Thursday Shoe Sneak Peek and Giveaway

The fourth day in our week of shoe review previews and giveaways—The Patagonia Tsali 3.0

This week, we’re offering a sneak peek at several shoes we’ll be reviewing in full in our fall spring shoe review (October issue, available on newsstands Sept. 11.) Each day, we’ll feature one shoe and offer a free pair to one randomly selected winner.

To be entered in today’s giveaway for a pair of Patagonia Tsali 3.0 shoes, just leave a comment on this page by midnight tonight (Thursday). Winner will be selected, notified and announced on trailrunnermag.com tomorrow.

Note: As per manufacturers’ limitations, shoes can only be shipped to U.S. addresses.

Congrats to reader Alan Paris whose name was selected from those who commented on yesterday’s shoe sneak to receive a pair of The North Face Ultra Equity shoes. Stay tuned for tomorrow’s shoe sneak peek and giveaway!

Patagonia Tsali 3.0

• $110
• 10.4 oz
• 10mm heel-to-toe drop

Every year, there is one shoe that stands out high above all the rest we test—one universally heralded as a magical, near-perfect shoe by our editors as well as our “freelance” shoe testers, who range from beginners to seasoned ultrarunners, who run diverse trails everywhere from Tennessee to Hawaii to Colorado, and whose feet range from narrow to wide and everything in between. Last year, the cream of the crop was the Pearl Izumi Project E:Motion N2 Trail Shoe.

This year, it’s the Patagonia Tsali 3.0. We’ve dragged it through gnarly 50-milers, along sections of the Hardrock 100 course, through creek crossings, steep scree fields and over hardpack clay plateaus—and it’s excelled everywhere. A forefoot rock plate shields against rough trails. The 3.5-mm lugs don’t look like much, but on everything short of deep mud, they provide tremendous grip.

A flexible (and quick-draining!) upper and innovative lacing system accommodate a broad variety of foot types, and our testers universally praised the cozy, no-slip fit. Though a touch heavier than many of the more minimalist offerings currently on the market, the Tsali 3.0 feels light and fast—particularly given the high levels of protection and cushioning that it offers. The only thing we can find to complain about on the Tsali is its unusually long laces with a propensity for coming untied.

A final note: scoop these wonder shoes up while they’re still around, as Patagonia Footwear recently announced it will no longer produce shoes after the end of 2014.

Best For:

• The Tsali 3.0 is extremely versatile, but it especially excels on technical, rocky trails
• Dry or wet conditions
• Training runs or races of any distance from 5K to 50 miles; cushioning is a bit firm for anything longer

How It Fits:

• True to size
• Unique lacing system accommodates a variety of foot widths, providing ample space for wider feet and also cinching down well on narrower feet

Tester Rave:

• “The best part of this shoe is the great protection that it offers. On some tough and rocky trails, my feet felt great and I never had to slow down or take it easy on sharp and jagged rocks. The grip is also awesome. There is enough protection to be able to go out for long run and not worry about your feet getting beat up.”
  —Forrest Tracy, Saint Paul, MN

Signs of a shoe well loved: A Trail Runner editor’s dirt-caked pair of Tsali 3.0s.