TOUGHER THAN IT LOOKS
The waterproof Terrex may look like every brightly colored sneaker out there, but one of our testers proclaimed it “rugged as hell” during an off-trail scramble up Santa Fe’s ski basin. We think he was referring to the outsole’s combination of soft, grippy rubber and deep horizontal lugs, which provide tanklike traction. Another tester dubbed the upper “burlap on steroids”—it’s really nylon mesh—and found the Terrex offers the perfect amount of flex, without feeling rigid on packed trails or city streets. His only complaint: All the armor and the Gore-Tex membrane make for a steamy shoe in warm weather. 14 oz; shopadidas.com