The Rucky Chucky is a high-perforance long-distance mountain/trail running shoe that excels in all the areas most important to a trail running shoe. Support, traction, and stability. Not unlike a good set of off road tires (Ed: Full disclosure: Brian’s SUV wears BFGoodrich AllTerrain T/A’s)

The Rucky Chucky’s uppers are made of abriasion-resistant bomber synthetic nubuck, a highly breathable sandwich mesh and supported via North Face’s X-Frame. Your contact with the ground is through a dual-density lightweight midsole and North Face’s thrust chassis and X-Dome, all of which sound a but sexual, but result in fantastic foot support on rough terrain. North Face also includes the forefoot Snake Plate that protect your feet from stone bruises and Tenacious Grip outsole outer sole traction.

Cost: $110 @ Altrec

Also See: Salomon XA Pro 3D SCR ($112) three-season trail running shoe.