Trail Tested Trio: Three High-Cushion Trail Running Shoes for the Long Run – Trail Runner Magazine
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This article was originally published on RUN.
It used to be that only a few brands made even one model of trail shoes. Today each major brand has almost as many options for off-road running as they do for on. The good news is that this bevy of options and advances in technology means an adventurous runner looking to mix up surfaces and avoid injury can easily find a pair of off-road shoes with enough cushioning and support to hit the roads and enough tread and durability to tackle the dirt.
In this roundup, I take a look at three brands with varying histories in trail running and review each brand’s high-cushion trail offering. I purposefully chose three very different options that are all excellent choices for a runner looking to get a little dirty on their next long run. Each model has a very unique “personality” and a best fit for different runners, depending on the type of off-road running you’ll be tackling.
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$200, 10.3oz. (U.S. 9M), 11.9 oz. (measured U.S. 12M), 6mm drop (28.6mm–22.6mm)
Men's Women's
Beginning with the softest (yet, ironically, the lowest-stack shoe) of the bunch, the Sylan is a brand-new offering from longtime outdoor gear brand, Arc’Teryx. Though Arc’Teryx entered the running shoe game back in 2017 with the introduction of its Norvan VT trail runner, the Canadian brand (finally) launched its first in-house designed running shoe line this year. Previous iterations of its running shoes were a mixed bag of durability and cushioning, but with the Sylan, Arc’Teryx seems to have hit its stride.
The Sylan is touted as the brand’s flagship shoe—structurally boasting a noticeable rocker and a responsive “InFuse” midsole material. Both the midsole’s geometry and foam perform as intended, though the rocker isn’t as pronounced as some road-only models (nor should it be). The midsole material feels more cushioned than any of the other shoes on this list, but the rebound isn’t as lively as the Saucony or La Sportivas.
In terms of features and details, the upper is highly breathable in some spots and ruggedly durable in others, with a rubberized lower bumper that runs from the toe to almost the heel on both sides. The top of the upper has a knit collar, which looks good on paper, but stretches pretty quickly with use and doesn’t necessarily repel debris as much as you’d think.
The bottom of the shoe has a super high-count and uniformly lugged “small-pattern” Vibram outsole that excels in loose, dry dirt conditions but lacks a bit of platform stability (due to its shape) and isn’t ideal on mucky trails. Durability-wise, Arc’Teryx seems to have slayed its previous demons, as the outsole held surprisingly strong despite substantial road testing.
Of the three shoes in this review, the Sylan performed best on roads—especially on downhills—and seemed to have the least overall impact on my lower legs, making this an excellent all-around long-run shoe for mild-to-moderately technical trails with long, paved approaches.
$120, 9.6oz. (U.S. 9M), 12 oz. (measured U.S. 12M), 6mm drop (32.5mm–26.5mm)
Men's Women's
Moving to the medium–height option of our three high-cushion trail offerings, the Xodus Ultra 2 has a pedigree of one of my favorite lines of trail shoes from Saucony. Typically Saucony uses a more road-focused approach to craft a bouncier off-road shoe—thanks to their years of experience fine tuning midsole materials. Though not nearly as nimble as the fun and elastic Saucony Endorphin Edge, the Xodus Ultra 2 strikes the sweet spot for cushion and forefoot boost.
The midsole is made up of Saucony’s verifiably plush PWRRUN PB foam (as found in the brand's marathon-racing super shoes), and even though it doesn’t have an intentional rocker geometry like the Sylan, it still performs best of the bunch at speed when running (or trying to run) closer to the forefoot. Heel striking doesn’t suffer, but I found less downhill, heel-striking impact resistance than with the Sylan.
Unlike the other two shoes in this roundup, the Xodus Ultra 2 has a thicker mesh upper, making it a bit warmer—for better or for worse—but upper durability was at the top of the class. In terms of the outsole, expect the Xodus to perform better in muddier conditions, thanks to a deeper and wider-spaced lug than the Arc’Teryx or La Sportiva, but it wasn’t quite as sure footed in loose scree or as nimble on big rocks as the La Sportiva.
I also found this shoe to perform exceedingly well on the roads, and the lively midsole made this the best choice for faster tempo runs or intervals—as well as long runs.
$155, 9.5oz. (U.S. 9M), 10.95 oz. (measured U.S. 12M), 6mm drop (34mm–28mm)
Buy Now (Unisex Sizing)
While La Sportiva is a brand with a (very) long and established history in outdoor footwear—specifically boots and climbing shoes—the Prodigio is arguably their first “soft” long-distance running shoe, something that would feel familiar and comfortable to a road runner who might still hit the trails from time to time. Not only that, but anyone who has tried La Sportiva in the past can rest assured that the Italian brand has finally gotten their U.S. sizing conversion correct (no more sizing up a ton).
La Sportiva brags that the new Prodigio's midsole has a “nitrogen-infused supercritical foam that ensures optimal cushioning, reactivity, and stability,” and I would absolutely agree that this was one of the most reactive and stable shoes of the three I tested. Despite the fact that the Prodigio had the highest stack height of the bunch, it actually felt the lowest and most nimble (it was also the lightest).
Of course that level of ground feel can be a double-edged sword, as the Prodigio also felt quite a bit less cushioned and forgiving than the Xodus Ultra 2 or the Sylan. The midsole transmitted the most underfoot proprioception (something that many trail runners really enjoy), and felt closer to a more standard pair of trail shoes than something “high cushioned.”
Elsewhere, the upper was very similar to the Sylan in terms of breathability, but it did take considerably more of a visible beating than the other two shoes (this could be, in part, due to the fact that I took more risks in the Prodigios than in the other two). The outsole gripped big rocks best of the bunch and performed well on loose, dry trails, but the very low lugs struggle in anything even remotely sloppy.
On the roads, this was easily the harshest ride, and the midsole seemed to transmit quite a bit of road shock to my legs—not more than other trail shoes, necessarily, but considerably more than the others in this roundup.
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