The Skechers GoRun Razor Trail ($130) is a top pick in our best trail racing shoes guide, largely because running hard in these shoes is really fun. They’re very light, very cushy, and the upper and outsole are adequate bookends for an incredible midsole. The GoRun Razor Trail excels when you want to motor hard on smooth singletrack and dirt roads.
This shoe is “stacker-ed” — a mashup word for shoes that contain both a lot of stack height and a rocker shape. I find stacker-ed shoes quite difficult to control except on smooth trails as well as slower running on more technical terrain. This is true with the GoRun Razor Trail.
Because of this, I do not recommend trying to run fast on technical downhill in these shoes. Instead, use their super cushioning and decent grip for fast running on buffed-out surfaces or slower runs on more diverse surfaces. Even with a pile of shoes around to rotate through, I go back to the GoRun Razor Trail anytime I’m going to run up extended climbs or along smooth, rolling trails.
The GoRun Razor Trail is a bit more affordable than a lot of trail running shoes and if it’s a fast-rolling midsole you prefer, then this is your shoe.
These shoes have an actual weight of 8.4 ounces (249 grams) in a men’s size 9 and a 4-millimeter drop.
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The Skechers GoRun Razor Trail. All photos: iRunFar/Bryon Powell
Skechers GoRun Razor Trail Upper
The Skechers Razor line for trail borrows a lot from their road line. While that’s nice from a weight standpoint and for smooth trail running, for anything more you’d want a more secure fit and the Skechers GoRun Razor Trail does not offer that. I found the upper to be very stretchy.
The upper is made with mesh and there are some welded overlays around the medial and lateral sections of the toebox as well as along the rear quarter in a somewhat stylized forward arrow design. Over time, these overlays have stayed in very nice condition and do a fine job of helping to keep rocks and dirt out.
The mesh sections are thin and so they breathe well. These are nice shoes for wearing in hot weather when paired with low-volume running socks.
The downside is that right around 40 miles of wear testing, the mesh began developing two holes on the medial sides. My wide feet are perhaps pushing the mesh too far; this thin, breathable mesh is nice in that it helps give some room to the narrower-than-average fit but it seems to break down faster than is acceptable.
Again, like a road shoe, the tongue and laces are streamlined, and I love the simplicity. The laces are long enough to accommodate the top eyelets even with my foot size really pushing the shoe’s narrow fit to the maximum.
A lateral view of the Skechers GoRun Razor Trail.
Skechers GoRun Razor Trail Midsole
Hyper Burst is a phenomenal midsole, and that’s what’s used in the Skechers GoRun Razor Trail. This is the same compound used in many of Skechers’s performance road running, walking, and trail running shoes.
The technology process behind Hyper Burst EVA versus standard EVA is fascinating. Hyper Burst is mechanically blown, a process borrowed from the packing industry called supercritical fluid technology, while normal EVA is chemically blown. Specifically, the Hyper Burst EVA gets put under intense pressure and heated using carbon dioxide and nitrogen with states between gas and liquid.
When both styles of EVA are cooled back to a solid, standard EVA appears almost as one solid mass in cross-section, while Hyper Burst EVA shows thousands of compressed, spherically shaped cells.
The experience of running with the Hyper Burst midsole reminded me of another outstanding midsole: Nike’s React. That palpable feeling of bounce is felt from the first foot strikes in shoes with React and Hyper Burst. But I’ve found Hyper Burst to be more durable than React foam, the latter breaking down quicker than you’d like while the rest of the shoe stays intact.
It’s the opposite in the GoRun Razor Trail; the Hyper Burst midsole has held up beautifully while the components around it — the mesh upper and outsole lugs — have cratered more quickly than expected.
The midsole stability is average, which again makes it best suited to easy trail surfaces, such as buffed-out trail with minimal roots, rocks, or mud. Hyper Burst is so comfortable over time and can really go a long distance in a single run, but the sum of parts makes this shoe a better fit for shorter efforts.
The midsole gets you dreaming of Frankensteining a super shoe, of pairing the incredible Hyper Burst with the best upper and outsole from other companies.
A medial view of the Skechers GoRun Razor Trail.
Skechers GoRun Razor Trail Outsole
While the Skechers GoRun Razor Trail is a great shoe for smooth trails, it is not the one to choose for fast running on technical descents.
The durability of the Goodyear rubber outsole is average but the design and spacing of the small, 3-millimeter lugs are quite high-performing. The lugs grab at the ground and the connection feels good.
There is no rock plate or other protection in the midsole, so the outsole connection is important to keep your feet from getting shocked by different surfaces. Combining the low-depth lugs with a completely lug-free section down the middle and no rock plate, I found it susceptible to irritating pain from landing wrong in that center section.
I tested these shoes from last summer through the winter and into spring. Like the rest of the shoe, not surprisingly, the outsole really doesn’t perform very well in snow or mud. The aforementioned shallow lugs can’t find traction over anything with significant moisture.
The outsole of the Skechers GoRun Razor Trail.
Skechers GoRun Razor Trail Overall Impressions
If your trail surfaces are hard-packed and smooth and you like to run hard, do workouts, and race, then the Skechers GoRun Razor Trail is a very compelling shoe.
It’s super comfortable underfoot and I found myself using it over and over on dirt roads. While that is a strong endorsement, it’s obviously a limited one.
The narrow-fitting and highly breathable GoRun Razor Trail feels basically like a road shoe with a lugged outsole. It isn’t a fully formed trail running shoe, at least in the way many of us think. All of that said, I and many trail runners spend a lot of time on dirt roads, rail trails, and roller singletrack, and this shoe will give you many great miles in these environments.
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Call for Comments
- Have you tried the Skechers GoRun Razor Trail? If so, on what kind of terrain does this shoe perform best and worst?
- What do you think of that Hyper Burst midsole? Do you like it as much as tester Craig Randall does?
[Editor’s Note: If you’re affiliated (i.e., an employee, ambassador, etc.) with a brand, please share your relation in each of your comments on this article. Thanks!]
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Check out our Best Trail Running Shoes article to learn about our current favorite trail running shoes!
A top view of the Skechers GoRun Razor Trail.
