Review : New Balance Minimus Trail

About a month ago, I posted a hype article on the upcoming release of the New Balance Minimus Trail . I was fortunate to take the Minimus Trail on for a test run.

NB Minimus Trail is an alternative foot friendly “barefoot running shoe” or a transitional shoe that is targeting runners who want to leave standard footwear behind but aren’t quite ready to commit to completely minimal footwear.

The minimus Trail upper is made with Two types of mesh comprise the Minimus upper: a wide-open ventilated top layer, with a very thin, finely woven base layer underneath to keep grit away from your toes. Like the road version, the Minimus Trail is made to be worn without socks, and the comfort of the interior lining against bare skin is super comfortable

it’s noticable that there are three main types of materials used on the upper of the NB Minimus Trail. There is an orange grid fabric that runs around the sides of the shoe. Second, there is an orange mesh that makes up the tongue of the shoe and Third, the rubbery strips that wraps the heel over the instep.

The sole however is fitted with Vibram Designed outsole which features a web of circular lugs that grip various surfaces readily and sole thickness is about 15mm heel and 11mm forefoot therefore it’s only a 4mm drop from heel to toe which means you’re still going to feel the effects of sharp, pointy things when you step on them. So, running carelessly over rocky terrain could become unpleasant.

The wider forefoot also allows your foot to expand naturally on impact. The NB Minimus Trail is very flexible. You can fold it in half.

Running in the minimus trail for the first time, it is noticable that it is very low to the ground, almost to the point that you can even feel the ground, the Vibram sole is excellent when dashing through the trail as it provide excellent grip, although the material use isnt waterproof it still feels great running across muddy area in the shoe and not wearing any socks adds the same excitement of actually running shoeless on the trail.

In my opinion the minumus trail is an overall awesome shoe out of all the minimus series but i would not recommend this to anyone who had only recently pick up running or trail running as this shoe will provide minimum support to them minimus is a barefoot running shoe thus running in them uses different muscles in the lower limb that need a little more time to adapt inorder to prevent from injuries. it should be introduced slowly into a running exercise routine possibly only limiting initial use to 10% of overall running workouts and very gradually increasing time and distance. Running in minimal or barefoot increases the strain on the foot, calf, and Achilles tendon thus Overusing itfor activities outside of running and walking may increase the risk of sustaining injury.

My suggestion is for anyone who is new to the concept of minimalist running is for the first week, just walk around the house in them and then, gradually add them to your training regimen, with only incremental increases in distance and intensity. Rushing and pushing yourself to run high mileage at very short time is a great recipe for pain and injury.

However I personally feel that the minimus is a great transitional shoe, targeting folks who want to leave standard footwear behind but aren’t quite ready to commit to completely minimal footwear that being said the minimus is one shoe that i would continue using for a long while mainly because it ultra lightweight (210 g) and it certainly one of the most coolest pair of shoe to be running trail on.

Give it a go, let the New Balance minimus take you on a trail ride that back to nature.