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UK Gear’s training shoes were originally designed in association with the Royal Army Physical Training Corps (RAPTC). These elite fitness professionals were closely involved in the development and tested our products in some of the most inhospitable conditions on Earth. Only when approved by the Military do we consider our products... Built to survive.

Paul Bradley, Birmingham Mail Blog - PT-1000 Review

>>10 May 2011

PT-1000 Road & Trail Runnning Shoes
by Paul Bradley

The PT-1000 trail running shoe is billed as the 1000-mile shoe that is built to survive.

The makers, UK Gear, developed it with the Army's Physical Training Instructors over a period of eight years. Thousands of miles were covered and more than 40 of the Army's specialist team had an input before the final product reached the shop shelves.

I don't do a lot of trail running but when UK Gear got in touch it was just in time for my first trail race - at Womborne in Staffordshire.

The first thing that struck me about the PT-1000 was that it looked like a tough runner's shoe. A striking red and black pattern on Hawk Air Mesh and Leatherette look simple and serious.

Turn up at a race in these and your fellow competitors would know you meant business.

And so for the test run. A slow-ish 6 miles on roads and footpaths was the trip out. The shoe felt noticeably stronger and sturdier around the ankle than my normal racing trainers.

At 350g the PT-1000 is relatively light for a trail shoe. However, the experience was similar to that of running in my astro-turf shoes. I've said they were sturdy and strong but they also felt a little rigid.

Saying this they are designed for the toughest terrain around so you'd expect rigidity to protect your gait when it came to the rougher terrain.

The Technical Briefing tells you all the science behind the development of the shoe. Read it here. The standout detail for me was Dureva Molecular Structure that was key to the mid-sole cushioning and meant a longer lifespan.

The Trail race went well and I ran close to my PB over the 10k course. The course was mostly flat but the dry weather along with the stony trail meant that there was a lot of strain on my ankle and knees.

The course followed an old train track so the going underfoot was hard but bumpy.
The PT-1000 certainly felt much more secure than my racing trainers and only once did my ankle give way. This, I'm convinced, was down to my own fatigue at the closing stages of the race.

If I had been running in my racing trainers then I believe my ankle would have turned more frequently and the biomechanics of my stride would have changed.

Overall the PT-1000 is a solid trail-running shoe and one I would recommend to anyone thinking of taking up off-road running for the first time.

The only downside I could find in my research was that some people doubted it's performance in extreme wet and muddy conditions. So beware of that.

Take a look at the video below to find out more.

source: www.birminghammail.net