REVIEW: OMM Fell Shoe

After 55 years at the heart of British mountain running, OMM has teamed up with traction experts Vibram to create its first-ever shoe.

A shoe you can’t outrun.

A shoe that grips when it matters most - extreme mud, bog and rough mountain ground, on the trail or far beyond it. Purpose-built for fell running, this isn’t just any shoe.

This is the OMM Fell Shoe.

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Combining a trio of Vibram’s cutting-edge traction technologies with OMM’s mountain running know-how, the result is a super-aggressive sole and bespoke lug pattern. This features lug lengths between 8–11mm for maximum grip in mud, bog, and rock, while the 4mm drop and 272g weight make it light, agile and precise on technical terrain.

The Fell Shoe holds its line whether you’re clawing up a sodden hillside, contouring across sheep tracks, or throwing yourself downhill in weather that would cancel most races.

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Key Features

A Durable and Protective Upper

The tough rip-stop Nylon mesh upper is re-enforced with TPU. TPU (Thermoplastic Polyurethane) parts are found in key contact points to aid durability, not limit flexibility, and increase the ability to withstand the toughest conditions. TPU has been added to a wide range of shoe components, toe box, eyelets and heel cups to provide protection from rocks, brambles, heather and anything else the fells throw at them.

Inside the shoe is a structural skeleton, the skeleton gives the shoes structure and added protection to the foot in key contact points. It can be found round the base of the shoe and extends up into the toe box, eyelets and heel cups.

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Unique Midsole Wave Technology

Using both a Vibram outsole and midsole allows us to mould a wave shape into the sole of the shoe. This brings several benefits; For starters, the Wave acts to reduce internal compression of the midsole, meaning less movement inside the shoe and less risk of hotspots and blisters. It also disperses energy along the length of the foot, flattening and providing support as you move through the gait cycle. As your foot flexes, the Wave decreases the shearing forces between the shoe’s layers, extending their lifespan. Finally, by mapping the lugs onto this wave, it provides varied lug depth across the sole.

The X-Lock Fit System secures the tongue holding your foot securely on those steep descents meaning there’s no need to ‘cheese wire’ your feet with tight laces. This adjustable lacing pattern on the upper reduces pressure points across your foot, which maintains tension, instils confidence underfoot and reduces chafing.

A small EVA rock plate is embedded between the midsole and outsole where you strike with your forefoot. This spreads the impacts and provides underfoot protection from sharp rocks or uneven terrain.

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The world's most aggressive Outsole

Made specifically for UK fells using OMM’s extensive mountain experience. The Fell Shoe has a bespoke lug pattern that provides vast amounts of grip when ascending, descending, contouring or braking. All the lugs are offset so there is no line of sight through the sole, which means all the lugs are always engaged consistently providing maximum grip.

By adding nobbles onto the Vibram Traction lugs it adds 50% more surface area to each one, enhancing grip and traction. As the lugs press into the ground the smaller lugs capture areas that resist sliding and improve propulsion and braking power.

A Vibram Litebase outsole is the rubber base of the shoe. Lightness is fundamental to conserving energy and enhancing performance: Vibram Litebase reduces 30% of the overall sole weight through a reduction of the sole thickness by 50%, while maintaining Vibram quality in grip, traction and durability.

The Fell Shoe features Vibram Megagrip, a high-performance rubber compound that offers unparalleled grip properties on both dry and wet terrain. Extremely durable, it gives you confidence and control, while maintaining an optimal balance between stability and flexibility for ground adaptation.

Featuring lug depths from 8mm up to over 11mm, the OMM Fell Shoe is THE most aggressive trail running shoe on the market.

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Review

We sent a pair of shoes to one of the country’s leading fell runners, who chose to remain anonymous, and invited them to share an open and honest review.

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I first heard whispers of the OMM Fellshoe back in the early autumn from someone whom I guess I could term as an ‘industry insider’. He, I mean, they described it in a way that had me come away thinking ‘that sounds pretty ****’. Words that stuck in my mind’s eye were ‘super long lugs’ and a ‘wave-style’ midsole. It sounded like my feet would be sailing the seven seas on stilts. To be perfectly fair to this inside man (or woman), the OMM website also describes a wave midsole alongside its finger-length 8-11mm lugs.

My other thoughts, on the barest of reflections, were…’makes sense’. To me, OMM are synonymous with British mountain running and so, yeah, it makes sense that they would have a shoe to add to their quiver of equipment. The Fellshoe, as the name would suggest, is unmistakenly designed and produced with technical fell-running in mind; this is not a shoe for blade-handing round the London marathon.

It's lightweight, not quiet on the colour front, and more aggressive than your neighbour’s Rottweiler, Titan. In this last regard, OMM have nailed their colours to the mast, giving a no-holds-barred off-road, off-trail, and off-map toothy beast that looks like it will eat the steepest of grassy descents for breakfast. It delivers in this regard for sure, especially on boggy, muddy ground. The varied lug lengths weren’t really noticeable at all (and I don’t mean that in a negative way) however, we all know that the litmus test for a fell shoe is the running-world’s equivalent of football’s ‘a wet Wednesday night in Stoke’; how does it do on wet rock? It’s alright. So-so. The Vibram Megagrip compound is a bit of a misnomer when it comes to all but the driest rock, suffice to say this is the only real let down of the shoe. In short, it’s about the same as most others. If that isn’t a concern then all good and if it is, there’s only one shoe to go for in that regard, and we all know what that one is.

Fit-wise it was a funny one, straight out the box. They’re true-to-size but I felt my foot was sat on the shoe, not in the shoe, which was a bit disconcerting until I went running and my foot bedded in after a couple of miles, though with some heel-slip when climbing the steep stuff. For a shoe so lightweight they’re also damn comfortable right off and the midsole, whilst by no means plush, suits me to the ground, allowing some good ‘feel’ (despite the rock-plate) and a decent bit of oomph when you channel your inner Usain Bolt or Julien Alfred for that wild-eyed stampede to the show-field.

For a first effort at a running shoe, and a super demanding fell-running shoe at that, I think OMM have done an impressive job. They’re competitively priced and definite rival to your more established shoes of this ilk. They’ve missed the bullseye with that wet rock grip as 95% of shoe brands do; really the winning formula is to create bespoke outsole compounds almost primarily geared towards this issue, which only one brand is doing. For everything else, especially greasy grass and Australia-deep bogs, they’re as good as, or better than, anything out there. The fit is subjective for sure, so what doesn’t work for me may well work for you, and vice versa. For the Yorkshire-folk out there I reckon they’d last the distance for a good few seasons, being made from tough, durable materials, standing up to the standard crappy winter we’ve been having my way the past few weeks. Sure, the multi-length lugs and ‘wave’ midsole sound a bit gimmicky but they don’t not work so I’ll let that slide.

I don’t think you’d be in anyway disappointed lacing a pair of these up and throwing yourself down one of the Lake District’s ‘Old Men’ (not a euphemism). They feel confidence-inspiring and fun, which is the single biggest compliment you can give to a something in my opinion.

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