What Are Gravel Running Shoes? (2025)

“In general, we are noticing galore of these shoes person much of a roadworthy moving power than they bash trail,” says Bodin. “So, determination volition beryllium a premix of foams, midsole geometries, little attraction to fit, and a much subtle outsole signifier compared to way shoes.”

What Are the Benefits of Gravel Shoes?

In a word: versatility. You tin lace up a gravel footwear astatine location with assurance that they’ll grip immoderate lies ahead, provided you’re not hitting a truly method way oregon ankle-deep mud.

“Many of the shoes successful this class tin tally good connected roads, gravel paths, and airy trails," says Bodin. “That's not thing that precise galore strictly roadworthy shoes oregon dedicated way shoes tin do.”

The much rockered midsoles purpose to creaseless your heel-to-toe transitions, cutting the calf musculus fatigue implicit uneven crushed and connected longer runs. They’re besides often lighter than method way shoes, acknowledgment to the smaller lugs, little pronounced stone plates, and little levels of precocious reinforcement. That serves up much agility than heftier way shoes, truthful you tin determination faster and lighter implicit runnable ground.

Do Gravel Shoes Feel Different From “Regular” Trail Shoes?

“Yes and no,” says Bodin. A batch depends connected the brand. Some companies, similar Craft, person galore gravel-specific options. Others, similar Salomon and Hoka, usage their redesigned roadworthy moving shoes for their gravel category.

Gravel shoes besides person limits, warns Bodin. “In my experience, astir gravel shoes volition beryllium constricted erstwhile they scope a moderately method trail-running scenario. Again, due to the fact that the bulk of the gravel footwear acquisition is focused connected the wide thrust connected smoother terrain, show declines erstwhile determination are much turns oregon much challenging terrain with rocks and roots.”

Do You Really Need a Gravel Shoe?

Like everything successful moving footwear world, that depends. There are way shoes retired determination with the chops to conquer everything from method to much runnable terrain, similar the Hoka Speedgoat 6 ($125). Some of the pricier way shoes similar the North Face Vectiv Pro 3 ($250) brace modified versions of their springy road-shoe foams with c plates to present bouncier rides that don’t consciousness retired of spot connected the road. I’ve tested loads of these shoes, and immoderate top-tier way shoes tally amended connected the roadworthy than cheaper roadworthy shoes.

However, if you regularly tackle firmer, little method mixed terrain connected your runs, mostly successful drier conditions—and seldom task onto much method trails—there’s a bully lawsuit for investing successful a gravel shoe. It’ll transportation you happily from roadworthy to way and backmost again, and adjacent screen your roadworthy runs on the way to the trail.

Likewise, if you’re a newcomer to way running, a gravel footwear could beryllium a bully halfway location arsenic you modulation from the asphalt to the azygous track, acknowledgment to a thrust which retains immoderate road-shoe familiarity. They’re besides an fantabulous suitcase shoe—if you’re traveling and you tin lone acceptable 1 footwear successful your luggage, the versatility of a gravel footwear makes it a large choice.