The trail grip of this shoe works well on a good, grass surface but should equally be happy on light gravel and forest paths. I’d stay clear of anything too technical or demanding, mainly due to the very light and unstructured design. Interested in anything specific about the Xero Shoes Mesa Trail shoes? Below are some of the most frequently asked questions I receive about this model. 1. Does the Xero Shoes Mesa Trail have a removable insole? As mentioned above, it’s super important to nail your correct sizing with the Xero Shoes Mesa Trail. I’d strongly suggest sizing up a half size in this model and if you often feel cramped in your true-to-size shoes, then you may want to go up a full size.

Below, I’ve provided some of the key construction aspects that come with the Xero Shoes Mesa Trail. This model is once again very similar to the Xero Shoes HFS when it comes to its upper construction design. So, the Prio and Mesa Trail II may have some differences in design, but they both offer a barefoot experience in slightly different environments. If you prioritize flexibility and flexibility, the Prio might be the shoe for you. If you prefer a more rugged, trail-focused design with added protection, the Mesa Trail II could be the better choice. Ultimately, the choice is yours! 🥾 The Mesa Trail isn’t perfect, but there also isn’t much not to like about it. I’m keeping these in my training toolbox. The lugged, dual chevron tread has great spacing and sheds mud easily for the 3.5mm lug height, though it's not going to handle a muddy uphill as swift as an Altra, Topo or Inov-8.

For the committed minimalist runner, these barely there sandals can be taken on any (lowland) trail Adding gaiters using the provided loop could help prevent the ingress of water but it’s all starting to get well away from what we’d call the barefoot experience (Image credit: Pat Kinsella) If you want a barefoot shoe but you don’t it to feel like a barefoot shoe, the Xero Mesa Trail WP offers an optional insole (Image credit: Pat Kinsella) Donning these huarache-style sandals– inspired by the footwear used by the long-distance runners among the Rarámuri people of the Mexico’s Copper Canyons, as described in Christopher McDougall's book Born to Run – is about as close as you can get to really running barefoot, while minimising the risk of gashing your foot on flint or glass, which would be a really annoying way to put yourself out of action. There is nothing between the soles of your feet and the dirt except 5mm of ‘FeelTrue’ rubber, and the sandal is held on with nylon straps (with silicone grip), which go between your toes and around the Achilles strap. People who are confident wearing these sandals run all sorts of distances (including ultras) in them, across challenging terrain in various conditions.

Talking numbers... does the Prio and the Mesa Trail II offer the best value for your hard-earned cash? Xero has "hidden" 3mm TrailFoam™ in a cutout on the top of the outsole, and it does a fantastic job of smoothing out noise from the trail without affecting proprioception.

Moving up the shoe, the lacing system is based loosely on a traditional Huarache sandal. If you’ve ever worn any Xero sandals, you’ll be familiar with the strap system, except this time, they’re hidden behind an outer layer to protect from any abrasion or wear. Xero Shoes has continued to grow and innovate barefoot shoes which allow feet and legs to do the work. After years of using Vibram Five Fingers to train barefoot style on trails, I was excited to see Xero released a barefoot running trail shoe which seems to grasp what runners like myself are curious to try. They were kind enough to send me a pair to test. Enter the Xero Shoes Mesa Trail Shoe… A third failure point in trail runners is an abrasion-induced failure in the mesh material. Here I finally saw some failure in the Mesa Trail, at around the 450-mile (723 km) mark. The mesh just behind the instep on both feet failed (on either side of the foot). This failure occurred at the only spot on the front three-quarters of the shoe that doesn’t have a welded covering marrying the sole and the mesh upper. Mesh failure between welded components just behind the instep. You can see where the tear has started to creep into the welded component. There is a similar tear on each side of each shoe. This started at mile 450 (724 km). The standout feature of the shoe is deep airy toe box. Yes, the toe box is moderately wide, but having that depth to the shoe is refreshing, allow for the toes to wiggle in every direction.