I was wondering if anyone out there owned or had tried & liked some type of gore-tex XCR or other crappy weather running shoe that could handle moderate to severe overpronation? I live an hour west of Chicago, and the wind is already cutting straight through my current shoes. For reference, I am currently running in Saucony Grid Stabils and Brooks Addictions, and races last season in Nike Air Cesiums (so neutral shoe/aftermarket insole combos likely won’t work- I need the real deal…). Thanks!
PS- no, I will not switch to a treadmill. My bike trainer just arrived today (Performance travel trac 5, will post thoughts after 2-3 sessions), and I need to get outside some every week. As a sidebar, does it snow enough to warrant snowshoes? I’d try those if we get dumped on several times a winter…
The issue for me with the XCR shoes is blisters. In the gore-tex version of the North Face 102’s as well as a Montrail XCR shoe I tried (both for overpronators), I got blisters even on short runs. Presumably this is because they don’t breathe very well. If someone knows about any gore-tex shoes for overpronators that seem to breathe well, I’d sure love to know about it too.
Which Montrail did you try? I tried the newer North Face 103’s, but those didn’t seem to control the pronation very well. How about Vasque? I heard they had some shoes build along those lines. For that matter, where did you buy? I hate ordering online and paying postage to return- much better to try in a store…
I think the problem with gore-tex in shoes is that dirt will clog the fabric pretty quickly. So I wouldn’t expect gore-tex running shoes to breathe very well especially if you run on trails.
Lunchbox, a few online retailers have free return shipping. I couldn’t find any local retailers that had a decent selection of trail shoes, so I don’t have much choice except to order on the internet. Even though REI has many models on their website, the local REI only had about a quarter of the selction of their website.
Have you tried windstopper or goretex socks? I have very bad overpronation as well, and run in Addictions + custom orthotics. My feet are much warmer on both runs and rides if I use these socks.
if the shoes are no better than the socks, then I’ll probably just go back to the SealSkinz socks. I had a few pairs that I’d use while in the Army, and they were good, but made my feet sweat. For a 2-3 hour run, it probably doesn’t mak etoo big a difference…
if the shoes are no better than the socks, then I’ll probably just go back to the SealSkinz socks. I had a few pairs that I’d use while in the Army, and they were good, but made my feet sweat. For a 2-3 hour run, it probably doesn’t mak etoo big a difference…
Much better idea. Gore-tex shoes are heavy, stiff - and when you get water in it never gets out. New Sealskins into standard shoes work much better. (Or buy the shoe a bit larger and wear thin coolmax or wool socks inside Sealskins.)
I usually run in Brooks Adrenaline GSR 6’s. I just picked up a pair of the Adrenaline ASR’s for this winter. Both shoes are built on the same chassis. The ASR has a different/more aggressive tread pattern and the upper replaces the mesh vents with a soft shell type material. Unfortunately (?), it hasn’t been wet since I got them so I can’t comment on
their level of weatherproofness. May be worth a look though if you like Brooks shoes.
Goretex needs to be clean to work. The membrane is also fairly fragile. I used to work as a cobbler and every pair of goretex footwear we ever saw had big holes in the goretex lining from friction. The shoes will work for a little while but the it’s mostly a marketing gimick.
Wool socks or goretex or neoprene socks are a much better solution. You can wash the goretex socks and they will work longer and not be as stinky.
I ran outside almost every day all through college in Montana. We wore cross country ski stuff, wool hiking socks and regular running shoes usually a little big to accomodate the socks. When it’s really cold ( below 5F) breathing through a thin polypro ski mask saves your throat.