SPARTAN OCR Speed Shoe - Men's

It's ok ... don't like the plastic tongue above the foot. it's awkward

Very cool looking shoe, but you’re paying for the logo. The shoe feels like plastic, the laces are thin. I do like the grasp feel on the bottom, kind of like rubber cleats. I also like how it fits to the foot, but I do believe it’s was a little over priced for the quality.

I ran one season in these shoes and many training runs on varying terrain.

Pros
+ They are light and comfortable to run in even at Beast distances.
+ The laces stay solidly, and I have yet to have one come off, even in the gnarliest of deep mud.
+ They grip as well on terrain and on obstacles as my old trusty aggressive Speedcross 5s and that's saying something.
+ The do drain exceptionally well.
+ They look cool.

Cons
- As easily as they let the water out, they let the mud in. I have had gravel in water crossings wash into the shoe, and I have come out of Rolling Mud (the ones that Spartan doesn't plastic line) with them full of mud. Just keep that in mind.
- The pull strap on the back is a weak point. I had both dry rot and break within 8 months. Not the end of life for the shoe, but annoying.
- Other reviewers mentioned how easily they cleaned, but mine stained right away (North Carolina red clay) and were never the same. Your mileage may vary.

All that said, I will order another pair just on the strength of their comfort, light weight, and grip. Catch them on sale or use your Spartan+ discount to get them for less than full if you can.

I had the pleasure of running the Palmerton sprint this past weekend with this bad boy. Few things I really enjoy are:

1️⃣ - it's lightweight 👌
2️⃣ - while it's lightweight it has the taller heal cup to really give my ankles the support they need 🪶
3️⃣ - the drainage is second to none! No more drilling holes in the soles of my shoes 😂
4️⃣ - they stay locked on my feet! These shoes gripped to my heel and won't be pulling off in the mud. 🔒
5️⃣ - they are fast drying and clean up super easy to stay looking FRESH. 💅
6️⃣ - stiff durable sole for bombing down rocky terrain. 💪

Overall a great shoe that delt with the rocky terrain in Palmerton like a beast. I can tell the materials used were carefully considered and much thought for the OCR minded athlete were put into these.

These are our go to OCR shoe for 2021. We’ve run in them now collectively over 5 races. They are great in the mud and offer incredible drainage. The drainage aspect is important because our feet have been submerged in every race. Water shoots out of the drainage holes with each step on dry land. That saves a lot on weight. The grip is excellent, and there is more padding underfoot than we’ve experienced in previous models. The laces are wider an nice and flat so they don’t apply undue pressure on top of the foot, and their attachment points are lower on the bottom of the shoe so they really lock your foot inside. This is great for deep mud (such as experienced at Bethel, NY), and allowed us to keep our shoes on while others had theirs suctioned right off their feet! So to reiterate: solid grip, great drainage, more padding and shock absorption than before, excellent non-mechanical lacing system. Highly recommended. AROO!