XC is here again and for the umpteenth season, I go back and forth from racing in road flats (Adidas Cubatos) to XC flats (Nike Waffle Zoom XC or something like that). I've never been a big fan of XC spikes, mostly because the courses here on the west coast have a lot more asphalt and hard packed dirt than grass and mud, plus it seems the spikes usually weigh a couple ounces more than the flats. In most cases I race in the Cubatos (sub 6 ounces) since they are a good 2 ounces lighter than Waffles, even though the waffles have a bit more traction. If it's muddy, or there's a lot of grass, I'll wear the Waffles.
Is there a shoe out there that weighs around 6 ounces and has decent traction? I've been looking for a shoe like this forever. Why can't a shoe company just take a superlight flat like the Cubato, (they could even reduce the cushioning a bit for XC), and give it the tread pattern of an XC or trail shoe?