HOKA ONE ONE Evo Mafate

Sooooo much cushion, in a surprisingly natural package, that runs well on both trail & road once the outsole has worn down a touch. The flex and support makes them stable at slow paces but gives a nice spring when pushing the pace. Not stable enough for technical Trails, but seriously fun on anything else. Have also been using as a recovery option when feet/lower legs have taken a beating.

Best long distance trail shoe out there. Hands down the most complete shoe with solid upper and cushion to boot. Lugs grip well in mud and snow.

This bomb proof trail shoe gives you the grip while handling the trails with confidence. The Kevlar like fabric wrap is a bit too much as it does give the fabric a stiffness that is un-needed. Some may find this uncomfortable. The 5 mm vibram lugs provide the best in traction for the Pacific Northwest wet trails. It doesn't have the Speed Goat thick cushion which allows for better feel of the trail and helps to keep you from rolled ankles without the height. They're super light but wouldn't hurt to have a more comfortable tongue. A place where they skimped on the design. These are now my go to trail running shoes in all conditions.

I have a dozen challenger atr 1s and 3s retired in the closet. For my narrow heeled feet, their fit was nearly ideal. When the atr 3 was redesigned the new upper creased uncomfortably on my toes. Enter the Evo Mafate. It's a touch wider in toebox and still snugs the deal nicely. Fairly light for a heavily cushioned shoe. The taller lugs make running on pavement slow going, but were great on the trails. The tongue is thin like the clifton and challenger 1 and didn't seem like an issue after a 75 min run. However, the tongue was joined at its base with a hard, somewhat sharp piece of plastic seam material. The tops of my toes were burning for the last 10 minutes of my run. Maybe thick socks or more miles would solve it. But it's a pass for now.