Stiffer sole helps on hills (not board-like, merely low on the "responsiveness" scale according to Runner's World...but take my word for it, stiff is good on hills!); excellent grip from sole on rocks, packed dirt, mud, etc; very adjustable with many lace holes (a must for my high arches); quite light! Recently ran the Jungfrau Marathon in Switzerland in these shoes, and they were perfect for the terrain. Downsides: not ideal for roads due to knobby tread which makes for shaky footing on wet asphalt; mesh upper lets water and dirt in easily (the price of good ventilation I guess). Bottom line...if you run mainly on undeveloped hilly trails, you'll love these shoes.

I run in all sorts of conditions...asphalt, gravel trails, grass, tracks, soft trails, mountain trails, even snow. These are my favorite shoes for the mountains in dry warm weather! The reasons: 1) the roomy toebox, which allows your foot not to bang the inside of the shoe as badly during descents; 2) excellent adjustability of the arch and forefoot fit thanks to a good lacing system with long laces and lots of holes; 3) a great tread which mixes deep ramped knobbies (just like a good MTB tire) with a soft compound that can grip rocks well; and 4) relatively stiff soles which help the short foot transition (forefoot to toe, as opposed to heel to toe as in the flats) for uphills. The steeper you go, the better this gets!

I read a couple of reviews of this shoe in which the "responsiveness" is rated pretty low, but I take that with a grain of salt because it's the opposite of the stiff soles that I like for mountain running. So, in short, specalized shoes...great for running on mountain trails, but what else would you expect from a ski gear outfit like North Face? They hepled me finish the Jungfrau Marathon last week with no foot problems!