Best of Trail Shoes–First Half 2014
The shoe-selling year has reached the turn-around point, and boy, have brands picked up the pace! Already in July we’ve received two new models from New Balance (the 980 Trail and 110 Trail v2); the new trail shoe from Newton (BoCo Sol); and the shoe with the best name–Inov8’s Race Ultra 290.
But here, we reflect on the first half of 2014: what sold; what didn’t. Biggest hits; biggest misses.
As one of the only shops that focuses on trail running shoes, 66% of our shoe sales were in the Trail Shoe category; the remaining 34% Road Shoes.
Of the Trail shoes sold, 41% were women’s; 59% were men’s.
Women’s Most Sold Trail Running Shoes:
1) Scott Kinabalu
2) Pearl Izumi Trail M2
3) Pearl Izumi Trail N2
4) Hoka Kailua Trail
5) Montrail Fluid Feel
6) Salomon XR Mission
7) Salomon Sense Pro
The two shoes missing from 2013‘s Top7 are the Montrail Bajada and the Hoka Stinson Trail. Stinson Trail sales suffered as people waited for the July release of the updated version: Stinson ATR. The Fluid Feel jumped into the list replacing Bajada mostly because of fit. The Bajada is just a little too wide for most women.
Big Misses: At the end of 2013, I predicted the Salomon X-Scream, Merrell All-out Rush, and the North Face Ultra Trail to be vying for top honors. The X-Scream we sent back to Salomon because it was stiff as a board and ill-fitting. The Rush has proven to be too minimal (in terms of cushioning) for most wearers: it’s best as a Spartan Race shoe or for someone who prefers low to the ground trail runners that offer great rock protection and traction. The Ultra Trail…who knows why it is under-performing–but it doesn’t help that the TNF’s sponsored runners seldom wear it.
Men’s Most Sold Trail Running Shoes:
1) Altra Lone Peak 1.5
2) Scott Kinabalu
3) Pearl Izumi Trail N2
4) Altra Olympus
5) Hoka Rapa Nui Trail
6) Pearl Izumi Trail M2
7) Montrail Fluid Feel
Falling off the list from last year are the Montrail Bajada, Altra Superior, and Pearl Izumi Trail N1. The Superior has been overshadowed by the Lone Peak. The Trail N1 is proving too narrow for most guys.
Slight Miss: We predicted the Salomon Sense Pro to make this list…it was close, and it still could make the end of the year Top 7.
Big Miss: The Scott Trail Rocket was sent back because of a lack of durability to the outsole. It was a great shoe though, and they fixed the issue for 2015, so watch for it next year!
Top Selling Brands Total:
Men’s and Women’s combined–Road and Trail shoes
1) Altra 17%
2) Pearl Izumi 16%
3) Hoka One One 13%
4) Saucony 10%
5) Scott 8%
6) New Balance 7%
7) Montrail 7%
Slight surprise here: Altra went from 3rd in 2013 with 13.6% of sales to first for the 1st half of 2014! This upswing is in large part to the cross-over appeal of the Olympus. The wide toe-box of the Olympus stole sales away from previous Hoka wearers. New Balance is the only new face on this list; we started carrying their shoes late last year. Of note: The only brand to make the list without any road models is Montrail.
The other 12% is made up of: Salomon, Inov-8, La Sportiva, Merrell, Brooks, and On. (Brooks has only been at the shop for 1 month.)
Top Selling Men’s Trail Brands:
1) Altra 18%
2) Pearl 14%
3) Hoka 13%
4) Montrail 10%
5) Scott 8%
6) Salomon 6%
7) Inov-8 5%
Top Selling Women’s Trail Brands:
1) Pearl Izumi 16%
2) Hoka 13%
3) Salomon 12%
4) Altra 11%
5) Montrail 10%
6) Scott 9%
7) Saucony 7%
Predictions For the Rest of 2014:
It’s going to be hard to keep the New Balance 980 Fresh Foam Trail, Hoka Mafate Speed, and Altra Lone Peak 2.0 off of the lists. To both men and women, these 3 models should sell well. And if we classify the Hoka Huaka as a trail shoe that will be up there as well.
Outsider’s chance: The Newton BoCo Sol should have people saying , “I can’t believe it’s a Newton!”
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