An Upstart Brand’s Innovative New Trail Running Shoe Is Just Dripping With Premium Materials

Rising ultrarunning brand Mount to Coast makes its off-road debut with a compelling mix of style and substance.

Published June 9, 2025

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Updated June 10, 2025

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It’s not easy to break into footwear — especially in a crowded space like running — but Mount to Coast sure seems to be taking all the right steps, so to speak.

Launched last spring, the Hong Kong-based brand has a couple of big factors in its favor.

mount to coast t1 downhill detail — A Kevlar upper and Vibram Megagrip outsole help the T1 stand up to demanding off-road exploits.

The first is experience, courtesy of design veterans from such sneaker standouts as Asics, Brooks and Nike.

The second is focus, as the brand has zeroed in on ultrarunning with a small cadre of road shoes: the R1, S1, and P1.

The dual-lacing system with water-repellant knit tongue rethinks an age-old mechanism — and helped the shoe win an ISPO award.

That approach is paying dividends. Last month, MTC athlete Megan Eckert rode the R1s to victory at Vallon-Pont-d’Arc, France’s GOMU 6-Day World Championship, covering a world record 603 miles.

This month brings more big news, as MTC enters the trail running space in dazzling fashion, carrying its road learnings over to a brand-new shoe, the T1, that’s already a winner.

Active ingredients

In addition to its minimalist, admittedly Norda-like good looks, the T1 states its case with a number of excellent ingredients.

The first is the brand’s TUNEDFIT dual-lacing system with water-repellant knit tongue, which rethinks an age-old mechanism — and helped the shoe win an ISPO award.

mount to coast t1 full — Simple but effective: the white laces tighten the upper part of the shoe while the black ones tighten the lower part.

This tech helps to tighten an upper that is equally premium: made of DuPont’s high-performance Kevlar fabric, reinforced with aramid fibers, it should stand up to the gnarliest rocks and dirt.

Underpinning those elements is an airy, bouncy LightCELL midsole and a rugged outsole featuring Vibram Megagrip and Traction Lug tech to help you stay upright on steep technical uphills and downhills.

mount to coast t1 outsole — The outsole boasts Traction Lug tech, a fancy way of saying it has a bunch of beefy shark teeth to boost grip.

To ensure comfort over the long haul, the shoe also offers a relatively small drop of 4mm and a wide toe box to let your feet breathe as they expand over the course of many miles.

It’s worth noting that all these features do not overload the package: the T1 weighs in at nine ounces, just half an ounce more than the R1.

Field test triumph

Not only does this shoe boast premium materials, but the design backs it up.

MTC engineers its footwear through development in a top-notch biomechanics lab.

mount to coast t1 uphill action — The durable upper and lugged outsole should prove just as capable on steep ascents as on tricky descents.

Designs are then refined through feedback from the brand’s pro ultra running team, with Eckert and others providing insights that help them refine shoes to meet the needs of elite athletes.

Following in the footsteps of the R1, the T1 was already making noise even before it dropped.

MTC athlete Cole Crosby wore a prototype at North Carolina’s 51.4-mile Badwater Cape Fear — all the way to a first-place finish.

Availability and pricing

The Mount to Coast T1 is available now in two colorways each for men and women for $180 apiece.

Mount to Coast T1

$180 at Mount to Coast

About the Author:

Now managing editor, Steve has served in a variety of roles with GP since 2019. Having previously written and edited for such publications as Men’s Health, Men’s Journal, Esquire and ESPN, he enjoys covering a range of topics — but mostly those pertaining to cycling, snow sports, pocket knives and motos — and dreams of a utopian world in which everyone’s bike seat is at the proper height.