The Speedland GS:PDX is a trail shoe designed for long-distance training that aims to combine comfort with a good level of responsiveness for faster sessions. The shoe uses a 100% beaded HTPU external midsole with a drop-in Pebax blended insole.
The upper, made from a lightweight and breathable mesh, uses two multi-directional BOA Fit System dials to allow for quick fastening and release, along with the ability to ensure a supportive locked-down fit.
Tom gives his views on the trail shoe.
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JUMP STRAIGHT IN:
00:00 – Intro
00:15 – Stats
00:26 – Design
01:12 – How’s The Fit?
04:00 – The Run Test
08:36 – Should You Buy It?
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Hey Tommy from the r testers in this Video I'm going to be doing a full Review of the speedland GS PDX Trail Shoe let's take a [Music] Look the speedland GS PDX costs $275 it weighs 300 G or 10.6 Oz for men In a 8.5 and the drop is 7 Mm the speedland GS PDX is a trail shoe Designed for longdistance training that Aims to combine comfort with a good Level of responsiveness for faster Sessions the shoe combines a 100% beaded Htpu external midsole with a drop in Paback splended insole the upper made From a lightweight and breathable mesh Uses two multi-directional boa fit System dials to allow for quick Fastening and release along with the Ability to ensure a supportive lock down Fit covering the midsole is a generous Layer of Michelin fiberlight outsole With 4.5 mm lugs to provide a high level Of protection as well as grip on the Trails within the insole is space for a Caretex gear flex plate to improve Performance however this is sold [Music] Separately so the fit of the GS PDX it Is quite a roomy shoe there's a lot of Space in the 4 foot in the sides of the 4 foot it's similar to the sort of fit You'd maybe get from an Ultra Shoe it's Designed to allow your toes to move
Around in the forefoot of the shoe when You're out on the trails when they swell Up so there's a lot of space in there um It's not as roomy as an ultra I would Say but it is getting there um and I Know that speedland do say that you Should size up half a size in this shoe Uh I would definitely suggest that I Have uh done a number of runs in this Shoe and the reason why I've it's taken Me so long to get to the final review of This is that this shoe has a removable Carbotex uh plate that sits inside the Removable insole uh I've been waiting to Get that so that I can test it out with And without the plate because you don't Actually need to have the plate to run In it you buy it separately for $35 um the uh I've not had any issues With the shoe in the all the runs I've Done I've done about 60k in this shoe uh Until the weekend where I did a 20K in It and I had the plate in it and I got Blisters on both feet so when I put the Plate in I think it just adds a little Bit of extra um depth into the insole And it's just pushing my toes up a Little too far so that's why I get I Very rarely get blisters so um I think If you're going to get the shoe probably Size up half size um if you're going to Get it with the carotex plate in it Definitely go up half a size the other Thing i' say about this shoe is that
It's very well designed for fit actually It has this um perform fit wrap and Which is basically these straps that go Around the top of the shoe and they work Alongside these boa dials um if you are Not aware of boa it is a a company that Makes these uh little disc dials and you Turn them and it tightens the shoe up uh It's quite common in sports like Snowboarding I'm a snowboarder so I'm Used to using them it's a very nice way To get a lock down uh some shoes do only Have one on this has two on it works Alongside this perform fit wrap so you Can really get dialed in fit um which if You're not used to it it can take a While to get a a good fit there's a Tendency to tighten them all away but You if you do that you can be quite Tight um so you just have to loosen it a Bit but you do get a really nice uh lock Down fit with it once you get it get it Right and those wraps do work really Well um and they sort of positioned at Various points along the top of the Shoes so that it it straps the foot in Um across uh different areas of the shoe It's meant to mean that you can run Faster and have better efficiencies and Things like that because your foot is in The perfect position not sure if that is The case I can't really uh verify that But it does give a really comfortable Lockdown fit um and I've had no issues
With this shoe up until the point I put That um carpet X plate in Okay so I've done a few runs in this Shoe now and um it has changed a little Bit over the time in the first run I Mentioned it being quite a firm shoe um And when I've been out running in it on Hard ground on road on Rocky terrain I Did find it a little bit too firm I Didn't find it very comfortable um when I was out running on those surfaces just Felt very harsh um and not very not very Nice to wear um some of you commented on That first run video and said that it it Get it softens up after time it does it Definitely does soften up quite a bit um After about 40 uh kilm 50 km uh it's Still on the The Firm side though it's Not going to be the softest Trail shoe Out there um so definitely take that Into consideration if you were to put Some again something like the speed goat I' say the speed goat is definitely a Softer ride um than this shoe um what I Found about this this the design of the Shoe is that it works much better on Those um softer Trails where it's maybe Compack mud maybe Fields um where you've Already got a bit of softness on the Ground and it works very nicely with That it feels like a very um comfortable Ride and definitely uh that's the sort Of ground that it's best designed for Apparent it's inspired by the Forest
Park trail system which is over in Portland Oregon I don't know anything About that but after looking up on the Internet it seems like that's the sort Of ground it's designed to be working on So quite similar to what we get over Here in the UK uh I Ru on the South Downs a lot which generally is very much Forest paths and softer mud ground um Works really really well on those as Soon as you hit that ground it suddenly Kicks into gear and you you realize that That's what this shoe is designed for um And it works very well then you get back Off onto the harder ground and it Doesn't feel quite as comfortable uh on That um the other thing I would say is That um if uh on the Downs it can get a Bit it changes a bit you you're on soft Mud at one point you're on a bit rad the Next point and then you're on quite hard Track at some points I did go out in the Rain in this at one point and I went on A little bit of a shiny hard bit of Rocky surface and I did find it a little Bit slippy that uh outsole is it's Pretty really good when you're on soft Ground um it's very grippy really is Works very well on soft ground but as Soon as you hit something really hard It's quite smooth outsole and you it I Did find it quite sleepy so it's Definitely not designed for those sorts Of services from the testing that I have
Done the other thing I say about the Shoe is that most of the testing I've Done in it has been without the caretex Gear flex plate that sits in that insole Um and it I found it to be very Comfortable once it's it's softened up a Little bit I really like the ride of This shoe the caretx plate you pay $35 Extra to have it sent to you separately From buying the shoe um presuming that Is to make the shoe a little bit more uh Customizable if uh you want to use it For different things uh what I found About it is that after I used it for a While and it softened up a bit stick That gear flex plate in it actually Hardens up quite quite a bit and it felt Like it did when I first got the shoe um I I definitely for the runs that I was Doing I was doing fairly comfortable Runs on the trails so about 5 minutes to 5 minutes 30 km pace for me um I didn't See any need to have that gear flex Plate in it I definitely wouldn't use if I was going to continue running as I do I wouldn't put the gear flex plate in it Just because I think it feels absolutely Fine without it and I don't think I got Any benefits from using that that plate In the midsole um I'm presuming it's That's designed for people who are Probably doing really longdistance stuff Through the forests and they want a Little bit more propulsion and a little
Bit more stability in that ride for me It's been a very stable comfortable shoe That midsole being a little bit firmer Makes it a very solid and stable shoe so Yeah I would say it is a shoe that is Definitely designed for a very specific Type of ground and luckily it's a the Ground that we get over here in the UK Um it's not a lot of trail shoes we find That work very well in the mountains in The in the drier uh areas this is Designed very much for those sort of Forest Trails that are very uh that have Soft ground on them and it works very Well for that so solid shoe from the Testing that I've done in it and uh I Think it is has a lot of good points to It it's very comfortable and enjoyable To wear on that type of ground that are You get in those forests um but I do Think it's quite a specific shoe I don't Think it's going to be the sort of shoe That you'd buy if you wanted a trail Sho To do all of your different types of Trail trail running in on lots of Different terrain because it doesn't Work very well for me on harder surfaces On smoother wet surfaces things like That so my verdict on the speedland GS PDX I think it's a solid Trail shoe um I Definitely think it's a shoe that's Designed for a specific purpose which is Those Forest uh type Trails those softer Ground things like that um it's
Definitely a good shoe if you're looking For a bit of stability in your Trail Shoe uh and also if you're doing longer Distance stuff over that uh over that Sort of uh terrain I think it probably Works quite well the bow system with This perform fit wrap do work really Really well and I think that's Specifically what they designed for People who are running for a long time And they want to make sure they've got The best fit in the shoe uh they want to Be able to release it and tight up Really quickly um that's a that's a nice Little design feature there's a lot Going on with the shoe um and I think The the the company has put a lot of Thought into making it right for those Sorts of people that that need this Specific type of shoe but I think for Most people if you're just looking for a Trail shoe this is probably a little bit Too specific there's other shoes out There which you might use instead of it Things like the Haw tecton X an X2 I Haven't tried the X3 yet similar vibe to This shoe it's a shoe that is designed For long distance training it's designed For uh running on that nice comfortable Ground um I think the tecton is a little Bit more natural feeling definitely Feels a little bit softer to me on the Ride and it's um probably a shoe that You can use for more types of runs um
But uh this is probably better if you're Looking for that specific design those Specific design features that you get in This shoe other thing I'll say is this Is quite an expensive shoe as well Especially in the UK it's quite hard to Get this in the UK now so hopefully if You if this is the sort of shoe that you Want we'll be able to get this in the UK A bit easier in the future if you're Over in the US and you're looking for a Really uh solid well-made shoe for those Sorts of forests softer Trails things Like that I think it is a good option And I think the brand has put a lot of Thought into designing this shoe to make It comfortable for those longdistance Runners that want all of those um fit Elements and they want the customizable Ability to put in that plate as well I Think it's a nice clever design but for Most people I think it's just a little Bit too much um and a little bit too Expensive that's it for me on this Review of the speedland GS PDX thanks a Lot for watching don't forget to like Subscribe and click that little bell and If you go into the catch below you can Find a link to our podcast which comes Out a couple of times month thanks all For watching catch you next time [Music]
