The Best Trail Running Shoes for Women Review

Weight
The longer the distances and times you plan on using the shoes, the more weight should be considered into your shoe-buying decision. Picking up that extra weight on your feet over and over again on a multiple-hour hike or run can make a considerable difference with even just a few ounces. Many competitive runners have a special pair of shoes that are lighter that they use just for racing. Most consider 10 ounces (per shoe) as a cut-off for racing vs. training shoes.

Another point to consider regarding weight is that it often corresponds with durability. While this is not always the case, lighter materials are typically known to be less durable than their heavier counterparts.

The traditional trail shoes that we reviewed were the heaviest, while the minimal shoes were the lightest. We did not separate this metric into sub-categories because the purpose of a traditional trail running shoe is never to be a “heavy” shoe – only to provide more protection or cushion.

We weighed each shoe on our own scale. The lightest shoe tested was by far the barefoot-style Vibram Spyridon (11.44 ounces per pair). The heaviest was the TNF Ultra 105’s (24.48 ounces per pair).

Durability
Everyone wants a good thing to last. The rocky, dirty conditions that trail running shoes need to perform in means that it is important they are made of extra-durable materials. We evaluated this category based on both actual performance and the appearance of the shoes after testing over several months.

The Keen shoes have the lowest durability score. While there wasn’t any major deterioration in the shoes, the materials have a lower quality appearance compared to the other shoes we tested. The Brooks Cascadia 7 – Women's, the Salomon Speedcross and the TNF Ultra 105’s have the highest scores.

Protection
One of the biggest differences between road and trail running shoes is the extra protection that trail running shoes offer your feet. This has traditionally meant a combination of a stiffer toe box to protect against stubbed toes, a stiff plate in the mid sole to protect against bruises from running over rocks and sharp objects, and denser material for the shoe uppers to keep dirt away from your feet.

With the increased popularity of bare-foot style running, many newer trail shoes that try to cater towards a minimal approach have reduced a lot of this protection. In some views, this is ok because inherent in the bare-foot style of running is being more conscious and nimble in your foot placement, making some of this protection unnecessary.

The The North Face Ultra 105 GTX XCR - Women's offered the most protection and also are waterproof, but this came at the cost of low breathability and heavy weight. The New Balance Minimus 10 Trail - Women's offered the least protection of the shoes we tested. However, they offered a significant amount of protection while enabling you to get the barefoot-style experience.

Comfort
The comfort metric is all about general fit and coziness. This is one of the most important factors in choosing a shoe. If the shoe that gets the best overall performance score doesn’t fit your foot, you’ll have all sorts of injury and discomfort potentials that usurp any performance measures. For this metric, we tried to mention any factors that are general and not fit-dependent, but we also describe anything that stood out about how each shoe fit our reviewer’s foot. Overall we found the Brooks Cascadia to be outstanding in comfort.

To help compare our general fit descriptions to how the shoe might feel on your foot, here we will give a general description of our primary reviewer's foot and running style. Sarah wears a size 7.5-8 and has a narrow heel, and slightly wider-than average forefoot. Her arch is high and she is generally a mid-fore foot striker.

Traction
Traction gauges a shoe’s ability to grip and stick on the whole gamut of surfaces a trail runner may encounter. This includes rocky, icy, snowy, loose dirt, hard-pack dirt, slick-rock, and, yes - even pavement.

The Salomon Speedcross had the best traction overall. In muddy terrain, the widely spaced lugs accumulated the least amount of mud, and in combination with the incredibly sticky Contagrip® rubber outsole material, put it at the top of our traction list.

The New Balance Minimus had the lowest traction rating of the shoes we tested. While it has sticky and durable Vibram® rubber outsoles, and its lugs are low profile which helps to deflect mud, but the unidirectional shape of the lugs made it more slippery on icy and wet surfaces than other shoes we tested.

Breathability
Breathability in shoes is similar to breathability in other apparel – the amount of breathability you want depends on the function. In very wet conditions (for example – running while it is pouring rain outside), most running shoes, like any other non-boot footwear, will not protect your feet from getting wet. In moderately wet conditions (a puddle here and there, or rock-hopping across a stream), a waterproof shoe can be very helpful in keeping out the moisture. In cold conditions, a waterproof or less breathable upper can lock heat in and help keep your foot warm. In most other conditions, allowing your foot to breathe and dissipate moisture is preferable as it keeps you blister-free.

The TNF Ultra 105’s were the least breathable due to their waterproof Gore-Tex® lining. The Vibram Spyridon’s and the Keen A86 TR - Women's had the highest amount of breathability. Their uppers are made of almost entirely mesh materials, which offers no protection for keeping moisture out, but does a great job of allowing your feet get and stay dry during your run.

The Bottom Line
Best in Class
The Salomon Speedcross 3 - Women's shoes had great traction and exceptional protection. With a zero-drop and moderate midsole cushioning, they strike a balance between the traditional shoes and the trend towards a minimalist shoes. The Speedcross’s have all of these factors and they still weigh less than 10 oz. per shoe.

Top Pick
Feeling a greater connection to the ground underfoot goes hand in hand with what many trail runners love about trail running – feeling the connection to the outdoors. The Vibram Spryridon LS - Women's allows you to get a great intimacy with the trail, but have developed a few extra protection measures that help to prevent bruising the sole of your feet. The Spyridon’s certainly fill a niche in the trail running world, which is why they earned our Top Pick Award.

Best Buy
The Saucony Peregrine 2 - Women's are good overall performers with a low pricetag, making them the perfect candidate for the Best Buy Award. They’ve got protection, but they’re also relatively lightweight. They have great traction, but they can go anywhere, even on pavement. We tested a few other shoes that could also handle a wide-range of conditions, but these shoes tested just as well but at the lowest cost.