Vasque Pendulum
The Vasque Pendulum is a sturdy trail running shoe with pared-back upper, a moderately thick midsole (19mm heel, 13mm forefoot) that's best for midfoot strikers and mild heel strikers (6mm drop).
Archives
The North Face Ultra Guide
The Ultra Guide excels at fast training runs or racing over varied terrain and conditions, requiring quick transitions and a nimble feel.
New Balance 880v3
The 880v3 is a great long-distance shoe for heel-strikers who like to cruise, and one of our favorites among big, thick heeled, traditional trainers this year. Its thick foam let the miles disappear effortlessly underfoot.
Ten Squared Kipmik Dog Bootie
Cheap, disposable, comfortable, and highly functional—the Kipmik Dog Bootie proves that when it comes to dog booties, simple is best.
Ruff Wear Polar Tex
In our experience, these booties had a real problem staying on the dogs paws. We can’t recommend booties that don’t reliably stay on a dogs paws, no matter how well made they are.
Salomon XR Crossmax 2
Like the first generation of this shoe, the Crossmax 2 is a very comfortable ride, but one that’s too top-heavy and slow to feel at home except on smoother trails and on slower runners.
Vasque Breeze 2.0
The Breeze 2.0 was one of the most impressive boots in our Spring 2013 test. It feels like a backpacking boot with a light hiker upper—the tall cuff, substantial midsole, stability plate, and Gore-Tex liner behave like a backpacking boot, but the overall comfort and responsiveness makes the boot feel like an athletic shoe on mellow hikes.
Muttluks Fleece Lined Booties
These reasonably priced booties work reasonably well. My test dogs did have trouble with the booties falling off during off-trail play, especially when snow was deep and breakable.
Granite Gear Mush Dog Booties
Granite Gear Dog Booties are made with winter weather wear in mind. This low cuff, velcro closure boot features a sole made of G3 Climbing Skin material designed for traction in snowy conditions.
Millet Hybrid
This is a surgically accurate all-around shoe that loves to stand on micros. It’s stiff, supportive, but also svelte—the Hybrid fared as well on 5.10 thin cracks as on 5.13 faces, and was also great for bouldering thanks to the cushioned heel.
Five Ten Stonelands VCS
This is a soft, lightweight, comfortable, all-around shoe with a minimalist look and few bells and whistles, but it has some welcome high-performance attributes—including excellent smearing (sticky rubber and a wide toebox) and incredibly stable outside edging.
Evolv Geshido SC
This is a gem of a shoe that, given its pared-down looks and unprepossessing design, was a sleeper redpoint and onsight machine, with the perfect blend of performance, tweakable fit, softness/smearing, comfort, and precision—especially with strong feet accustomed to slippers.