{Product Review: Reebok All Terrain Shoe}

It’s finally arrived, the very first shoe specifically engineered for obstacle racing! Since teaming up with Spartan Race in early 2013, Reebok has now released the All Terrain series, providing racers with a shoe built to be Spartan tough, and OCR-friendly.

I was fortunate enough to have been provided with a pair of the All Terrain Super’s to test, and must say that so far, I’m liking them!  Upon receiving the shoes, I instantly took note of how lightweight they are.  I’ve recently been running my OCR and trail runs primarily in the Salomon Fellraiser’s, and although I have really enjoyed them, I’ve noticed that they do have a tendency to get a bit heavy and bogged down as I progress through the race.  The All Terrain are light and airy, and provide a snug fit that hugs your foot tightly (they may fit those with a narrow foot best, as they do not provide a lot of added room along the sides).  The shoes are designed to take a beating, to stand strong against a barrage of obstacles and terrain, and to tackle both mud and water with ease.

The bottom of the shoe is engineered with slick obstacles and steep hills in mind.  The lugs are a moderate size, but installed in a way so as not to promote caking or built up of dirt and mud.  A front toe pick aids in digging in to muddy hills, and the center guard and obstacle grips work perfectly for adding additional protection against many different types of terrain, while also providing the added support necessary to aid with quality grip on ropes and walls.

And the very best part of the shoe?  (In my humble opinion).  The water drainage system that is built cleverly into the shoe!  It’s ingenious!  Reebok included drainage ports along the bottom front portion of the shoe, which allows each shoe to quickly and effectively expel excess water, reducing the added weight (and squish squash!) that many runners experience throughout their races.

I was able to put the All Terrain shoes to the test at my most recent race, Hog Wild Mud Run.  This event provided the perfect course for putting all facets of this shoe to the test, as I encountered muddy hills, steep walls, rope climbs, crawling, and swimming.  I was impressed with the grip the shoes provided, thrilled that they didn’t allow caked mud to cling to the bottom, and quite happy that they were responsive when called upon to really dig in and perform on the ropes and walls.  Best of all, they didn’t feel like 10lb weights on my feet when swimming, which made a huge difference in the speed and efficiency of my progression through the water!  They dried out quickly post race, allowing me to wear them for hours after without cold, sloshing feet.

This past weekend took me away from racing and instead to the beach, as I have a friend from Michigan visiting.  I decided to bring along my All Terrain’s for a several mile beach walk, to get a feel for how they would also perform on the sand, and to further test the drainage ports.  We walked along as the tide rolled in, and I was able to travel through sand and water with ease.  I was pleased with how well the shoes performed both on the trails and in the mud, as well as in the sand and water.  As far as I’m concerned, this is an all around pretty sweet shoe!

My only recommendation as Reebok evolves the shoe would be to include a more durable lacing system instead of the basic laces that are currently included.  And although this shoe performs as it should on obstacles, it may be difficult for a racer who requires more than minimal support and cushioning to truly appreciate the fantastic features this shoe offers.

All-in-all, the All Terrain is a really great shoe, and very well may become one of my top go-to shoes for upcoming OCR’s.  I’ll be wearing them at the Miami Spartan Super next month, and look forward to putting them to the test at the very event they were made to tackle.

The Reebok All Terrain Sprint and Super shoes are now available for purchase!  Interested in buying them?  Click here to pick out your pair today!  Happy Racing!

~Holly

Interested in reading more?  Here are a couple of great reviews about the Reebok All Terrain Shoe:

Heather of Relentless Forward Commotion

Jeff of On My Way to Sparta

Reebok was gracious enough to provide me with a complimentary pair of their All Terrain shoes.  However, all opinions written above are solely my own.