Tracksmith Eliot Range Performance Review

Tracksmith started making footwear in 2023, starting with a daily trainer (and casual wear banger), the Eliot Runner. Earlier this year, Tracksmith introduced it’s first race day shoe, the Eliot Racer. But Tracksmith isn’t stopping and its ambitious jump into footwear continues. The new Tracksmith Eliot Range takes Tracksmith style and swagger to the trails.

If you’re like me, you’ve never thought about whether Tracksmith and trails could go together. But Tracksmith is all in with both the Eliot Range and an accompanying trail clothing and accessories line called the Overland Collection. I took both into the Colorado mountains to test whether Tracksmith quality could effectively make the jump from roads to trails. My thoughts on which clothing and accessories are worth your time can be found in my Best Tracksmith Gear article.

But I know you’re here to find out about the Tracksmith Eliot Range so let’s find out how it performed on mountainous high altitude trails.

What is the Tracksmith Eliot Range?

According to Tracksmith, the Eliot Range is “built with the same cutting-edge construction as the Eliot Runner, retooled for rugged terrain. Underfoot, a triple-thick supercritical drop-in is stacked atop a responsive supercritical foam midsole, now with an injected nylon plate sandwiched between to boost energy return and defend against rough terrain. Inside, the Merino wool lining and collar deliver temperature, moisture and odor management for long-lasting comfort, featuring knit heel pillows for a sock-like fit.”

“Considered from the upper to the outsole, complete with custom trail-worthy rubber treading produced by Vibram, the Eliot Range carries on our growing tradition of Tracksmith footwear – understated style, unparalleled performance. This time, off road.”

Not a lot of marketing fluff in there though the tone is decidedly high end. But that makes sense given the brand it’s coming from. I like how it mentions building off the previous shoe with several tweaks to get it ready for the trails. Based on my experience with the shoe, that’s accurate.

Now, if we could just get brands to stop saying “unparalleled performance” in their marketing copy…anyway, enough of my pet peeves, let’s get into the details of the Tracksmith Eliot Range.

Cushion

The cushion on the Tracksmith Eliot Range, a Pebax drop-in insert atop an injected nylon plate and supercritical foam midsole, sits at 34.5mm in the heel. That isn’t tall by current high cushion standards, but that’s not what Tracksmith wanted to achieve. Like the Eliot Runner, they wanted the Eliot Range to be nimble and responsive with plentiful energy return.

And Tracksmith nailed it. I found the Eliot Range more propulsive than the Eliot Runner even though its slightly more firm underfoot. I felt connected to the trail no matter how technical it got (think rock hopping up a vicious incline). But when I opened it up down a perfectly groomed trail amidst Aspens and Pines, I felt the Eliot Range help push me along and max out my pace.

And the injected nylon plate does great work. It deflected and dispersed the direct hits from pointy rocks and gnarly roots. I mentioned I had great trail feel with this shoe in that I knew where the ground was at all times despite its tendency to slope this way and that. But the uneven, rocky, and unforgiving obstacles buried in the trail weren’t able to attack my foot. I’ve run in plenty of trail shoes where my feet felt bruised and beaten after a long trail running session. That doesn’t happen in the Tracksmith Eliot Range.

In fact, the only negative about the underfoot feel was the embroiderd Tracksmith script at the heel of the insert. It looks beautiful, but just like on the Eliot Runner, I felt it digging into the underside of my heel until the insert fully broke in and aligned with my foot. It’s not a huge deal but you’ll want to wear thick socks for the first couple of runs or hikes.

Support

One benefit of not having a ridiculously high stack of foam underfoot is support becomes easier. But Tracksmith went above and beyond to ensure the Eliot Range was trail ready. You sit down inside of the midsole, so even on highly technical terrain or when your feet are at ridiculous angles, there’s little chance of sliding off the footbed. Tight corners, jumps, and downhills with insane grades were all doable.

The lacing system lockdown is elite, even without using the two extra lace loops. My heel was locked into place and didn’t shift with the terrain. For a shoe with a soft merino bootie and ripstop woven upper construction, an upper where comfort is the priority, the support still earns an A+.

Traction

The Tracksmith Eliot Range utilizes a Vibram XS Trek Evo outsole with nicely spaced 3mm lugs. The inner lugs are spaced nicely to avoid picking up rocks wheras the more traditional boot-like lugs that line the lateral and medial sides help stabilize the shoe and bit the ground when changing direction. According to Vibram, the XS Trek Evo formulation is slightly less grippy but more durable than the other compound that’s often used on trail runners, Megagrip.

The grip was more than enough for the trails I attempted. I didn’t have trouble with traditional obstacles like wet/dry transitions or wet rocks along and through mountain streams. I can’t even remember a slip during the entire test period. In addition, the durability appears to be top tier. I expect the Eliot Range’s outsole to outlast the rest of the shoe.

Upper

The Tracksmith Eliot Range’s ripstop woven outer layer allowed my fee to breathe while still keeping most water out. Ripstop uppers often become sweat traps so I was impressed that didn’t happen here. The seamless Merino wool knit liner is super comfortable but may appear an odd choice at first. It seems like it won’t provide the support needed from a trail shoe, but as you read earlier in the Support section, it works well. That’s mostly owed to sitting down inside the midsole, a great heel fit, and a top down hug from the stretchy knit tongue.

This is shockingly good trail upper given its component parts. And the only complaint I have is the way too long laces [Editor’s Note: regular readers will think you sound like Arune, our intrepid reviewer who is constantly besieged by long laces]. They’re super long and I tucked them into my laces to prevent the lace loops from bouncing around and annoying me on my runs. I’m tempted to attempt a lace swap but haven’t dug into my lace bin yet. And yes, I do have an entire 10″ x 15″ x 6″ box of laces. That’s what happens when you review shoes for a living.

Is the Tracksmith Eliot Range wide foot friendly?

While the Tracksmith Eliot Range fits true-to-size lengthwise, the width is on the narrower side especially in the heel. This helps the Eliot Range be more stable but may present an issue for many wide footers.

Luckily, Tracksmith has a generous return policy on its running shoes which allows buyers to wear the running shoes around the house or on a treadmill to ensure a good fit. I recommend wide footers go in knowing it may or may not be a great fit so they’re not disappointed if it doesn’t work for their foot shape.

Is the Tracksmith Eliot Range worth $240?

$240 is at the higher end of trail running shoes (up among the trail racing shoes), and while the Tracksmith Eliot Range will find a spot on our best trail running shoes list, there are better values available. Especially if ensuring a low cost is a priority.

Tracksmith is always going to be priced on the higher side both due to its size as a small company that can’t access economies of scale and its use of high end materials and finishes. And that’s where the Eliot Range makes a good argument for its price point…Tracksmith spared no expense to get the details right on this one. I think lots of Tracksmith fans will be happy with the value they get out of the Eliot Range.

How to use the Tracksmith Eliot Range

The Tracksmith Eliot Range is best used for trail running or hiking across a wide range of trail conditions and locations. It’s not built for all day adventures but will easily handle anything from a 30 minute jaunt to a 4 hour trek.

Tracksmith Eliot Range Summary

The Tracksmith Eliot Range shows Tracksmith is more than capable of delivering a comfortable, effective, and high-performing trail shoe with minimal drawbacks. It’s an impressive line extension and makes me wonder what running shoe segment Tracksmith will tackle next.

Actually, I already know and I’m excited to see the results 😉. But leave your guesses in the comments and I may respond if you’re on right path.

How does the Author Run?

Drew Whitcomb (age 43, 6’6″ 200lbs): Runs daily with a once a week rest day. Runs a lot of miles due to testing needs and a growing affinity for long-distance races. Regularly competes in marathons, half-marathons, 10k, and 5k races.

Disclosure

While Tracksmith did provide a pair of the Eliot Range to facilitate this review, the company had no involvement in this review, didn’t receive an advance look at it, and has not attempted to influence it.