Gear Review: NB Minimus 10 Trail (MT10GY)

NB Minimus 10 Trail from 2011

NB Minimus 10 Trail (MT10GY)- This is a really great shoe that is terrible for what it was meant to do! Sounds like a contradiction but it really isn't. Let me explain. This shoe is a barefoot shoe. It is meant to compete against Vibram Five Finger shoes and Vivo Barefoot shoes to name a couple big names. On that alone I say this shoe does a very good job. I have tried (only on treadmills in stores) the Vibrams and I did not care for the toe separation whereas these feel like a sock wrapping your foot. So much so that most people don't bother with socks when wearing these shoes. I do but that's just my preference. If you are not accustomed to wearing barefoot shoes you will need to ease into these gradually. The shoe is a feather weight coming in at 7.5oz and has a tiny 4mm drop from the heel to the toe. This shoe in my opinion is absolutely fantastic and I would highly recommend it. But not for trails. It may be sold as a trail shoe. It even has "trail" in its name but this shoe is the farthest thing from usable on trails, gravel or anything that has the ability to poke the soft underside of your foot. I have wore this shoe on every running surface out there and the slightest gravel shoulder to the most lightly pebble strewn bike path presents a problem for these shoes. The ultra thin cushioning is incredible at cushioning my foot fall but its deep grooves let every rock, stick, pebble, root or whatever you encounter stab and bruise your foot mercilessly. The shoe is a staple in my rotation. I've done 15 miles at a time in this shoe and absolutely love it for a foot strengthening workout but not on the trails. Keep this one on the road and you will love it!