Thanks for this review Eric. I have been following you since I read your book " The Cool Impossible" and appreciate your insights. As a result of that book, I did the foot and core strength exercises with great results. I also took your suggestions regarding minimal shoes and bought a pair of Xero Terraflex shoes. I thought I took my time getting used to them over a period of 4 to 6 weeks, including some barefoot running. However, I made the mistake of racing a 12k trail race in them too soon in spite of experiencing some nagging achilles pain in my left foot. A day after the race I was in full- blown achilles tendonitis that made it hard to even walk. I suffered for two years with it until finally finding a good physiotherapist that could treat it. Last year I ran my first road marathon in June (in Hoka Mach 4's) and first 50k trail race in October (in Speedgoat 5's) with barely a niggle in my achilles. So I echo your caution about most people not being strong enough to wear these for extended periods of time without proper training and acclimation. Not that I blame the Xero shoes for my injury since my right foot was totally fine. But I do blame myself for not taking the time needed to adapt and for not paying attention to the warning signs. 😢

I'm so tired of the altra superior... I'm thinking about moving to xero

Loved seeing your review Eric, especially loved the part where you share that you hated being in your 'old' shoes! For about 3-4 years now I've been living a 'barefoot/natural' foot lifestyle so my feet are well adapted to wearing barefoot shoes and I just can't stand conventional footwear anymore, I too crave the barefoot feel. In the last couple of months I've also started running, which is crazy as I truly have never been a runner, but from reading Born to Run and now your Born to Run 2 book also I'm working on it as a 'craft' and LOVING it!! I recently competed in my first trail race and even though I'm definitely at the back of the pack the feeling is amazing. I love watching your videos and slowly am improving my technique and strength. I have the first version of the Mesa Trails and they're absolutely awesome, I feel like they just aren't there... my feet are something I barely have to think about when running (except for technique) but they're strong, love the feeling of the trails and pull up feeling fine after every training session. Thank you for all your hard work and sharing your knowledge.

Hi Eric - thanks for this and your other videos, plus all your tips in Born to Run 2. It’s been huge for me getting back into running. What size foot are you and what size mesa trail do you have? I have several zeros, including the Zelen and wear a 13 that I can run several miles in comfortably on the road. So wondering if you sized up on the mesa trail to accommodate for descends

So have you binned the terraultras?🤔

…I do power walk for much of my Ultra distance, and training for that. Looks like it should be a great shoe for power / race walking.

Bonjour Éric , ma taille EU pour Altra Superior est 47 , est elle identique pour Xeroshoes mesa trail 2 ?

Hey Eric. Nice review. Could you please provide a comment on the choice of a 3 mm insole for the Born to Run Edition versus a 2 mm in the regular edition in the Xero lineup?

That’s my debate now do I go with these in May? I’ve got an ultra coming up like 17,000 feet again. I’m looking at probably 20 hours or less would that be enough or should I go with a different shoe? I’m trying to debate that right now I could always pick it up and start seeing really how long I can go on it until I fail I know I can at least do 12 hours in it but I’m not finishing this race in 12 hours so I’ll, I’m just debating you know I was thinking about my sandals because those are thicker so pay time will tell appreciate the video I always get so much from all your videos

Regrettably, I have to say, most disappointing trail runners purchase ever. Insoles extremely thin and moving around inside the shoes. But, most importantly, their acclaimed 5000-mile guaranteed sole started do fall apart after a two-day 38 km 3100m elevation gain hike. Got in touch with Xero and they kindly offered me a 20% discount on my next purchase. Never again.

Do you think these lugs would get worn out if my regular route is partly on road mostly off-road?

Great video eric can i use the mesa trail on the road

Eric, I wear minimal shoes for my every day walking around, or I’m barefoot. I’ve owned two pair of Xero shoes in the last 6 years, the Terraflex trail and Prio. I loved the Terraflex and wore them until they got a hole, but I could never use them for trail running because they weren’t protective enough. I really want to try out the Mesa Trail but I’m hesitant for the same reasons. My feet are extremely well adapted to minimal shoes and barefoot walking and I can’t wear built up shoes any more. I wear extremely light Saucony Kinvara road shoes for my trail running and they’re surprisingly durable. Any thoughts or recommendations?

I always have used Merrell Trail Glove, is it similar to mesa trail?

Sounds like you are coming around to the Chris McDougall side of the argument wtih shoes!

Looks a nice shoe, something to have in my quiver. Not sure it would suit most of what I do here in Scotland, it is a lot tougher than those lovely smooth trails in your video. ps, I normally go for the Inov8 G270

It seems like the feet would get torn apart on a long downhill race like the Pikes Peak marathon. How does it feel going downhill on more technical trails?