Montrail Odyssey Trail Shoe Review

being a montrail ambassador means i'm constantly being asked about montrail shoes. i would say the shoe i suggest the most is the montrail odyssey. this is because the montrail odyssey is the most versitile trail running shoe on the market today. even the most hardened trail runner is forced to run road on ocassion. the montrail odyssey was designed as a light weight trail shoe that is just as comfortable on the road as on the trail. matter of fact... this is my road shoe. it's also my favorite light weight trail shoe (just 12oz). i even race ultras up to 50 miles in this shoe because it's light weight, stable and has a great cushioned sole for my achey knees. is it tough? i wore a pair of montrial odysseys on a circumnavigation of the sisters mountains in oregon. 45 miles and 10,000 feet of gain with a summit of the south sister and a 3,000 foot decent on a lava rock and scree... and i'm still running in them. on those hot days you'll appreciate the upper being made of very breathable mesh and on the wet days you will appreciate the gryptonite treads. great shoe.

the montrail odyssey in action! - olympic national park



outside magazine's take on the montrail odyssey

No More Leaks

I am finally happy with a water bladder! I have been subjecting Hydrapak hydration bladders to as much use (abuse) as possible over the last year, and I have still not had one of them leak. This is huge, because other bladders have failed on me during long hard races when I really needed water.

These failures originate from design flaws, material failures, and operator errors. Hydrapak designs are well thought-out, and they are fabricated from incredibly strong and stretchy material.

One source of operator error happens when crewmembers fills bladders during an adventure race. For example, a nice person once left the silicone seal protruding from the screw top of a poorly designed bladder in one small area, and I lost all of my water at the start of a long desert run.

The Hydrapak bladders utilize innovative roll top or sliding enclosures. A bomber seal is easy to achieve, and the instructions are printed right on the bladder to make doubly sure.

A cool feature of the Hydrapak Reversible Bladders is their ability to be quickly and easily turned inside out, cleaned and dried. This solves the funk problem that plagues other bladders.

Hydrapak reversible resovoirs can be purchased at http://www.hydrapak.com/catalog/product2110.htm for $25.99.