UKH

Hello all

I've been through a lot of running shoes but I've recently fallen for a pair of trail shoes: Scott Kinabalu Ultra RC.

I don't understand why my feet love them. They feel perfect on light trails with not too much mud. They're flexible (I find a lot of trail shoes to be too stiff), not very heavy and ground feel is just right for me. 200 miles so far and no signs of wear.

I have Hoka Challengers for similar terrain but they're just not the same, even though they're lighter.

The best part is the Scott were £40!

Anyway, does anyone run in these? Have you found equally wonderful shoes for muddier running off-road and then something else for road? The Ultra RC are ok on road but not made for it and are a little hard underfoot for longer distances. And for muddy trails in winter, I fear they just don't have enough grip.

Am I asking the impossible? Is the extra cushion for a road shoe going to ruin the feeling and will bugger lugs for mud do the same?

This is a bit of a long shot and a bit of a niche question as you probably need to have run in the Scott to understand what I'm feeling and help me! It's impossible to tell even in a running shop whether my feet will love a shoe or not. I took a punt with the Scott as they were £40.

Yours hopefully,

MB

In reply to mountainbagger:

I've just been for my first run in my new Mizuno Wave Mujin 9s and I'm really pleased with them. Very springy for the tarmac sections, and monster lugs for the mud-bath bits. Definitely the best all-round shoe I've tried.

In reply to Hooo:

Sounds great!

Sorry if my post wasn't clear ..I'm not looking for an all-round shoe. I'm looking for a road shoe that might feel as good as the Scott, to compliment the Scott for when I just go road running, and separately a mud/winter trail shoe that also feels as good, for when the trails are too muddy for the Scott.

I guess only someone familiar with the Scott will be able to answer this if they have found road shoes and muddy trail shoes they love as much..I hope that makes sense!

In reply to mountainbagger:

Do Scott not do full muddy trail shoes and road shoes?

To me that would be the obvious first thing to try (which you may have already done of course)

In reply to Michael Hood:

Yes, in the absence of any personal experience from anyone (who loves the Ultra RC but may have entirely different makes for road or mud that feel similar) i might, but their carbon plated racer has terrible reviews and their gnarlier shoes are apparently quite stiff (something I want to avoid)...shoes are such an expensive trial and error thing!

In reply to mountainbagger:

I have Scott supertrac 3 ultras: my feet love them as they are very cushioned. They are bombproof as are made of kevlar and have excellent grip in the mud. But, they are no good on wet rock, after slipping over a number of times in them, I have changed to innovate roclite ultras , which are nowhere near as comfy but are much gripper

So it depends on the type of terrain you are on really, if mostly mud and trail then the supertrac ultras would be a great shoe. But not if you run on lots of rock.....

In reply to get to the punchline:

Thanks for the recommendation. Not much rock around here, mostly twisty muddy routes with tree routes to leap over, some chalky bits, some gravel, but then also tarmac to get anywhere (I try not to drive to routes).

How stiff are the Supertrac? Do they feel nimble (this is the closest word I can think of when I run in the Kinabalu Ultra RC)?

In reply to mountainbagger:

I use Scott Supertrac RC and Scott Supertrac Ultra RC. They both work well for me. And often a bargain on Sportshoes. 

These are fab muddy trail shoes 

I haven't tried the road offerings. 

In reply to mountainbagger:

I reskontro you need to visit some shops as recommendations are just too individual

In reply to wbo2:

Yes I agree, but was just wondering if there were any Ultra RC lovers out there who had also found equivalently wonderful shoes for road and for winter mud. I can't tell in the shop, even on the treadmill...I only really find out on trails, especially for the muddy stuff. I think the road shoe conundrum perhaps could be solved in a shop on a treadmill?

I'm wondering if the 8mm drop is why I like the Ultra RC so much as I'm struggling to figure out what else it could be... maybe I should look at shoes with the same drop for the other types of terrain.

In reply to mountainbagger:

They are definitely less nimble than a thinner soled shoe, but all winter heavily cushioned shoes are I think. 

I have two pairs, one a whole size up for wearing waterproof socks with

In reply to get to the punchline:

Thank you

In reply to mountainbagger:

8mm drop is pretty much standard. It's worth noting that tolerances are pretty huge with some models advertising a 6 or 8mm drop but in reality have a 12-14mm drop. There is a review site online (I forget what it's called) that actually cuts the shoe in half and accurately measures the drop along with a whole range of other things. 

In reply to Andypeak:

Aaaaah ! I'll look that up thanks

In reply to mountainbagger:

It's runrepeat.com