The latest introduction for trail runners is the Speedland SL:HSV, a shoe tested in Huntsville and elsewhere by trail junkie Liz Canty and designed for slick rocks and gnarly East Coast trails.
Canty, a Speedland athlete/ambassador, lived in Huntsville for about five years before moving from north Alabama with her husband to Colorado. Both were highly active in the Southeast trail scene. Canty has been with Speedland since its inception in 2021, when it turned heads with its inagural SL:PDX. The shoe’s bright teal color and design was, and still is, unlike any others on the market. Its price of $375 also turned heads.
The new SL:HSV is black, with a some of the usual Speedland features tweaked a bit for the eastern trails. Runners can debate all day about West vs. East and the trails, technicality, what sucks or doesn’t, and myriad other aspects. What isn’t debatable is eastern trails with wet limestone can be slicker than snail snot. Doesn’t matter if you’re in Knoxville or north Georgia or Huntsville or Kentucky or elsewhere. Everything can be happy-happy and then you hit that one wet spot, skid-slip-furrrppp and it’ll jangle your senses.
That was one thing Canty wanted to address with the SL:HSV, which has clippable 3mm lugs and a drainage system in the sole. Want all the lugs? Leave them. Want fewer or some removed from a specific spot under your foot? Merely clip them. I’d use wirecutters to make sure, although a scissor might work.
I was volunteering at the final Mountain Mist 50K aid station in January when Canty blitzed up from McKay Hollow. She was wearing gaiters (smart for the Mist course!) but lingered long enough for me to notice the SL:HSV shoes. I knew she was with Speedland and figured they were prototypes. The brutal Mountain Mist 50K course at Monte Sano State Park is a damned good proving ground for shoes. The 2022 race included crappy winter weather just days before, so trails and rocks were muddy and slick. It was one of those, “Damn, glad that’s over” events.
The Speedland shoes, honestly, at first glance don’t look sturdy. The moccasin stitching is exposed. There’s a tight but flexible fabric, along with a Boa lacing system. I mean, at first glance you might wonder how tough they are. But I know this about our Southeast trails and if the SL:HSV made it through Mist or anything else Canty and anyone else threw at them without a hitch, they’re tough.
SL:HSV Features
Features on the new SL:HSV include:
- PerformFit Wrap powered by BOA Li2 Fit System (dual-dial with multidirectional incremental adjustments)
- Knit with Dyneema
- Carbitex carbon plate (removable)
- Pebax SCF midsole (removable)
- Michelin textile web outsole
- Dyneema moccasin stitch
- 3 mm cuttable lug system
Speedland Difference
Speedland says its shoes are built about a quarter-size shorter than some brands. They recommend sizing up a half size if you’re between sizes. The shoes definitely look like they’d be snug and secure with the Boa system.
Speedland donates 10 percent of its SL:HSV profits as a direct donation to its athletes’ chosen outdoor organizations. The shoes also can be returned to Speedland “at the end of its life cycle” for disassembly and recycling.
Check out Canty’s video below for the new Speedland SL:HSV, with scenes from the Monte Sano State Park overlook and trails in Huntsville:
