I really enjoy running in the New Balance trail Mimimus shoe, but I have run into some problems with the shoe when I have used it in situations that it was not designed for. I have used it in two Dontgetlost 30km orienteering races, and one 30 hour adventure race. The submerging in swamps and forest terrain are probably outside the scope of the design of the basic trail minimus shoe (key word being trail I suppose).
I decided I would attempt to find an alternative that had the same design but a little off trail proof. The Minimus Outdoor was the ticket. This shoe has held up really well in a 120km trail race, an adventure race, and a 30km orienteering race. There is no ripping and fraying after these races. After a wash in my front loading washing machine, these shoes appear as though they did when I first got them. The material is a ripstop material that has a decent degree of waterproof capability. The only knock I have against them is that they are not as breathable as the trail Minimus. I sweat a great deal and on a dry sunny day my feet seem to be very wet. I have just learned to apply some foot chaffing preventives any time I am going to be wearing them for more than an hour.
If I could add anything I would attempt to add a more rubberized toe cap for added toe protection as I seem to stub my big toes all the time. I stub my toes in all shoes, but a little extra protection might help out.
It appears as though the newer Trail Minimus Zeros are made of a similar material around the toe as a . I believe that this will be my next shoe when this pair wears out.
