pro, and it’s absolutely deserved. This shoe is so comfortable, stable and hugs your ankle like a warm hug from grandma. I took this shoe on a 20-mile run right out of the box and it performed so well. The grip is one of the best in the game — sticky and grips technical trail very well. Mud? No problem. Wet rocks? Piece of cake. This is definitely a mountain technical workhorse and it shines there.

The only issues I’ve personally had with this shoe is a high arch (I have low to flat arches) that sometimes causes me some slight pain post long run. This has become a technical shorter run (10 miles-ish) beast in my arsenal. La Sportiva have truly developed an incredible piece of gear in the Prodigio Pro, and we are seeing numerous trail runners hit podiums in it (Matt Daniels at Canyons 50k, Andy Wacker at Big Alta). This shoe has become a shop favorite at Snoqualmie Running — most of us have a pair!

The Inbetweeners

Norda 005

Of all the shoes released this year, I probably have the most miles in the Norda 005. This shoe is fantastic and it really delivers on the promised lightweight component. Where it shines? The Arnitel TPEE foam. It’s gold. It’s soft, stable and responsive. I took this shoe out for a 26 mile effort this past weekend, and my feet felt great afterwards. I have about 80 miles in the shoe since I’ve had it.

I released a previous posts about loving this shoe, however, making note of the heel rubbing issue that I also have in the 001s.

The reason I throw this into the Inbetweeners category is because I have to spend a bit of extra time finding workarounds to make sure my heel doesn’t give me issues during the long efforts. I’ve tried tape, thick merino socks, normal socks, moleskin, a heel/ankle padding sleeve, and just about everything I can think of. I still get that heel rubbing. However, this past weekend, I wore a midweight Injinji sock and I didn’t have any rubbing over 26 miles… Let’s hope this is the cure. For $325 this shoe has to be perfect for me to fit the “love” category. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, if they ever make a variation that has the padded heel of the 002 on this, that will be game over. This shoe would be impossible to beat.

The Heartbreakers

The North Face VECTIV Enduris 4/Pro 3

For years, the North Face has been plagued by users reporting rubbing from the winged plate on the VECTIV Pro 1 and 2…so in 2025, how did they address this? They added it to another shoe and doubled down. Bold. While I continue to suffer from this issue, I will admit it’s improved.

When I took the Pro 2s out for my first run, I had rubbing immediately. When I took the Enduris 4 out for their first run, I didn’t have any rubbing — I was ecstatic. This shoe felt awesome. Great foam, great fit and comfortability. However, maybe it’s because over some normal usage the foam started to break in, I started experiencing the dreaded winged-plate-rubbing around 20 miles into the shoe. Blood and blisters greeted me. I swapped insoles and did what I could to try and make this shoe work for me, and eventually I gave up and surrendered. This shoe does not work for me at all, continuing to cause me pain with every use. Super unfortunate as all other aspects of the shoe were awesome.

Most Anticipated — Confirmed

Topo Athletic Vista

Photo cred: Meta-endurance.com

I recently got my first pair of Topos — the Ultraventure 4s. I love them. I have one run in, but it was a comfortable first run that’s for sure. There’s something attractive about the simplistic nature of the brand and their no-nonsense approach to trail wear. I need that wide toe box for my insane pinky toes that apparently have a mind of their own. The Ultraventure is extremely comfortable, but I need it to have deeper lugs for more technical terrain. Enter the hype for the Vista releasing in June. A max-cushion technical trail shoe, is that even possible? Can max-cushion and technical exist in the same product? I guess we will find out. I’m super stoked to get the Vistas on foot and see if this shoe might be my answer to all day comfort.

Mount to Coast H1/T1

H1 (Left) | T1 (Right) - Phot cred: meta-endurance.com

I’ve tried a couple of Mount to Coast shoes — the R1 and P1. I liked the R1 and hated the P1. The P1 was just zero fun to run in, but after all, it is a stability shoe. The R1 is a well crafted ultra distance shoe that I would love to get more miles in. However, we are here to talk trail! Mount to Coast is making its entry into the trail category with a couple of models this year. We have the T1 and H1 coming in 2025.

The T1 is going to be the true trail shoe with a 36mm stack, a Vibram outsole, the same LightCELL midsole that’s in the R1 and the dual quick-lace system.

The H1 is going to be the hybrid/gravel option. The midsole features a new soft compound focused on organically based material for sustainability reasons. 36mm stack while weighing only 255g, the H1 will be a very light option for a variety of terrains. I am extremely hyped for this one.

On Cloudultra Pro

Photo cred: Run by Outside

I don’t like On road shoes…there I said it. Sorry if you’re in the On fan club, I just can’t get into them. I’ve had durability issues with them and just never found my appreciation for the Swiss brand. However, I am hoping that the release of their first race-day trail shoe can change my mind. After all, I am a huge Jeff Colt fan, and he’s said that the new Cloudultra Pro is his favorite trail shoe ever. He’s been in protos for years, helping shape the design and creation of this shoe. There’s a lot that looks hopeful from the specs (38mm stack, 6mm drop, flexible plate (non-carbon), reduced Cloudtech (the standard On holes in the midsole)), but design-wise, it also looks fantastic. Excited to get the feet in this one to see if it can handle the send!

Most Anticipated — Secret/Speculative

New Balance SC Elite Trail 2

It’s been a few years since New Balance released their introductory race-day super trail shoe with a carbon plate. Some people liked it, a lot never gave it a shot. However, in a 2023 TRE podcast with Freetrail, Kevin FitzPatrick (yes…he’s my cousin), the Global VP of Running for New Balance alluded to a reentry to the trail category in a thoughtful and meaningful way. In 2025, we’ve gotten the Hierro v9 which has been amazing. Truly a solid everyday trail trainer that can easily handle ultra distances. Word around town is that we can expect a couple other additions to the New Balance trail arsenal in the near future. A technical shoe with a lower stack and deeper lugs, and then a race-day option. From the image above, it’s speculated that this might be the second edition of the SC Elite 2 which looks completely redesigned. We will have to keep our eyes peeled for what’s to officially come from the New England brand and what specs get delivered in this package.

Adidas TERREX Agravic Speed Ultra 2

The Adidas TERREX Agravic Speed Ultra was my most anticipated release of last year, and it also became my biggest heartbreak. I snagged a pair on release day and was stoked. They felt great on foot right away, however, at mile 6 into my run I felt rubbing on the inside of my foot. Eventually I saw others encounter the same issue along with heel rubbing from the extremely thin and non-existent padding. This shoe didn’t work for me after weeks of trying to finagle it.

Fast forward to 2025, we’ve started seeing images and videos of TERREX athletes wearing what appears to be the ASU with a padded heel. Could this be a solve for the instability and lack of ankle support, adding more structure but keeping the same overall beloved structure? I sure hope so. Time will tell if we see an announcement of an ASU 2 coming soon.

Brooks Mystery Race Day Trail Shoe

This mystery shoe from Brooks is likely their entry point into the trail super shoe category. If I were to bet, I’d imagine that this shoe takes the name of Glycerin or Catamount. With the popularity of the Glycerin Max this past year, it wouldn’t surprise me if we get a Glycerin super trail shoe, but it just as well could be the same for Catamount. I’m going to speculate that this shoe will have some sort of plate, and it obviously has a high-cushioned stack. It also appears to have a built-in knitted gaiter. We’ve seen this shoe on the feet of Chris Meyers who secured 1st place at Chuckanut. We’ve seen it on Blake Slattengren, and then Brett Hornig from Conversational Pace. Time will tell when we get more details and see this one out in the market. Looks to be a promising and exciting release!

Nika Ultrafly 2

I had the first Ultrafly and I thought it was a great shoe. Finally a Nike that wasn’t extremely narrow and had a very generous toe box. I predominately used that shoe in a gravel capacity, never taking it on anything too technical. I don’t have a ton to say about the new Ultrafly 2 that we’ve been seeing on people like Caleb Olson, but I am excited to see what changes they’ve made. From the images, it looks like a redesigned midsole and I’m sure more. We shall see!

El Fin

There you have it. My current favorites (subject to change of course), my inbetween favorite and heartbreak shoes, anticipated shoes coming soon, and a view into some speculative and secret shoes.

Talking shoes and writing about them is one of my favorite things, so if you have current favorites or other shoes you’re anticipating whether confirmed, secret, or imaginary, please chat with me in the comments!

Thanks for reading, and happy trails!

Catch ya on the next one,

Ryan from Into the Wild