REVIEW: OMM Trail Shoe
The Perfect UK Trail Shoes?

Background

OMM is a brand with history. You could make the argument that they’ve been around for longer than trail running; it’s stretching the point, but when the UK brand was created in the mid-2000s, it continued a line of DNA that started with the original Karrimor brand and its KIMMlite range of bags and clothing designed for fell racing and the mountain marathon that they sponsored. None of your champagne gravel trails, hydration vests, running influencers, or Strava. Lots of off-trail, all conditions, a handful of jelly babies, and a mug of tea at the finish. 

So when OMM brought out their first-ever shoe this winter – the Fell Shoe – my interest was piqued. This has been quickly followed up by the Trail Shoe. Some Ronseal (it does exactly what it says on the tin) level naming conventions here. OMM has a lot to live up to with such a well-respected clothing range. Would their newest shoe pass muster?

Width: Regular fit tested - on the narrow side, but a wide "Regular+" fit is available

First Impression

Opening the box, there was no missing the shoe. A block orange colour way, with blue highlights wasn’t exactly subtle. Delving a little deeper, the design touches on the OMM Trail Shoe are subtle but well thought out.

First of all, it is perhaps reassuring that for the brand’s first attempt at a trail shoe, they have leant heavily on Vibram, using their Traction Lug and Megagrip rubber in a widely spaced and 4mm deep outsole pattern. I’ll be honest here – I love Vibram rubber. I’m not sure how they achieve the holy trinity of grip on rock and mud and also longevity, but I’m here for it. The midsole is actually a Vibram Litebase unit too. The edge running between the sole and midsole has a distinct wave shape. This is by design; OMM call it Wave Technology and apparently it improves energy distribution and helps to balance cushioning with a stable feeling ride. Hidden away, there is also an EVA rock plate. 

Moving on to the upper, the tongue felt more cushioned than its thin construction. Some of that might be down to OMM’s “X-Lock” fit; two crossed elastic straps that hold the tongue in place and theoretically secure the foot without the need for such tight lacing. The outer is uses ripstop nylon, reinforced in high-wear points by TPU. The ripstop nylon uses an open enough weave that you can see your socks through it; boding well for breathability and drainage. Finally, OMM have added some internal structure to the shoe, designed to hold the foot in place allowing a “precise, performance oriented fit”.

Slipping the shoe on, the X-Lock fit was evident. The shoe felt secure before even lacing up, nicely wrapping around the entire foot. At around 300g for my size 9.5UK, the shoes aren’t flyweight, but they are lighter than many and felt sprightly while bouncing around the house. 

I’d say my feet are fairly average width and to start with, I was a little worried that I had maybe made a mistake not ordering the Regular+ fit. I could feel a very small pinch at the widest part of my foot; in the end I needn’t have worried. Whether the shoes stretched, or my feet just settled into them, this was the first and only time I had this issue.

Upper

Setting out on the first few runs, I was blessed with the breaking of spring; warmer days, drying trails, but plenty of mud, puddles and the occasional shower. So far, the upper has shrugged off being dunked in bog and scuffed through heather, with no real battle scars to show for it. The TPU reinforcement comes up relatively high and combined with the 27mm stack height, meant that on a typical splashy run, my feet stayed fairly dry. The open weave of the ripstop nylon does mean that it is quickly breached in deeper water. No matter, the shoes drained quickly enough.

The upside to that open weave was the shoe feels fairly breathable. I tend to get pretty hot feet when I run and while I wouldn’t rank the Trail Shoes as the most breathable out there, they are definitely cooler than many.

Midsole & Cushioning

I spent a long time thinking about the midsole and ride height while doing repeated laps of some of my favourite moorland and woodsy trails. I don’t want to damn the show with faint praise, but I think OMM have found an excellent all round balance, even if the midsole doesn’t necessarily excel everywhere. On shorter, more technical runs, I occasionally found myself wanting to feel slightly lower to the ground. On longer runs, I maybe would have appreciated a slightly softer level of cushioning. The reality is, each change would lead to compromises elsewhere, so rather than worry about the extremes, I’ll reiterate that the cushioning, responsiveness and sense of precision is generally excellent.

For me, a 4-6mm drop is just about perfect. The OMM Trail Shoe comes in at 6mm. I noted it when I read the spec sheet, then completely forgot about it; I guess OMM got things about right, or they did for me at least.

Outsole

I’m happy to say that my love affair with Vibram continues. The flame is burning brighter than ever, in fact. Thanks to the changeable weather, I took the Trail Shoes through everything from dust, to wet rock, to the kind of ground more suited to a fell shoe. Often all on the same run. The best possible compliment I can give the sole was that it was utterly predictable. There is a particular cobbled descent that can feel like they’ve been smeared in butter with some otherwise great soles. I didn’t even bother to ease up as I entered it wearing the OMM Trail Shoes. They gave me the confidence to adjust speed, change direction and pick the smallest contact patches, knowing that my foot placement would be solid. 

The only time the sole felt a little overwhelmed was in deep mud. Even there, the shoes performed better than they had any right to. The open-spaced lugs cleared mud quickly, so there was no clogging up. But ultimately, the 4mm depth isn’t quite long enough to bite into very soft ground. But realistically, OMM make a shoe specifically for that kind of terrain. For everything but the fells, I’d happily reach for the Trail Shoe. Further than that; depending on your local terrain, I’d describe the OMM Trail Shoe as the perfect all conditions shoe.

Fit & Comfort

As mentioned, my initial worries about how narrow the shoe was quickly faded. In reality, I appreciated the precise feeling of the close profile. I’ve not yet run further than 25km or so in the shoe, but felt no discomfort over that distance, which going by experience means I’ll be reaching for them for runs of any length – up into ultra distance territory. I would say that if you have even a moderately wide foot it’s worth reaching for the Regular+ though. 

The X-Lock design doesn’t feel like a gimmick either. It felt strange to not feel the need to yard on my laces to get a snug and secure sense that the shoe was hugging my foot. That did mean that on my first few runs, I maybe laced the shoe a little too loosely and had to pause and readjust. 

On a similar note, I know that I have quite a narrow heal, but as locked in as the forefoot felt, the heel always had a tiny bit of play. No matter how much playing with lacing or runners knots, I wasn’t able to completely eliminate it. It was particularly noticeable on climbs, but didn’t actually cause any rubbing or discomfort.

Usage

I’m a gear geek. I love kit that does a specific thing well. I like niches and oddities. The OMM Trail Shoes are the opposite to this and I love them all the more for it. It’s enough to strike fear into a guy who has more trail running shoes than pairs of pants. Are these the only Trail Shoes I really need?

Light enough to race in, robust enough to train in. Versatile enough for just about every condition you’ll find on UK trails and in the mountains. 

For anyone looking for a truly great all rounder, with a focus on performance,  it’s hard to look beyond the OMM Trail Shoe.

Final Thoughts

So, I’m coming up to 100km down for the OMM Trail Shoe. Test written. If I wanted to, I could pop these up on the shelf amongst some other decent shoes and try something else. I’m actually looking forward to doing the absolute opposite. I want to run further and use the Trail Shoes as exclusively as possible until they wear out. I want to take them to the mountains and kick up dust in the summer. I want to race in them.

Are there any criticisms? Yes and no. Minor heel-fit niggle aside, I think every other aspect is a result of a deliberate design choice by OMM. There could be more cushioning, but that would risk the precision and nimbleness of the shoe. There could be less cushioning, but that would compromise comfort over longer runs. You get the idea. 

I think designing a UK trail shoe can be a thankless task. People’s definition of trail can vary wildly. So too can our trail conditions from day-to-day, never mind across the course of the year. I think OMM have done something really impressive and created the goldilocks shoe. It’s just right. 

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