“We recommend using old sneakers, ones that you don’t mind throwing away after the event.”

That’s a common line for many of the mud-based adventure obstacle races (Tough Mountain Challenge, Tough Mudder, you name your favorite). In its own way, it’s not bad advice; it’s a great way to get rid of some old shoes, and the events usually send them off for recycling.

BUT.

It’s also lousy advice. First, old shoes tend to have worn soles, which means bad traction in GOOD conditions, and these events have about the worst conditions you can imagine. Second, standard running shoes really aren’t ideal for these events; even typical trail runners aren’t designed for what you’re going to run into. Contrary to popular belief, these aren’t really running events at all for all but the elite few. Oh, sure, you’ll run some; but try to run UP a mountain, and you’re likely to keel over and become a speed bump for the smarter racers behind you. You’re going to do short bursts of running, sections of walking, and a ton of obstacles…and an old, worn-out pair of shoes is NOT what you want when you’re trying to scramble over a slippery wall.

The final problem with those “normal” running shoes is that the organizers of these events delight in soaking you in water, mud, and probably other less savory solutions. Typical shoes gain a LOT of weight, and as you get toward the end of the race, your legs are going to feel like lead without help from the muddy boat anchors at the end of them.

The Best Adventure Obstacle Race Shoe?

We’ve tried about everything…running shoes, trail runners, even some Timberland water shoes that were nearly a running shoe. After a lot of abuse (of the shoes AND ourselves), we’ve found that what works best is a zero-drop, minimalist sole shoe. They’re lighter weight and more flexible than any conventional-technology shoe, and that combination helps us get up, down, and across the course, on every kind of surface. It makes the whole thing more fun; we like diving into the mud as much as the next person, but faceplanting when we aren’t expecting it kinda hurts.

With all that said, at this point flat-out the best Adventure Obstacle Race Shoe we’ve found is the new SKORA Men’s Phase Running Shoe($110 retail). Why? Check this list out:

1. They’re light…insanely so, at under a pound for a size 10 on our scale. Want to get even more minimalist? Take out the insoles; the shoe is designed to be comfortable without them, and that saves another 1.7 ounces. We opted for more cushioning, but if you’ve got tough feet…

2. The materials hold minimal water, so they not only don’t get much heavier in the mud, but whatever gets inside comes out quickly.

3. The heel cup is perhaps the best we’ve ever seen. That’s important in these races; at the Mountain Mucker at Mount Sunapee recently, we were heading into a dumpster full of mud (no, that’s not a joke) and the volunteer there warned us “don’t try to run through, we’ve already had two people lose their shoes in there!” We simply haven’t been able to find any conditions that make these feel loose, no matter how narrow the heel of the user is.

4. The sole is the most soft and flexible we’ve found. That’s a positive and a negative; run on the wrong ground with tender feet, and it HURTS. You have to work into wearing these if you don’t spend a lot of time wandering around barefoot, or you’ll be very sore. The positive, though, is that you know EXACTLY what’s under your feet, allowing you to get great traction. One of the challenges at the Mountain Mucker included walking lengths of 4″ PVC pipe (the same stuff you see in the sewer lines in your basement). Wet PVC pipe, too. Yet with the SKORAs, the sole conformed to the round pipe shape, making it easy to walk along the pipes without feeling wobbly.

5. The combination of #3 and #4 leads to this one…fit. The Phase conforms to different foot shapes like it’s some form of alien (Science fiction readers, think sandtrout from “Dune”), ridiculously easily and comfortably, out of the box. Break-in period? It’s your foot that adapts to the new running position more than the shoe breaking in. Astonishing.

6. The bright colors and reflective trim make you easy to find if you disappear upside down into one of the mud obstacles. (Yes, we’re kidding about this one. Maybe.)

While we continue to be unsure about the value of the minimalist “barefoot” trend for general running, particularly on pavement, for running shorter distances on softer, irregular surfaces it really can’t be beat. We tried GoLite’s shoes a couple of years ago, and found them to be better than standard running shoes, particularly on harder surfaces; still, the transitional nature of those shoes with their thinner-than-typical-but-not-really-minimalist soles makes them less flexible (and heavier) than the Skoras. Even minimalist trail running shoes like the New Balance 10v2 Minimus, while looking similar, have much stiffer soles.

Weaknesses? Other than the above mentioned problems for tenderfeet, we did notice some abrasion on the upper after one race. It’s not MAJOR damage, but these are clearly “race day” shoes; we’d probably recommend using the SKORA Core for training, as it has a Pittards leather upper that is intended to get wet, and will obviously handle more abuse than a light nylon upper. While by modern standards the Phase isn’t wildly expensive, we’re cheap and would rather make our race shoes last as long as we can!

So, are these the best mud/obstacle race shoes made? We can’t answer that question; we’re far from having tested everything out there. Plus, new shoes are coming out all the time, so by the time you read this, it’ll probably be somewhat obsolete. We can confidently say three things, though. One, these are the best we’ve found yet, bar none. Two, if you value flexibility and the ability to handle wildly varying conditions over pure running, you owe it to yourself to put these on your short list. And three…we’ve got Loon’s Monster Mud Run coming up, and we’re looking forward to it  more than ever, knowing that the SKORAs’ ability to climb, scramble, and grip will, while not helping us win (that’s our fault), make it more fun. And isn’t that what this kind of racing is all about???