wearing cleats to the match?

[drewbeck]

From your post it doesn't sound like you have tried a true mud shoe, and I would suggest giving them a try if you find trail runners lacking in grip.

Perhaps that is true. I used to race cyclocross (8th in nationals in 98 or so), and in a few events that had heinous mud I just wore soccer cleats instead of off-road cycling shoes, had perfect grip and ran away from the competition. No idea what the tough mudder is like, but I doubt it looks like typical uspsa terrain in the west. We shoot in a lot of loose dusty gravelly terrain.

Regarding the salomons, I see people wear them alot, and I see many of them slipping in loose terrain where I am not slipping. Based on that observation, I probably won't bother trying them. (plus they are a little too trendy and rudy-project-esque for my tastes). But whatever, people should wear whatever is comfortable and works for their movement style and terrain.

Salomons are trendy just like S_I's but there is a reason people are using them.

Yep, and that reason (imho) is that people are sheep, and very susceptible to marketing and the desire to fit in with the herd. If Nils and Rob L used a red rubber clown-nose when shooting and claimed it improved their peripheral vision and oxygen uptake, droves of shooters in team jerseys would be lining up to purchase red rubber clown-noses from Dawson and Shooters connection.

Where did you say you can pick up one of these clown noses?! Sounds like that would definitely be just the thing to help my transitions!

Regarding the salomons, I wore them on two 14ers last weekend here in CO which covered a multitude of terrain, from loose gravel, steep dirt, scree, wet rocks on creek crossings, granite boulders, and descending on super steep wet grass and snowfields and the traction they had was pretty impressive and far better than a hiking shoe made specifically for the purpose.

Whether or not they are a necessity for anyone or their shooting, they are a very solid performing shoe when it comes to getting traction on varying surface conditions. For the people that are still slipping with them, they probably have footwork issues and would likely be on their face without them

[obsessiveshooter]

Clown noses... That made me laugh out loud.

The reason people are slipping in those shoes is because you need cleats to do as-fast-as-possible direction changes on any natural surface. 3/16" of rubber just can't dig in enough to make a 200lb person stop on a dime. That requirement is vastly different from what is good for the constant forward motion of hiking a 14er.

[trgt]

Clown noses... That made me laugh out loud.

The reason people are slipping in those shoes is because you need cleats to do as-fast-as-possible direction changes on any natural surface. 3/16" of rubber just can't dig in enough to make a 200lb person stop on a dime. That requirement is vastly different from what is good for the constant forward motion of hiking a 14er.

What cleats do you like? My comment on trail shoes at a minimum more directed to those that show up wearing tennis shoes or running shoes who wonder why they slip with any movement, at least the trail shoe has grip at lower speed and a more aggressive lug pattern. I got some Nike Air Alvord 10 which at sub $50 outlet prices are good enough for how fast (not fast) I go, but I am interested in something with more grip as I get more aggressive. But when a pal showed up wearing football cleats with a stiff sole, I just couldn't imagine my feet being happy with that with 200lb (+) standing for 5+ hours.

Edited July 31, 2014 by trgt

[Willz]

I was hesitant to try the Salomons due to the fanboy trendiness. I usually wear Merrell high tops but my merrells were getting pretty worn and summers in the south mean matches shot mainly on early morning wet grass. I never felt my footing was very secure in those conditions with the Merrells.

So I tried the Speedcross 3 and I'm impressed with the grip on wet grass, dirt and gravel. Very secure planted feeling.

I can see where they are not ideal for hard surfaces like smooth concrete or tile since I get a bit of that nobby dirt bike tires on asphalt squirmy feel from the soles on my kitchen floor.

But for the price I like them and they're not such a specialized shoe that I need to change them if I stop at the grocery store on the way home from a match. YMMV

[Vincerama]

I bought $40 cleats (soccer? Football? Baseball? I dunno, I think baseball) from Mizuno, and I can stand in them all day without discomfort.

Don't forget to bring a folding chair with you, if you want some foot relief!

[drewbeck]

Clown noses... That made me laugh out loud.

The reason people are slipping in those shoes is because you need cleats to do as-fast-as-possible direction changes on any natural surface. 3/16" of rubber just can't dig in enough to make a 200lb person stop on a dime. That requirement is vastly different from what is good for the constant forward motion of hiking a 14er.

No argument that hiking and shooting are different animals, but for reference we weren't on a standard 14er death march "trail". I took them on two non standard class 3/4 routes on two of the sketchier 14ers in CO and the grip was impressive to say the least and they dug in just like a cleat until there was solid ground to hold the lugs.

The cross has a very soft rubber, if you want a more firm cleat like rubber take a look at the fellraiser. I too wore cleats and for our typical shooting conditions of gravel, sand, casings, I find I have much better traction with more points of contact and smaller lugs on the salomons than I did with the mizuno cleats I was wearing. Not a sales pitch, just my experience. I could really care less what other people wear and I wouldn't feel at a disadvantage wearing cleats, the stiffer shank just gets old after a few hours

[MIWildcat]

I picked up a pair of Solomon SC3's about 3 years ago when I started running Tough Mudder and similar events. I finally tried a pair for shooting earlier this year and they work quite well. Much better grip than my normal running shoes and I'm quite happy with them. I own both SC3 and Fellraisers and between the two, I prefer the Fellraiser.

[flyingchipmunk]

I'm still fairly new at this but in the two years I've been shooting I've found that boots work the best for me. I wore a pair of lightweight wolverine hunting boots for a while but now I wear 5.11 tactical boots. I find they give me plenty of grip and I like the extra support of the high tops. I'm still young (23) but I don't think they slow me down compared to trail running shoes. They do look a little silly with shorts though...

Just thought I'd offer up my alternate solution since everyone else is saying cleats or trail runners.

[DreGarciaTAT2]

I wear Solomon Speed Cross 3s. They are the only cleats I have found that are comfortable when wearing them all day.

Just got these as well, so far, so good!

[swhiteh3]

After 11 years of playing football, including college, I have a large collection of old football cleats that I'm slowly working through. I think a few pairs of these were retired after only a few weekends...

I love the grip they give me, and I don't really notice the discomfort that much, but they certainly are not luxurious by any stretch of the imagination!

That said, I'm starting to wonder if I have TOO much grip. I think the confidence I get from that much grip makes me coming into shooting positions charging like a bull. That worked well when I was lining up a 260# linebacker, but getting into a shooting box takes just a bit more finesse.... The grip sure helps me get OUT of shooting positions quickly though! I just need to work hard on being softer getting into position.

Scott

[Kwontanamo]

good idea or not?

I wear baseball cleats (left over's from flag football) but they work like a champ. Only recommendation is fitting a set of insoles from superfeet. I use it in my combat boots all the time and I haven't looked back since.

[Ultimo-Hombre]

I used to wear metal baseball cleats. Had an old pair and they worked awesome for the surfaces at my local matches.

Until I shot a match over at Albany oregon with the concrete deck. The only other footwear I had with me were the whites I rode over there in.

Fail.

[BeerBaron]

There is nothing special about the Salomon shoes that everyone seems to wear. Anyone with an athletic background can look at the surface of the range and pick something that will work great. Have you ever seen a baseball player or any professional athlete wearing trail running shoes? The amount of movement we do in USPSA is negligible compared to other sports. What works in those sports on similar surfaces will obviously work well in USPSA.

sure, but what we often have is sharp stops and fast changes of direction. speed in IPSC is not about how fast you can run, but how fast you can stop and how fast you can accelerate out of positions. on grass or dirt something with decent tread is important. running shoes etc just don't have enough tread depth to give the purchase you need.

sure if shooting indoors on a parquet floor then I'd use basketball shoes as they give the ankle support for direction change and the sole grips the surface well. but on wet wood you need something else, gravel, something else again and mud something different again. Why the speedcross and other trail running shoes are popular is they are a better compromise when you finally hit a range that has the wet wood AND the dirt and grass all in one. it's not like you can change shoes mid stage....... or can I?