Best Trail Running Shoes for Mud of 2025

Built for shredding slop, the upper has breathing vents to quick-release water, keeping the shoe from bogging down. While the laces are adequate at best, they still allow the wearer to hone in on a secure fit.

The MudTalon Speed is built in two distinct versions: a Wide Fit for wider feet or longer efforts and a Precision Fit when all that matters is going fast!

Read more in our Inov8 MudTalon Speed review.

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Best Road-to-Mud Shoe: Asics Gel-Trabuco 13 ($140)

Actual Weight (U.S. men’s 9): 10.2 oz (288 g) | Drop: 8 mm | Lug Depth: 4 mm

Pros:

• Suitable from sidewalk to mountain top, and anywhere in between
• Quick-draining, relatively quick-drying upper

Cons:

• Sometimes a retie is needed after starting to run for ideal foot lockdown

Read more in our Asics Gel-Trabuco 13 review.

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Best Grip in All Conditions (including Mud) – La Sportiva Mutant ($185)

Actual Weight (U.S. men’s 9): 11.3 oz (321 g) | Drop: 10 mm | Lug Depth: 6.5 mm

Pros:

• Highly versatile off-road option
• Upper offers locked-in feel without being constrictive

Cons:

• Hard to get on
• Heel tab lacks durability

The La Sportiva Mutant. Photo: iRunFar/Bryon Powell

The La Sportiva Mutant may be most at home off-trail in the mountains on rugged terrain, but it also excels in muddy conditions thanks to its relatively deep 6.5-millimeter lugs. These shoes have the most aggressive lug pattern of any from La Sportiva, especially with the discontinuation of the Cyclon, and the lugs are spaced widely enough that they grip effectively and shed mud easily.

While many mud-specific shoes struggle in any conditions other than sloppy, the Mutants can hold their own on nearly anything besides hard-packed trail or roads. The relatively thin midsole is made of EVA foam and does not predispose this shoe for running on pavement. That said, in mud or on other softer surfaces, the midsole provides enough protection from the ground and allows for enough ground feel to make the microadjustments needed to stay upright, whether you’re in mud or on technical terrain. There’s a bit of a rocker, but not nearly as much as more run-specific shoes. The outsole is made of FriXion XF 2.0 rubber, which sticks well to nearly any surface. The lugs are relatively soft and flexible, making them less than ideal on hard surfaces, but they can dig into soft surfaces to provide grip.

The La Sportiva Mutant adopted the built-in gaiter before most other shoe companies started experimenting with the concept. The wrap-around upper and FusionGate lacing system takes a bit of getting used to for tightening, but when secure, it hugs the foot and provides plenty of lockdown. The built-in gaiter offers a relatively tight seal around the ankle without feeling restrictive. Although this system still lets some amount of debris in, it’s far better than a more traditional ankle collar.

The upper is made of a recycled AirMesh. It’s thicker than many other uppers and provides warmth in wet conditions. It is reinforced with overlays throughout the midfoot and heel that attach directly to the lacing system. This provides lateral stability and keeps the foot in place. The heel tab is the only place where this shoe has durability issues, as it will rip out if you pull on it too hard. Given that this shoe — with the unique lacing system and wrap-around upper — can be a bit of a deal to get on, this is actually a significant issue.

Like most shoes from the brand, these run between a half to a full size small, so you’ll need to size up. They are also on the narrower side of the spectrum.

A full review of the La Sportiva Mutant is forthcoming.

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Hallie Taylor tests Scott shoes in sloppy conditions in Colorado. Photo: iRunFar/Eszter Horanyi

Comparing the Best Trail Running Shoes for Mud

Buyer’s Guide: How to Choose a Trail Running Shoe for Mud

Snug Fit

When the conditions outside your shoe are slippery and unstable, it helps if the conditions inside the shoe are snug and secure. The best trail running shoes for mud will have a snug fit that will help you to find purchase on the muckiest trails by ensuring that your shoe feels like your foot has grown lugs. And when sticky mud tries to swallow your shoe, your foot won’t slide out of it.

All of the shoes that made our list fit most testers snugly without being painful, and one shoe was even removed from the list due to a sloppy fit.

That said, many of the best trail running shoes for mud on the market seem too narrow for the average foot. Our testers thought they knew what they were getting into when they agreed to slip on some of these narrow, snug mud shoes, but they were wrong. To everyone’s surprise, four models we tested that were billed as being either average or narrow in width were far too cramped to be even remotely usable for any of our testers. These ultra-narrow shoes are made for long, skinny, low-volume feet, and if that’s not you, mud shoe shopping could be tricky.

These snuggest shoes may still fit very narrow-footed people and could perform well for fell running, but we could not include them in our list. Because of fit issues, it is always a good idea to try on mud shoes in a store before purchasing.

Among our favorite mud running shoes, the Wide version of the Inov8 TrailTalon was our clear top choice for those looking for a more accommodating fit. The Salomon Speedcross 6 is also worth checking out.

Heel-to-Toe Drop

Mud shoes do not need to be equipped with a particular heel-to-toe drop to perform well. We recommend you seek shoes with a drop in which you feel comfortable. If you try shoes with more or less drop than normal, you should ease into their use to keep your lower legs happy. Mud shoe options range from the no-drop for multiple Inov8 models to the 6-millimeter drop of the Inov8 TrailTalon and MudTalon Speed to the 10-millimeter drop of the Salomon Speedcross 6 and La Sportiva Mutant.

Testing the Inov8 Mudclaw G 260 V2 in the mud of Utah. Photo: iRunFar/Ben Kilbourne

Stack Height

We tested many near-minimalist mud shoes with stack heights in the single digits. The Inov8 MudTalon Speed, for example, has a lower stack height to keep the runner’s center of gravity low in sloppy and unpredictable terrain. Mud shoes are designed to excel on soft terrain that already provides plenty of cushioning.

This is probably the type of shoe you will want for running in relentlessly muddy conditions, as you’ll frequently find in England’s Lake District. Winter running in the U.S. Pacific Northwest could also warrant the purchase of such an aggressive, low-stack shoe.

But not every shoe on our list is this close to the ground. Our testers in Utah and Colorado, who often encounter mud, snow, and hard-packed trails all in one run, appreciate more versatile mud shoes. For example, the Asics Gel-Trabuco 13 has a high stack height for a more forgiving ride on hardpack terrain, but it still has 5-millimeter lugs for traction in mud.

In short, when looking at the best trail running shoes for mud, choose one with a stack height that accommodates the requirements of your local terrain.

Drainage

Mud shoes are designed with the expectation that they will encounter water almost constantly. Shoe manufacturers address this issue in two ways: making shoes with thick uppers to keep debris out and heat in, or making shoes with thin, non-absorbing uppers that drain and dry quickly.

Thick, warm uppers might be a good choice for running in muddy and cold conditions, such as those found in the U.K. There’s a working assumption that your feet will be wet the whole time, so shoe drainage is less important than keeping feet warm when wet. The La Sportiva Mutant is an example of a shoe with a thick and warm upper that prevents them from filling with debris.

A thin, quick-drying upper might be more appropriate in more variable terrain, such as what most of our testers encounter in Utah and Colorado. This will keep the shoe as light as possible when wet and also reduce the chance of maceration on longer runs when there’s an opportunity for the shoes, socks, and feet to dry out.  When our testers plodded through a combination of mud, snow, and dry trails in one run, they found it nice to have their shoes and feet dry out when they descended from the sloppiest slopes but still had many dry miles to cover on the way back to the car.

Many mud shoes, such as the Inov8 MudTalon Speed, are designed with thin mesh uppers that won’t absorb water. Some even have drain holes to purge pooling water from the inside of the shoe.

Drying

Light mesh uppers don’t just allow water to drain quickly — they also don’t absorb water, aiding in the shoe’s ability to dry rapidly. Many of the best trail running shoes for mud also have less foam in the upper than typical trail running shoes to facilitate quick drying.

Mud running shoes’ tongues will often be thin and nearly foamless. A waterlogged tongue could slide from side to side or become bunched and uncomfortable. Many mud shoes’ heel pocket padding is similarly scant to keep water absorption at a minimum.

On the other hand, some mud shoes, like the Inov8 TrailTalons, accept the fact that when you slosh through mud all day, your feet are going to be wet and are built with thick and durable uppers to keep your feet warm instead of trying to be fast-drying.

Testing a pair of VJ Sport shoes in mud. Photo: iRunFar/Eszter Horanyi

Uppers

Uppers need to shed mud in the same way shoe lugs need to keep slop buildup to a minimum. Most mud shoe uppers achieve this mud resistance with tightly woven material. Very meshy uppers, like those found on many road shoes, are great for breathability but tend to trap debris and mud. The tightly woven upper of the Inov8 MudTalon Speed is thin and plasticky but still permeable enough to allow water drainage.

Lugs

The most obvious characteristic of a mud shoe might be its deep and widely spaced lugs. Deep lugs will dig through the goop to find purchase on rock or firmer soil beneath. They will also shed mud better than small, closely spaced lugs. Only shoes with lugs deeper than four millimeters made our list of mud shoes, with the most aggressive mud shoes, the Inov8 MudTalon Speed, having deep 8-millimeter lugs. Interestingly, there is no consensus on the best lug shape for soft terrain conditions, with rectangles and chevrons being used pretty equally.

Rock Plates

Some of the best trail running shoes for mud are designed with rock plates under the ball of the foot for extra protection. Rocks and roots can lie in wait under the mud and can really beat up your feet if you keep landing on them unexpectedly. When you see these obstacles above ground, they’re easy to anticipate — you can hit a visible rock with an intentionally light landing, but you can’t do this with an invisible one. Choose a shoe with a rock plate, such as the Inov8 TrailTalon or Asics Gel-Trabuco 13, if you want to protect your feet from hidden obstacles. Other shoes, like the Salomon Speedcross 6 and La Sportiva Mutant, have enough substance in the combination of the midsole and outsole to provide adequate protection for many conditions without a rock plate.

Even Mud Shoes Have Their Limits

We want to mention that not all mud is created equal. Mud that’s merely typical wet dirt may be sloppy, but it tends to shed easily from most mud-capable shoes. On the other hand, wet clay-based soils tend to form a gumbo that adheres to nearly any footwear, and tall lugs can have the unintended effect of allowing a taller layer of glop to adhere to the bottom of your shoe. This is all just to say that buying a mud shoe will not guarantee you can run on any type of mud at any time, but it will surely help.

iRunFar’s Meghan Hicks tests an Inov8 model in the Colorado Rockies. iRunFar/Eszter Horanyi

Why You Should Trust Us

The iRunFar testing team has over 150 years of combined running experience in all types of conditions. Over the years, we’ve tested shoes on everything from the Bob Graham Round in the U.K. to mud in the Pacific Northwest region of the U.S. to slippery clay on the Colorado Plateau. We understand the importance of shoes that will keep you upright in sloppy conditions. To create this guide, we extensively researched both mud-specific shoes and those that could handle glop while still performing on other types of surfaces and reached out to our extensive team of testers to see what they were using in sloppy conditions. We tested shoes in as many different situations as possible — warm, cold, wet, dry, saturated, damp — so that we could offer suggestions for the best trail running shoe for mud for your specific conditions.

Please note that product models are routinely discontinued in the running world, while new ones frequently come to market. At the same time, we here at iRunFar often keep using our top picks in our daily running … they’re our top picks, after all! Sometimes that continued use results in uncovering product failures. With all this — product discontinuations, product introductions, and product failures — in mind, we routinely update our buyer’s guides based on past and ongoing testing and research by our authors and editorial team. While these updates can appear to be us pushing the newest product, it’s anything but that. When we update any buyer’s guide, most products will likely remain the same. That matches our goal: to get you in the best gear you’ll be using for a long time.

Ben Kilbourne testing mud shoes in the Wasatch Mountains of Utah in spring conditions. Photo: iRunFar/Ben Kilbourne

Frequently Asked Questions About Trail Running Shoes for Mud

What makes mud-specific shoes different from other trail running shoes? What are the benefits of trail running shoes for mud?

Shoes made specifically for running in mud will have an aggressive tread with deep and widely spaced lugs. They will either have a thin, hydrophobic mesh upper to facilitate water drainage and prevent mud from sticking or a thicker upper to keep debris out and your feet warm. In most cases, the tongue and heel pocket will be minimally padded to prevent water absorption. Many mud shoes will have a low stack height and minimal heel-to-toe drop to keep the center of gravity close to the ground and provide as much groundfeel as possible so that you can make the microadjustments needed to stay upright in tricky conditions.

Do I need a mud-specific trail running shoe?

That depends. Runners who regularly tromp through the hills of Scotland or the temperate rainforests of Oregon or Washington, where mud is often present, might want to invest in a pair of mud shoes. If you’re fell racing or competing in obstacle course races, mud shoes are pretty much mandatory.

Runners in more arid places who encounter mud only seasonally should be able to use just about any trail running shoe with a moderately lugged outsole. We recommend the Inov8 TrailTalon or Asics Gel-Trabuco 13 for this use. The La Sportiva Mutant is also a great option if you regularly run in the mountains on technical terrain and encounter mud or other soft conditions.

Testing Scott shoes in wet conditions. Photo: iRunFar/Eszter Horanyi

Should I run on muddy trails?

When the trails get muddy, it’s often tempting to avoid the puddles and mud altogether by veering off the trail and onto the grass or brush beside the trail, but this can damage vegetation, cause trail braiding, and cause a host of other problems. According to the Leave No Trace guidelines, runners should always stay on the trail through puddles and mud rather than veering off. Following this rule will prevent erosion and ensure the trail does not become wider.

Some trails, including several that our Utah testers frequent, close completely every time it rains. Because the soil has such a high clay content, these trails can be damaged by running and mountain biking on them when they’re wet. Always follow a trail’s local guidelines about running in muddy conditions. In many cases, if you’re leaving shoe prints that don’t immediately fill back in with mud, you should probably stay off the trail.

In some areas of the world, like the fells of the United Kingdom, running in mud is the norm and doesn’t cause damage to the trails, and the shoes that come out of the region reflect that. Shoes like the Inov8 MudTalon Speed and Inov8 TrailTalon come from areas known for their muddy trails.

What is fell running?

The word fell comes from the Old Norse word fjall, which means mountain or hill. Fell running basically means hill running, but these are no ordinary hills we’re talking about, these are the grassy, muddy, steep hills of the United Kingdom.

Fell running is similar to trail, mountain, and cross-country running with some key differences. In fell running races, contenders race off-trail over wild terrain between checkpoints, often using a map and compass for navigation. The conditions are almost always steep and slippery, so mud-specific running shoes, like the Inov8 Mudtalon Speed, are recommended for safe and successful running.

We did not test any shoes on this list for fell running specifically, but we hope to expand this guide to do so in the future.

What company makes the best trail running shoes for mud?

Because so much mud running occurs in Europe, many of the predominant mud shoe brands are European. Inov8 and PB Walsh are British brands specializing in deep-lugged shoes. VJ is Finnish, Icebug is Swedish, Scott is Swiss, Salomon is French, and Dynafit is Austrian, and all make aggressive, deep-lugged mud shoes. We included some shoes from these companies, including the mud-specific Inov8 Mudtalon Speed and the Salomon Speedcross 6.

That said, you may find all-around shoes that perform well in mud from different companies. Asics, for example, has no history in the English fells but makes an awesome all-arounder in the Asics Gel-Trabuco 13 that sheds mud with the best of them.

Ben Kilbourne testing Inov8 shoes for iRunFar in Colorado. Photo: iRunFar/Eszter Horanyi

Can I use any trail running shoe in the mud?

You can do whatever you please, but let us share this anecdote: Two of our testers — one in racing flats and the other in mud shoes — were cruising down a muddy, off-camber trail in the Wasatch Mountains of northern Utah when the one in racing flats slipped right off the trail, painting half his body brown. The other tester didn’t even recognize the trail as slippery. Road shoes have their limits, and both testers agreed that any trail shoe with even marginal grip would have prevented his fall. Shoes like the Asics Gel-Trabuco 13 and the La Sportiva Mutant are excellent options for mixed-terrain runs where you’re out in a variety of ground conditions.

Fortunately, our tester in road flats sustained no injuries in this fall, but in certain steep terrains, a fall can be dangerous, so appropriate shoes are a good safety precaution. Moreover, remaining attached to the ground and not slipping is fundamental to building skills and confidence as a trail runner. The deep lugs on mud shoes will help you stay upright and in control.

We should also note that for those of us who only have to deal with mud on a seasonal basis in the spring and fall, a good pair of mud shoes can last for years.

Do trail running shoes need to be waterproof?

We chose only non-waterproof shoes for this guide because the iRunFar team prefers mud shoes that drain easily and dry quickly. Waterproof shoes are great for mildly muddy and wet conditions, keeping your toes dry when dashing through shallow puddles or the tops of your feet dry in a drizzle. But when things get really sloppy, and water starts to pour over the top of a waterproof shoe, it will fill up like a bucket. If you’re interested in waterproof shoes and the conditions in which they excel, you can check out our Best Waterproof Running Shoes guide.

A shoe constructed from light and thin mesh, such as the Inov8 MudTalon Speed, will drain almost instantly after splashing through puddles. They also dry quickly.

There are very few circumstances when deep lugs and a waterproof upper would be warranted. When running long distances in snowy and very cold conditions, a waterproof shoe with a gaiter might be exactly what you need.

Are mud shoes comfortable on trails or pavement?

Most mud shoes are uncomfortable for running on hard-packed trails or pavement because they are low to the ground with a minimal midsole. The Inov8 MudTalon Speed, with its rigid lugs, for example, should be reserved for soupy and slippery runs from start to finish.

Some mud shoes can make the transition, however. With its thicker midsole, the Asics Gel-Trabuco 13 will roll over firm trail, splash through puddles without losing purchase, and even be tolerable on the quarter-mile of paved road that leads back to the car. The La Sportiva Mutant also performs well on a variety of conditions, including mud.

Call for Comments

• What trail shoe do you use in the mud?
• Where do you live where a mud-specific shoe is a must-own part of your quiver?
• When has the mud overwhelmed even your most aggressive mud shoes?