Under Armour Trail Shoes

Under Armour Horizon RTT Review

Disclaimer: I received a pair of Horizon RTT Under Armour Trail Shoes to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!

I'm always thrilled to have the opportunity to test out some of the latest running gear, but I was especially excited when I read about these Under Armour trail shoes. I started running in high school as part of my school's cross country team and trail running has always held a special place in my heart. Since moving to Long Island, however, trails can be a bit harder to find and, to be honest, I hadn't looked all that hard.

Throughout last year, although I logged my highest mileage year to date, and set a few PRs, I let my training routine become somewhat stagnant, running the same loops day after day. Perhaps my favorite feature of these new shoes is that they gave me a reason to break out of that routine and get back to the wooded trails I'd started running on.

Stability

Lacing up the shoes for the first time, the first thing I noticed was the snug but comfortable fit around the collar of the shoe. The material that makes up most of the shoe's upper is thin and flexible but you can feel more support and stability around your heel. The additional foam cushion in the collar cradles your ankle and helps keep your feet steady as you easily traverse the rocks and roots that line your favorite trails.

It felt a bit rigid when first putting on the shoes but more in a way that I just wasn't used to in the shoes I've been running in. Once I'd taken a few strides in them, that feeling quickly dissipated. My first test of the shoes was an eight-mile run in the rain over slick rocks and muddy roots and I felt completely stable.

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.

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.

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.

Weight

The added support and durable sole that come with a trail shoe mean additional weight, but it's impressive how light the shoes actually are. My other running shoes all have slim profiles with relatively thin soles and mesh tops which make for an incredibly light shoe.

There's a lot more to the Horizon RTTs but that's to be expected with a more rugged and durable pair of shoes. These shoes are definitely heavier than I'm used to but the bulk of that weight comes from the sole which is expected. Even still, the shoes are only 12oz and unnoticeable as you're bouncing down the trails.

Stride

Last but not least, this being my first pair of trail shoes, I was worried about how the added cushion in the sole would impact my stride. I tend to run in relatively minimalist shoes so this was a significant change. Even still, these shoes sport only a 7mm drop from heel-toe. If anything, running on the trails, I feel like I was even more consistently landing on my midfoot, even more so than I do on the road.

Final Thoughts

Long story short, these shoes were incredibly comfortable on the trails and I can't wait to continue to break them in as the weather warms up. I've already got a few hiking and camping trips in the works for this summer and you can bet that these shoes will be making the trips with me.

Also since writing this, these shoes have carried me over 100km to complete my first ultramarathon at the Bandera 100k!