Salomon Sense Ride 3

The Sense Ride 3 treads the middle ground for trail runners who don’t like a ton of cushion underfoot but also don’t favor rigid and aggressive performance sneakers. Instead, it feels like a road-running shoe, thanks to the pared-down lugs and an average-height midsole—but it still belongs on the trails. A rock plate wards off bruising from underfoot obstacles, the mesh upper keeps dirt and dust from getting in and creating friction, and the shallow lugs hold fast in dry dirt. “My footing felt grippy on the steep, dusty uphills—and equally steep downhills—of the Grand Canyon,” one tester says after completing the 47-mile Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim route.

$120; 1 lb. (w’s 7); m’s 7-14, w’s 5-12