I LOVE my trail shoes! These shoes (and other subsequent versions) have carried me through many ultra races and, most importantly, many trail runs through local forests with great friends.
PROS:
Currently I am wearing the Pure Grit 4 in the colour of phlox/aquarious/peacoat (because colour DOES matter; I have had many compliments on my “cool” trail shoes). I can pretty much guarantee that you won’t be disappointed with the colour pallets when new versions come out- these shoes always have innovative colour patterns… even the brown and mint colour scheme a few years back looked great!
Another thing I really love about these shoes is the laces- they are long enough to double knot and sit comfortably in their harness. They do not usually come untied like some other trail shoes that I have used.
These shoes fit true to size (I am a Women’s 9 in real life and wear a 9.5 in running shoes and I wear a 9.5 in these trail shoes). This makes it easy to order online. Another thing that I like (which may be a detriment to some) is that they don’t really change over time. Sure they may look different and they may have added an extra innovation or something but they FEEL the same, one version to the next. They are the only trail shoes that I have tried more than once and I keep buying them again and again!
The grip in these shoes are great for any type of trail terrain and I especially like the toe guard, which has saved my poor toes many times!
These shoes are very lightweight and comfortable (approx. 8oz with a 4mm drop). They are best suited for a neutral runner.
CONS:
My only complaint would be the durability, the early wear patterns on the outer upper sides of the shoe. I am not sure if this is because I have a wide foot or it is because the uppers are basically just lightweight material. In either case, the wear happens early leading to eventual holes in the fabric, but this does not seem to affect the structure or performance of the shoe and I tend to wear these shoes long after these holes occur.
Another thing is that these trail shoes are pricey at approximately $140 (although this is very in line with other like trail shoes) and are popular enough that they don’t seem to ever go on sale!
Finally, like most trail shoes, these shoes do not make for very comfortable ROAD running (gravel country roads are fine but they really work best in the trail environment). I also found myself slipping on wet road (to get to the trail) which could be due to the size of the lugs for grip inside the trails but they were fine on wet, rocky trail.
