Outsider had great fun at the Trans Gran Canaria adventure run on the 5th and 6th march 2010. Although officially over on press duties only, our intrepid journalists decided to have a go at the (shortest) 25km race and took the opportunity to test the new Columbia Ravenous trail running shoes in the environment for which they were designed.
The shoes performed great. We were really delighted with the fit, especially around the ankle. Columbia has a really unique way of providing lots of ankle support, while maintaining softness and flexibility.
Instead of having the rigid ankle support inside the shoe, on the Ravenous it is wrapped around the outside of the heel, like an exoskeleton. This makes the shoes feel both very soft and very supportive.
The cushioning seems good, probably somewhere in the middle between Salomon and Inov-8.
Sprinting down steep greasy gullies gave the grip no challenges, and it seemed to be very good on multi-directional manoeuvres, jumping up on rocks and the sides of grassy banks.
Drainage and breathability were absolutely super. Within three strides after immersion in a stream, the shoes felt dry again. They might look pretty ordinary, but looks can be deceptive and these Ravenous shoes seem like a great new option for trail runners here in Ireland this spring.
Try these if grip, support and cushioning are important to you, but you still like the feeling of running free and light.
Available from 53 Degrees North
[...] Outsider Magazine – Columbia Ravenous trail running shoe [...]
Hi Outsider Team,
I cant wait to try these shoes out. I`ll be in touch really soon with a report after trying them out on the Swiss Alpine trails…hopefully if they work out Ill use them in the Mountain Man http://www.themountainman.ch/en/index-e.html or the XTERRA Switzerland in August too!
Fiola