Trabuco Max 4 vs Peregrine 14

The Trabuco Max 4 is ASICS at its most cushioned: a max-stack trail running shoe built for long days on your feet rather than chasing fast times. With a tall, soft platform underfoot it soaks up rocky, root-strewn ground and keeps your legs fresher deep into an ultra or a back-to-back training block. At 315g it is a properly substantial shoe, so this is not a nimble racer and it never pretends to be. What you trade in weight you get back in protection and comfort. The 5mm drop sits low for a max-cushion shoe, which keeps you closer to the ground than the stack height suggests and helps with stability on uneven terrain. It is a neutral shoe with a wide, planted base. In our view this is one to reach for when the run is measured in hours, not minutes. If you want a lighter, snappier trail option the Hoka Speedgoat 7 is the obvious rival, but for sheer cushioned comfort the Trabuco Max 4 holds its own.

Saucony has since moved on to the Peregrine 16, but the 14 is still an easy trail running shoe to recommend if you can find your size. It's low, flexible and grippy, with a rock plate and deep lugs, the kind of shoe you can take down a muddy bridleway on Saturday and up a rocky path on Sunday. Reviewers liked it. RunRepeat rated it highly for value and versatility, and most testers rated the grip well above average. Not everyone agrees on the wet stuff, though: iRunFar found it only adequate in mud and slippery on wet wooden bridges. The bigger catch is a firmish, fairly thin ride that gets tiring on long days. Think of it as a daily trail shoe rather than an ultra shoe. Fewer UK retailers carry it now that it's been replaced, so check sizes before you get attached.