Grip

Speaking of running over slick surfaces, we have to talk about the grip of these shoes on the trail. On their first test-run, I was sloshing through mud, a lot of it, and these shoes didn't slip even once. The thick rubber sole is lined with rows of lugs that dig into the dirt with every step.

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When pushing off my foot, the shoe seemed to grab the trail like a claw. Even on downhills, the shoes have a reversed tread on the heel of the shoe to prevent any slips. By the end of the run, I was trying to land in the mud and on uneven ground to test for any give in the grip of the shoe but didn't find any.

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Water Resistance

Although the trees surrounding the trails I ran on protected me from the bulk of the rain when I was testing, the mud and brush of the trail itself were pretty well soaked. After a muddy eight-miles, my feet were totally dry and even the shoes themselves had shed a lot of the mud and water I'd run through. The shoes are vented so I'm sure if you submerge them, you're feet are going to get wet, but running in wet conditions was no problem for the Horizon RTTs.