My reduced running plan meant I thought I could get away with one pair of running shoes a year. But I hadn’t counted on all the dog walking, nor running with A and so the shoes I got in April were beyond knackered by November.
Owing to my budget I’d been looking into Decathlon, because a) Even with my recycling discount Hylos would be more and b) Hylos aren’t good in the mud or for dog walking. I went in for a pair of Easytrail, (£40), but the 10.5 size was too big and that was the nearest size they had. I came out with a pair of Kalenji Run Active Grip (£35) in a 9.5; I wasn’t aware of these shoes as I’d only looked at the trail shoes online and these fall under the road shoes.
These Active Grip are superb for the price. They will 100% do my requirement of road/trail/dogs. The nearest comparison I can think of (on my radar) is Pegasus Trail, but do I want to wear a £130 shoe to walk the dogs? Nope.
The Active Grip do seem to have quite a hard sole as opposed to “sticky” rubber. They might not be great on wet stones (not a problem for me), but they are great on wet leaves on the pavement. And mud. They do also seem to rely on quite a thick/plush insole for cushioning as opposed to the midsole. But I’ve come from Free Run / Terra Kiger / Hylo and so I’m ok with not a huge amount of cushioning.
Only 74 km on them so far, but I can’t fault them.
[EDIT: 2024-05-27] See long-term review