Expert Review A great lightweight trail shoe - Arc'teryx Norvan SL Trail Running Shoes - Men's

Over the past month, I have been using these shoes for hiking, backpacking, and a small amount of trail running. In general, they have been a great shoe and have held up to nearly everything I have thrown at them. There are two main takeaways after wearing these shoes for a couple of months that I think make them a great shoe.

First, the shoes are unbelievably light. Compared to other light trail runners they are some of the lightest out there. I did worry about the lightness of the shoe coming at the cost of durability, but I haven't seen any wear on the shoes (I haven't been babying them either). They turned out to be much more durable than I gave them credit for being.

Second, the shoes are extremely breathable. I took them on two trips to southern Utah in them in late spring and didn't have any problem with my feet getting too hot. The one drawback to the breathability is that I did get plenty of sand in my shoes on any trip I went on. Wearing gaiters helped keep sand from getting in the shoe from the top, but I did collect sand through the mesh to the point where every couple hours I would need to take them off and empty them out. If you aren't planning any desert or beach trips in these, you should be good.

Overall I have really enjoyed these shoes and would buy them again. They will probably not go on any more desert trips with me, and I still wonder how many miles I can put in them before they wear out, but are worth considering if you're looking for a lightweight trail runner.