The Prediciton Lists for our would-be best-sellers is always my favoirte post to do of the year. We try to guess (very educatedly) which shoes will be our best selling Trail Shoes of the upcoming year. So here goes for 2019:
Prediction7 2019 Men’s Trail Running
- Hoka Speedgoat 3 – One of our best-selling shoes of 2018 hasn’t changed much. Vibram MegaGrip makes all the difference. If the MegaGrip wasn’t there, more sales might be split between Goat and Challenger…but the SG has totally left the Challenger in the dust.
- Altra Timp 1.5 – An improved Timp should sell well all year round. Folks who get a bit dissappointed in the Lone Peak 4, might switch to the Timp 1.5.
- Hoka Torrent – These shoes have dependable traction, fit wider than most Hokas, aren’t as built-up but still provide lots of protection
- Altra Lone Peak 4 – Not everyone is loving the new LP, and it won’t change to the LP4.5 this summer. So sales might really start to taper off. Folks might switch to the Timp 1.5 or Terraventure 2.
- Topo UltraVenture – A great new shoe from Topo! Phil’s new favorite.
- Altra Superior 4.0 – Available any day now, these are remarkably different than 2, 3, and 3.5. Will it sell better?! Will it be too minimal/light?! We can’t wait to find out!!
- Topo Terraventure 2 – Better than v1, the TV2 is an all around great shoe and has really become a go-to shoe for us to suggest as someone’s first trail running shoe.
Prediction7 2019 Women’s Trail Running
- Hoka Speedgoat 3 – We predict a sweep for the Goat!
- Hoka Torrent –
- Altra Lone Peak 4.0 – Women haven’t seemed to complain about the LP4 wearing down fast (cushion wise) like men have.
- Altra Timp 1.5 –
- Topo UltraVenture – We just sold a couple pair on the last day of the year, so maybe these should be higher…
- Topo Terraventure 2 – With sales of Peregrine and Pure Grit dropping off a cliff, the TV2 steps in nicely to fill the void.
- Altra Superior 4.0 – Can’t wait to get these in the shop!!
It’s rare that our Prediction7 Men’s and women’s have the same shoe models. It’s rare that our Prediction7 is so…predictable–but Hoka, Altra, and Topo have dominated our shop over the last couple years. And, it’s rare that all the shoes on the Predicion7 for both men and women are available now–and will likely remain unchanged for all of 2019. (Superior 4 will be in soon.) It’ll be hard for another brand or other models to crack the top7 for 2019, but here are some possible contenders:
- Salomon Sense Ride 2, February – Sales of v1 really dropped the 2nd half of 2018. Not sure why or if the Ride can make a comeback.
- Salomon Ultra Pro – Strong sales at the launch have cooled a bit, but the shoe will remain unchanged in 2019 giving it all year to rack up sales and make the list.
- Altra Vanish XC, May – I never rule out anything by Altra to make our Top7 lists, but these are pretty minimal.
- Topo Mountain Racer July – It’s a firmer UltraVenture with MegaGrip and a different upper. If anything, this might take sales away from UltraVenture enough to knock it out of the year-end list.
- 361 Yushan – a wild card here. We haven’t carried this brand before, and the color is a bit funky, but these are nicely cushioned shoes akin to Brooks Caldera.
- Brooks Caldera 3 – Probably the only reason we did not predict these to sell well for 2019 was the color. We haven’t even brought them in yet because of the color, but will finally relent in February.
Still to come: Our year-end Top7 Trail lists and Top 7 Brand Breakdown. What was our most sold men’s and women’s shoe of 2018? Stay tuned! Did we predict it right way back at the end of 2017?! (click link below to see what we thought would be #1)
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