Puma Complete Trailfox Trail Shoe Review
Puma Complete Trailfox
Color: Dark Shadow/Smoked Pearl/Radiant Yellow
A reliable trail shoe is something I’ve never owned, as most of my running is either on road or on a treadmill. However, most weekend’s I’ll venture out to First Landing State Park for my long run and I’ll often think how a trail shoe would probably be more suitable for the conditions. Just before Christmas I read a great review in one of those men’s glossy magazines (can’t remember which one, but it might have been Cargo…) of the Complete Trailfox. The following blurb is from the official Puma Online Store:
“The Complete Trailfox is our statement product for the competitive trail runner and outdoor athlete. Minimum weight, a low profile and deep flex-grooves provide perfect contact with the ground. Protection and support benefits combined with superior comfort through innovative soft-shell material complement this new off-road racer.”
Sound impressive? It is. After failing to find the shoe at any of my local running or sports stores, I decided to put zappos.com to the test. Priced at $103.95 they were a little more expensive than the Puma store and Footlocker.com, but the offer of free shipping, free return shipping and an impressive 365 day money back return policy was too much to ignore. Email order acknowledgement was immediate, and I couldn’t believe it when I read that they’d upgraded the 4-5 day free shipping to free 2-3 day shipping. Today was Monday and delivery was scheduled for Wednesday lunchtime - I couldn’t be happier.
Sure enough, when I arrived home from work on Wednesday, there was a zappos.com box waiting on my doorstep. It wasn’t long before I was out the door again wearing the cool looking Trailfox for a swift 4 mile run.
Initial impression on the road wasn’t great. The shoe felt clunky, but cushioned; rigid, but lightweight. However, once on the grass and trails of a local cross country course, the question was “what’s not to like?” I was impressed with the comfortable, fairly snug fit, and the weather-resistant upper (which is breathable too). The low profile midsole gave the Trailfox great cushioning but was also very light, flexible and very stable. The outsole has huge “lugs” featuring independent pods that cut away much of the excess weight and according to Puma, smooth out the ride underfoot. Back on the road and the shoe felt really clunky again, so for me it’s going to be a pure trail/grass shoe. It’s amazing how different it feels and how much support and stability it gives you on the grass as opposed to asphalt. Even in mud you never feel like you’re going to slide or slip. I can’t say enough about the shoe, so much so that I even wore it in last weeks cross country race instead of my traditional spikes.
While I’m at it, I can’t praise zappos.com enough either. Free shipping, free return shipping if you absolutely have to return for some reason and a 365 day money back return policy is hard to beat. Plus they also have a great sale section and huge range of other brands. Why not sign up to Win Free Shoes at Zappos.com!
? You never know your luck….
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February 27th, 2006 at 10:07 am
[…] Summary: Very pleased with Saturday’s 8k race. Went through 3 miles in 17:58 (sub 6:00minute pace) and had a strong last couple of miles. Passed several tiring runners and still had something left to kick it in for the finish. Sunday’s long run started off badly. Had to return to my car to change shoes after just half a mile. I’ve been having problems since last week’s 30k when I tied a shoelace too tight, and this made every step a painful one. After switching to my Puma Trailfox trail shoes I set off again and ended up running 23 miles @ 7:44 pace. Good confidence booster and a chance to experiment some more with the Hammer Gel fuel I intend to use at Shamrock. Temperature was only 34°F (just over 1°Celsius) and the wind was 15-20mph from the North. […]