Trail

Merrell Nova 4

Merrell's everyday trail trainer — a familiar 8 mm drop and moderate lugs for runnable forest paths and fire roads.

The Nova is Merrell's everyday trail trainer, and the 4 sits in the middle of everything: a 29 mm heel of FloatPro foam, an 8 mm drop that will feel familiar if you are coming off road shoes, and 4 mm lugs on a Quantum Grip outsole.

It suits you if your running is mostly trails and your trails are mostly runnable — forest paths, fire roads, the occasional rocky section. It covers easy days and the weekend long one without asking anything of you.

It is not a race shoe and it is not a mountain shoe. At around 261 g there is nothing quick about it, and on genuinely technical ground you will want deeper lugs and more protection underfoot than it carries.