SAUCONY XODUS ISO 3

£140 Should the latest Xodus be in your trail run shoe armoury?

Winter means one thing: it’s time to off-road run, providing a fresh alternative to road running and taxing muscles – especially core – that remain passive on the pavement. Trail running requires a ‘durable’ shoe… and that sums up the third edition of the Xodus perfectly.

Starting bottom up, it retains the same outsole as its predecessor, the dual-compound rubber and multidirectional lugs gripping terra-firma like its life depends on it. It’s secure, stable and flows into the most significant evolution over edition two: the midsole, which now uses Saucony’s latest cushioning system, Everun foam, over the full length. That’s a positive addition as it’s one of the most comfortable and responsive materials around.

And then there’s the impressive upper, featuring Saucony’s ‘Isofit’ design. This flows into an integrated tongue. Both features aim to lock down your feet securely, while deflecting stones and detritus. Both features achieve this. The integrated toe bumper is also a nice touch over clunkier versions dumped onto many of its contemporaries.

So all good? Nearly. All these features knit together nicely in use… until you crank up the pace. That’s when the lofty outsole, midsole and upper, which hit the scales at 366g, impair rather than enhance your performance. It’s especially noticeable as our off-road runs are generally ticked off in lightweight trail shoes like Inov-8’s Talon. So definitely one for low- to moderatepaced efforts rather than intense, faster efforts. saucony.com