Montrail Rogue Racer review

(Originally published July 31 2011)

[It's review week here at GRI and I'm giving my opinion about the shoes I've worn in 2011.  Previous posts featured the Brooks Green Silence and the Mizuno Wave Ronin 2]

In the weeks leading up to the Ice Age Trail 50k this spring I started to think that maybe I should get a trail shoe.  I’d never had one and never felt like I needed one, but this was the race I had spent almost six months training for.  I read about a variety of shoes but wanted to stick to what I had been running in – fairly light and “moderately minimal.”  Ultimately I ended up with the Rogue Racer.  Montrail advertises it as a minimalist shoe, but it’s not.  While it is plenty light (my size 12s weigh 9.5 oz) and has no added support features, it’s got plenty of cushioning and still has some heel-to-toe drop, more than the Saucony Peregrine or New Balance Minimus Trail and many of the inov-8 shoes, which were the others I considered.

The Rogue Racer turned out to be awesome.  When they arrived and I opened up the box they looked like a very robust shoe, but when I picked them up they felt really light.  They felt great in my first run in them, a 7 miler, though on the downhills I worried that my toes felt like they were getting smashed into the front.  I ordered size 12s as instructed by Running Warehouse’s ShoeFitr program but was a little concerned that a 12.5 might have been the better choice.  My next run was a hilly 20 miler on trails.  The Rogues felt great on the trails, with plenty of protection from rocks and roots while remaining very light and nimble.  They were comfortable, but I had this lingering feeling that they might cause problems as my toes still felt a bit cramped.

On race day I laced them up and took off.  I still wasn’t confident that my feet would love them for 31 miles, but by the end of the race I can honestly say I hadn’t given my feet a thought.   I had no blisters or any evidence that the shoes caused any problems.  Maybe my worries about it being too short were just all in my head, or maybe not.  Regardless, the shoes worked great.  Still, I would say for anyone with fairly wide feet, this might not be the shoe for you as they tend to fit a bit more like you would expect a race shoe to fit.

A trail shoe was not necessary for the IAT50 race course as evidenced by my brother-in-law running the race in Nike Frees.  But I will say that I felt very confident and sure-footed in them.  The traction is better in the Rogues than regular road shoes.  I haven’t had the opportunity to test them in truly muddy conditions, but I’m confident they would be pretty good.  I’m hooked on trail running and this is a shoe I think I’ll be racing in again.