These Supportive and Durable Trail Running Shoes Are My Go-To choice
for Backwoods Slogs and Suburban Jogs
With a pair of Columbia Montrail F.K.T. trail runners on my feet, I’m ready for basically any terrain. Which is why they are basically always on my feet when I run.
I strongly recommend the Columbia Montrail F.K.T. trail running shoes because they provide the stability, grip, and support you need when running on rocks and roots yet are still lightweight enough for long runs on city sidewalks. Or for long walks, for that matter.
You can’t be all things to all people, and frankly the sooner you learn that, the better off you’ll be. Try to be a best friend to all, a super dad or super mom, the hardest worker at the office, the biggest gainer at the gym, and on it goes, and guess what happens? You get spread too thin and you end up under-delivering in one, two, or many aspects of your life.
The same holds true for things. That’s why we have a fork, spoon, and a knife on the table at dinner. It’s why you have one jacket for the rain, another for the snow, another for biking, one for running, one for wind, and on it goes. (OK, it’s why I have said jackets, anyway. And replace “one” with “like four or five or something.” But anyway.)
Ah, but then along comes a great trail running shoe and all but disproves that line of thinking. And the Columbia Montrail F.K.T. trail runners are indeed great shoes.
You probably know the 4-1-1 on what defines a trail running shoe, but let’s do the quick version here anyway. Trail running shoes are different from hiking shoes in that they’re not as heavy and don’t have as much support and cushioning underfoot. Hiking shoes (and hiking boots, of course) are intended for days of heavy use and usually with the wearer carrying some pack weight, whereas trail runners are usually used for shorter spans of time and distance, and with minimal added weight – usually just some water or a small kit. Trail running shoes and regular running shoes differ as trail runners are heavier and usually have more aggressive tread patterns, being intended for use on trails, fields, in the mountains, in the woods, and in other awesome places.
But here’s the thing: a good pair of trail running shoes like these do just fine on streets and sidewalks too. (The same can’t be said of running shoes worn on a rough trail – it’s not a two-way street here.) Sure, wearing trail runners on pavement is overkill in terms of grip, and yes you may even wear down those grippy lugs faster, but if your regular runs traverse the occasional grassy hill, sandy patches, and even a stretch of trail or two, like several of my routes do, it’s better to be overdressed than underdressed, so to speak.
And now perhaps we should speak on the specifics.
The Montrail F.K.T. (that’s an acronym for Fastest Known Time, FYI, a big deal in trail running) shoes feature several dozen lugs on each sole that are broadly enough spaced to grab onto rocks, roots, and more, and that are deep enough to dig into mud or sand or scree, but they’re not so thick as to make you feel unstable when you’re concrete or asphalt or a well-packed trail. The long rubber sole raps up all the way in front of the toe box, so even if you accidentally kick a rock or two, you won’t be all that put out. (Depending on the force of the kick, that is.)
Inside, a mid-density EVA footbed with a top layer of softer foam provides cushioning and support, and yes those are completely distinct attributes – you can have support without much comfort, or comfort without much support, or you can have both, which is what you get here. (Or neither I suppose, which just no.)
Above that footbed is what Columbia calls (accurately) a “seamless textile upper” that creates a “sock like” feel even when you wear these shoes without socks. I say you, because I never wear any sort of active shoe without socks, but hey, you could.
I do, however, wear these shoes at least once or twice a week on my neighborhood jogs, I have worn them on multi-mile trail runs, and I have used them as one of only two pairs of shoes brought along for travel (the other being leather desert boots) because my olive-green pair of Montrail F.K.T.s can almost pass for casual footwear. Almost, I say, because they still make me look a bit more, well, dad than I want when worn with jeans or shorts, but hey, like I said, you can’t be all things to all people.
