Montrail Men's Bajada Trail Running Shoe

Tantalizingly close to a good shoe, but has some fatal flaws, Toe box is a killer, I did go 1/2 a size up to try and get more room, but I there is a weird crease that adds pressure to top of little toes as well, so your getting it on top of the little toes just as much if not more than the side. Its not too bad for the first 6 miles but I did something I never do and did a 10.5 mile run out of the box and the last 4 miles were rough, very painful the last 2 miles especially! Like a hammer coming down on the little toes, especially my left foot. Also as others mentioned the tongue does move quite a bit. The first pair I did feel some support or a concaved heel but the next bigger pair I got did not. I like the midsole on these a lot, That's my favorite part..seems these days trail shoes are mushy/cushy or firm, this is nicely in between! Has a good firm responsive cushion..kinda old school..think Brooks Ghost or early model Pearl Izumi N1 or maybe sllghtly softer version of Salomon Sense Mantra 2014/2015 somewhere in between those. I would NOT trust these on technical stuff as it does not feel super stable..rides like it has a much higher stack height than 20mm. Also the laces do come undone easy and they stretch easy, so normally that might be good but too much on these...I had to stop several times to re tie and or tighten shoe.(and I like a looser shoe) Oh I wish they had a lower drop too, not a "drop police guy" I run in everything from zero to 9mm drop. One other thing this is a very smelly shoe when you get it new. Not sure what they are made out of but has a very strong odor. If you have a sensitive nose like me, do not wear them in the car on the way to the trail l!! They will foul up your car..also don't keep them in any living areas in the house!I might recommend these for who want less room in the toe box, and maybe for gravel road, light trails, nothing too technical, on rare occasions when I crossed a road they felt fine there. Better for shorter runs due to the issues with the uppers.Would this be a every day go to shoe for me, absolutely not...Would I be pissed if I paid full price..absolutely, but if found on discount would it work as another tool in the shoe box rotation ..Yes.The good:Nice responsive mid sole, not too mushy not too firmProtect the bottom of your feet wellCould be worn on road or light trail (that door to trail thing they like to say now)Good Traction on all surfacesThe bad:Problematic uppers and toe box (especially if you have a duck foot or wider fore foot)Higher dropTongue moves a lotSmelly when newLaces come undone and loosenNot the most ground connected, could be ankle turners on technical stuff

I do find this shoe runs a tad small, but is a very grippy addition to my trail running shoe arsenal. I'm a bit of a running shoe fanatic, and this is just a 'pretty good' installment. I find it to be a bit stiff, and a bit hard, and isolates the foot well from the ground. It is surprisingly light, and is a formidable opponent of my go-to trail shoe, the Brooks Cascadia. For my money, I go with Brooks, but the Cascadia is a bit like a Hummer. If you're looking for a Jeep Wrangler instead, this might be a good choice for you. Run happy!

I am an elite masters runner and after 10 years of running I finally found the worst shoe ever. I love the montrail fluidfeel 2 or fluidflex I have run in about 15 pairs of them. so, this time I couldn't find them so what the heck try the bajada shoe. A mile into a 13 mile run i could barely feel my toes in either foot, I stopped 4 miles in and tried to retie them and got relief for another mile. Then my right heel started to hurt and it felt like i had a rock bruise in the bottom middle of my left foot. I finished the run and felt great that no lasting damage was done. The next day I went for 20 miles in my worn fluidfeel 2s feeling great. The only think i could recommend the bajada for is pain tolerance for a marathon

This is a great product for the price it is listed for. Starting with the negative, the only thing that is annoying is that the tongue of both shoes are always moving to the side of your foot (as opposed to staying on the midline of your ankle. BUT on the positive side, the bottom grip is great for trails and running on hard pack sand. It is a breathable mesh, but I love that the toe of the shoe has a harder sort of plastic that protects it, so your toes will never rip open the shoe from the front end like what seems to be happening with all of my other shoes, that are mostly made entirely of mesh. It's comfortable for physical activity while at the same time being a shoe you can wear out in public with casual clothes and not look like you just came from the gym and forgot to bring an extra pair of shoes to change out of.