I’ve tested dozens of trail running shoes this year – these are the three I still use

Trail running shoes are like football kits: every brand rushes to release a couple of new designs each season, to stay relevant and boost sales, but only a few truly offer anything beyond a new colour combination.

I spend a large percentage of my time trail-testing these new shoes, and I always ensure I get a substantial amount of miles on the clock and properly put them through their paces in a range of conditions before I write my reviews.

There have been some interesting new entries this year, including Keen Seek, the company's inaugural running shoe. My favourite all-round everyday running shoes for 2026 are the excellent (but misleadingly named) Topo Athletic MTN Racer 4. Here are my top three trail shoes for specific conditions.

Hoka Mafate 5

The latest iteration of the Mafate family from monster midsole specialists Hoka feels like the most complete and evolved running shoe I have ever ventured out on the trails in. From the Vibram Megagrip outsole, armed with 5mm Traction Lug studs, through to the Warp knit upper, which is given structure and strength by the TPU cage, this shoe offers excellent protection and performance on highly technical trails such as I encounter on Dartmoor and Exmoor, but doesn’t feel over-the-top even when I’m wearing it on my beach-based parkrun pootles.

The Metarocker profile of the shoe keeps your cadence positive, the sockliner prevents grit and debris from getting into the chassis, and there are gaiter attachment points if you want to really get serious.

But, of course, much of the magic happens in the dual-density midsole, designed to cushion the impact of repeated foot strikes over long distances and armed with a supercritical foam top layer to keep your feet happy regardless of how far you run in them.

Tipping the scales at 332g it’s not the lightest shoe, and the heel to toe drop is 8mm, which might feel a bit much for some trail runners, but I found them to be very stable and confidence inspiring on all kinds of terrain and across a range of distances.

Inov8 TrailTalon

There are three versions of the TrailTalon: the standard one (which I've been testing), a more hardcore, heavy and waterproof GTX design (only required for mid-winter, in my opinion), and a 'Speed' version, with a lighter, more aggressive design and a smaller (4mm) drop – ideal for race day.

I spent much of the year running around the hills, through the woods and across the cliffs and beaches of Southwest England in the standard TrailTalon, which features more cushioning than the others, and is consequently considerably more comfortable.

This shoe offers plenty of suspension and rebound, courtesy of the EVO foam Powerflow Pro midsole (which is 18mm thick at the heel and 12mm at the toe end), complemented by Inov8's Boomerang footbeds, made with hundreds of tiny TPU beads, which compress and expand as your feet fall and rise, supplying as much as 40% energy return.

There is a very supportive heel cradle built into this shoe, too, but being an Inov8 hoof, the main feature of the TrailTalon is the outsole, which snarls with 7mm cleats, made with an ultra-tough graphene rubber compound and arranged in a multidirectional pattern to provide Rottweiler-like grip.

The protection levels on this shoe aren’t brilliant (there’s no rand to speak of, and only a small toe cap), but for traction, braking control and staying on your feet in wet and muddy conditions, they’re excellent.

Salomon Ultra Glide 3

While it won’t come as much of a surprise to see Hoka produce the bounciest shoe of the year, and Inov8 to create the most grippy trail flipper, I was shocked to discover myself nominating a Salomon shoe for reasons of comfort. Usually I find designs by this performance-orientated brand to be too tight across the ball of the foot and in the toebox, but the Ultra Glide 3 is completely different. In fact, this genuinely innovative shoe could have been a contender for any of the criteria used here, with its towering EVA-based ‘energy’ foam midsole stack (which starts at 41mm above the heel and drops 6mm towards your toes) and the funky design of the All-Terrain Contagrip outsole (with its wavy profile and arrow-shaped studs), but the levels of comfort inside the upper are especially superb.

Built around a sturdy but flexible TPU skeleton, the chassis is both highly breathable, thanks to the use of mesh, but also well-padded in all the right places to protect and support vulnerable areas like the Achilles.

The Quicklace system is handy (enabling a firm fit and cutting out the chances of your laces coming undone mid-run), and there is plenty of wriggle room for toes to spread (which I like), but the foot hold is also secure and confidence-inspiring.

My only quibbles are a lack of trail feedback and the fact that the tongue isn’t fully integrated, which can let some grit in. But they really do feel like slippers on your feet, while providing top-level performance.

Good to know

Trail-running shoes vary enormously, with various designs skewed towards particular conditions and the personal preferences of the people purchasing them.

If you’re new to trail running, it’s best to opt for a mid-range shoe that offers some cushioning (but not a huge stack), a relatively neutral drop (6–8mm) and an outsole that is grippy, without being super aggressive, until you find your feet and discover what you really like (and hate).

All of the shoes mentioned here are excellent and will serve you well, but they are subjective choices – models like the Inov-8 Trailfly G270 V2 and the Saucony Peregrine 14s are an excellent choice for everyone.