In recent years, trail running has grown in popularity, leading to more specialized shoes for terrain and distance. Road running shoes are constantly expected to become lighter and softer, reducing the amount of rubber and thus the outsole.
Play
Many runners enjoy regular forest and gravel paths and find trail shoes too extreme but miss extra outsole on standard shoes. For them, Craft created Xplor.
Craft Xplor - Running Shoes for Gravel
As the name suggests, it's a "hybrid" shoe with typical running shoe features and an outsole designed for offroad performance.
The outsole performs well offroad, designed with Vittoria, known for bike tires, taking cues from gravel cycling tires. Craft Xplor is essentially a type of gravel running shoe. If unfamiliar, gravel cycling generally involves modified road bikes with wider tires for sand, gravel, and forest trails.
Craft seems to be creating distinctions within running similar to cycling: road, mountain bike (trail), and gravel. I quite like that.
Craft Xplor - Technologies
Creating such a hybrid gravel shoe is straightforward for Craft: take a standard road shoe and add the aforementioned Vittoria outsole.
The midsole features Craft's PX Foam, maintaining a balance between cushioning and bounce, performing well even on long runs.
The outsole also performs well in forests, handling muddy areas effectively. It grips loose surfaces well while managing some mud.
Craft Xplor - Light and Airy
The upper is the most challenging part for Craft, not perfect on Xplor. It aims for the comfort of a standard running shoe but sometimes misaligns on my foot.
The upper is light and breathable, slightly unstructured, which is fine for a "gravel shoe." It would be different for trail use.
Overall, it's a great running shoe, especially for trail paths. The outsole and midsole are standout features, offering a road shoe feel with better grip off-road.
Didn't you find your favorite?
See our entire collection of running shoes here:
