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GoLite Footwear Sun Dragon

rated 2.5 of 5 stars

GoLite Footwear is no longer in business, and the Sun Dragon has been discontinued. If you're looking for something new, check out the best trail running shoes for 2024.

photo: GoLite Footwear Sun Dragon trail running shoe

These shoes are what GoLite advertises them as - light weight and fairly stable. However, they do not hold up to trail runs over 5 miles, wet conditions, or rough terrain.

In multiple hikes in the White Mtns of NH, the shoes got chewed up and the big lugs on the bottom of the shoe were almost ripped off the soles after a 12 mile hike (on fairly gentle dirt and rock trails.)

In a 14 mile trail race, the shoes were okay in the sense they dried quickly after getting wet and were pretty stable on the rocky and rooty trail. However, the foot bed and sole offered no protection to the bottoms of my feet and after about 8 miles my dogs were barking!

As I mentioned the shoes themselves dry out quickly if the uppers get wet but the soles become essentially useless when when. On mountain hikes and runs, the wet soles gripped nothing except soft sand and mud. I became nervous on a few occasions crossing slabby sections of trails when the soles had become wet. The lugs felt more like ball bearings than teeth.

All in all, decent running shoes for service roads or dirt paths. I would not recommend these to anyone interested in serious trail running or fast hiking.

Use: day hikes and trail running/racing
Break-in Period: Out of box
Price Paid: $60 @ EMS

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Specs

Men's
Price MSRP: $95.00
Historic Range: $38.29-$95.00
Women's
Price MSRP: $95.00
Historic Range: $29.83-$95.00

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