That’s beautiful daddy! – beck

I’m a trail runner. After an ankle injury early in the season the doc said that I needed to find trail shoes with ankle support.  Right!  Well, with a bit of help for the folks at Pemba Serves I’ve had the opportunity to put a pair of Sabino Trail Mids by Montrail to the test.  2 month on, and I have to say,  the Sabino Trail Mids were just what the doctor ordered, and then some.  

Trail runners know that having freedom and flex in your ankle is paramount to good balance on rough terrain.  That’s why you don’t find high-top runners.  But when you injure an ankle or simply feel your age coming on, you sometimes need a bit of support.  Ankle braces that do any good are usually over-kill for runners or worse, they run a band under your arch which can be painful to run on.  Hiking boots are simply too heavy and clunky to run in.  This is where the Sabino Mids by Montrail really come to the front.

The Sabino Trail Mids are not quite running shoes and but not really boots either, they are designed as a “fastpacker” shoe. I had to look up “Fastpacking” by the way! Fastpacking it seems is multi-day, long distance, endurance hiking. Got it! One important element of fastpacking is choosing gear that offers the most performance with the least amount of weight.  (Sounds like kayaking)  To that end Sabino Trail Mids come in around 15 oz. My last pair of New Balance trail runners came in between 10-11 oz.  The extra couple of ounces are just fine with me if they offer the extra support I need without being too restrictive.

The Montrail Sabino Mids are comfortable without a lot of cushion which is what you would expect of a trail shoe.  The mid-top does offer a level of support. They wouldn’t stop you from rolling up an ankle, but they will give you an extra second to adjust your weight when you feel it coming.  They also take a bit of general stress off the ankle over time and distance.  All in all they did get me back on the trail and running my usual 3-4 miles, 3 days a week much faster than I would have without the extra support.

The shoes are well ventilated and breathable, with a GORE-TEX lining.  I run muddy trails all the time and muck & water is flowing in and out of my shoes most every day.  The Sabino Trail Mids don’t hold onto the water or mud that gets inside the shoe. You never feel grit gathering under your arch or around your toes, which is great because with the higher uppers it would be a pain to have to stop and clean them out!  They do pick up some mud on the outside of course, but not as much as you may expect.

The tread stays fairly clean unless you get into that mud with the consistency of  half-set concrete, which means you don’t lose your grip in the rain. In fact they seem to stick to wet quartzite pretty well, which local climbers know is a big deal in our area! I have to say I really like the tread design of these shoes.  At first glance it’s much simpler looking than most shoes these days. It has always seemed to me that companies just put a lot of knobbly bits in swirly patterns on the bottom of trail shoes and let it go at that.  I’m sure some do too, but you can tell that the Montrails have had some actual thought behind their tread design.  You can easily see how the tread is designed not just to grip when going forward, but also to stop you from slipping side to side. You’d think dealing with side-slip would be obvious until you actually start looking at more shoe tread designs!  In the end the Sabino Mids offer a strong grip on rugged and muddy terrain in all directions.

Another feature of the Sabino Trail Mids that really stood out to me is how much they protected my feet from the loose, pointy stones I run across all the time.  I’ve had more bruised arches than I care to mention caused by my foot coming down onto a big pointy rock.  You can hardly feel them in the Sabino Trail Mids. I read later that they have hard EVA forefoot plates to disperse point pressure.  Whatever..  It works.  Frankly that one feature is worth the price in our part of the world!

To date the shoes (as you can see) are still in pretty good shape.  Nothing ripping or rotting yet! Some runners I’ve had in the past start looking pretty raggedy after 2 months of the Uplands Trail at Devil’s Lake State Park.  So far the Mids are doing well. Remind me to follow up with you on how they are holding up when the summer comes to an end.

I don’t claim to be an expert trail runner or even an athlete for that matter.  I just run.  It’s fair to say, I’m not really a gear-head either.  I look for something that works and most importantly lasts. Normally I pay around $60.00 each spring for a new pair of trail runners.  The Montrail Sabino Mids are available online between $100 – $150.  Still given my experience with them, (I expect them to not fall apart before next spring!) I’ll spend the extra next spring for a new pair. Beyond the extra support, the additional side to side stability and footplates made a real difference for me out there this year as well.  Hopefully my ankle will be fine and I can go for the standard Sabino Trail shoes.

I’d like to thank the folks at Montrail & Pemba for coming to my rescue when I thought my 2010 running season was over before it had begun.  The Sabio Trail Mids have saved the season for me and I’m happy to recommend them to anyone looking to stay on the trails and needing a bit more ankle support.  Oh, and thank goodness for “fastpacking”!

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