Alright fellas, it's been a couple years since the last one...
What do you guys recommend for using road shoes on the trail?
Nike and adidas do a fairly good job with the Zoom and adizero lines, ie:
Nike Zoom Elite 9/10, Nike Streak LT 3/4 (buffed out trails), Nike Pegasus 35, Nike Zoom Speed Rival 6
adidas adizero Boston 6/7, adidas adizero Tempo 8/9, adidas adizero Adios 3/4
The Nike Elite and adidas Boston line seem pretty popular with the trail/ultra crowd, I believe the 2017 World Mountain Running Championships (Junior and Senior divisions) were won in the Zoom Elite 9, and Western States 100 was won a couple years ago in the Boston 5/6.
Anyone have any different recommendations?
I have personally found success with the Altra Escalante Racer: basketball shoe-level traction on all surfaces, flexible and protective, with a secure fit.
On a side note, I am relatively disappointed that we have seen less variety as far as shoes recently, as everyone seems to be designed "a light (9.5), fast, sweetspot road trainer for every runner", with less experimental stuff like the Brooks Green Silence or the Keen AE86