So there has been a lot of noise coming from the Swiss Footware company ON’s and the general trail running community about the new revolutionary grip technology. We decided to take a closer look

DOES IT HELP OR HINDER US ADVENTURE RACERS?
Have to say overall they were very good especially in this dry weather we are having. But no smoke without fire…

PRO’S

• They look good and come in a variety of colours
• We were looking at the waterproof edition and well, they lived up to the billing. Upper shoe is completely waterproof (except for the big bit you put your foot goes it). Foot was kept warm at all times but didn’t overheat.
• They are about average weight coming in around 300g.
• The new sole design is light and gives you plenty of spring.
• They contain anti-odour particles which will definitely come in handy as you used them more.
• Great in dry dusty terrains.
• Good for power hiking up steep hills. The heal invites you to push forward with every step. Excellent for those tough adventure races.
• The rebound rubber technology soul is designed to evenly distribute the impact throughout each foot strike

CONS

• They lacked grip on wet rocks. But this is a common faux pas of trail runners in general.
• The thin laces had a tendency to open especially on longer runs. Not ideal
• My foot moved around a lot in the box causing some discomfort to the toes especially on down hill sections.
• The center of the sole was quite soft and some of the tougher rockier terrains could be felt on the foot causing discomfort.

CONCLUSION
The new design did take a while to get used to from the normal trail runner.
A great summer time companion on those dry trails. It’s a new technology, definitely in it’s infancy so it will be exciting to see where this goes.

RATING
7/10