I ran several Ultra’s in 2019 in these. The first being the Squamish 5050 (a notoriously “technical” race). My previous shoes (North Face) were discontinued and I had to swap out into the Saucony Switchbacks after Day 1 50km. I had only worn the Sauconys the mile walk to the gym a few times and was nervous never having broken them in properly, but was pleasantly surprised with how they performed nonetheless. I had no hotspots or blisters after 50 miles and didn’t lose any toenails (I lost 6 the previous year in a model of shoe I had had for years). Since bought 4 more pairs of Switchbacks and have qualified for UTMB which I intend to wear these in. I prefer a minimalist shoe with a 4mm drop and have wide feet. These feel like slippers to me! They are very comfortable and light. The shoes and the Boa system have taken some serious punishment and have held up perfectly. I kicked the Boa system into 130km of rocks and roots at Oman by UTMB and they were fine. I would certainly highly recommend considering them. They have been a great shoe for me.

Bough for fast pace trail running and races (5-10K). I never actually ran in them since they didn't pass the living room test...

BOA system is NOT the best thing since sliced bread, as raved about by most reviewers. It's fast but I always ended up with the same result regardless of how much I tried to play with it and adjust: too loose at the forefoot and too tight at the top. The Salomon speed cross lacing is a much simpler and more effective version of a speed lacing system, though I'm not a fan of the shoe.

The sole does feel great and I think would've been perfect for my intended use. The upper fabric is nice but quite rough. I'm not sure how much it would actually break in but it's definitely not a bare foot or wear very thin ankle sock type of material. For me though, the deal breaker right from the start is the heel portion. I hate stiff heel cups because they tend to injure my achilles so I was quite happy with how flexible this one is. The problem with it is that it seem to go up too high and is angled too much toward the tendon when toeing off. The result was a nice chaffing jab at my achilles with every step I took. Also, because the edge presses on it in a straight line, I can't see this getting much better with any amount of break in. I really, really wanted to like this shoe and would've most likely bear with its other shortfalls if not for the achilles issues.