Xero 5 - Mens

You get what you pay for, grip on icy surfaces with the comfort and durability you get with their other shoes. I have used them all winter and have had no issues navigating icy, winding, sloped trails. I wear a 12 with the Maxx which fits me perfectly, the Xeros in 12 is a little snug around toes especially with warmer socks so I would recommend going half a size up!

Since I was not planning on going to the gym for the winter due to COVID, I began to search for a winter trail running shoe and came across VJ's XERO 5 shoe for my winter running in New Hampshire. I emailed Matt w/ my pre-purchase questions about sizing as I use the Speedcross 5 shoes (I wear 9 size) during the OCR racing season. Matt was great in getting back to me and answering my questions.
So, went ahead and purchased the XERO 5 shoes in a size 9 in January, and they fit perfectly, even with replacing the original inserts w/ a high arch insert.
I wanted to give my review after several runs which I have done upwards of 30miles so far in all sorts of winter trail running conditions.
These shoes are incredible for winter trail running!!! I have taken them out on frozen dirt w/ some patches of snow to running in a snow storm, to running in several inches of soft fluffy snow to the hard, packed down snow/ice trails with some sections being all ice.
These shoes grip extremely well. These shoes really shine when you hit the long ice patches and you are able to keep traction, thanks to the metal studs.
These shoes allow me to get out in pretty much any kind of winter trail with amazing grip.
Now that we are heading into March, we still have snow on the ground, but I know muddy conditions will be coming and I'll be bringing the XERO 5s out then too!
If you plan on running the winter trails to get yourself ready for the summer season, get these shoes! I am very thankful not to be running on a treadmill and instead, out on the trails w/ these shoes!

I've owned 3 pairs of the VJ Sport IRocks and love them. These shoes have the added traction of carbide spikes for any icy conditions. They also fit me better. If I could get the fit of the Xero 5 with the sole of the IRocks I would buy them in a hearbeat for my non-icy running...

got my shoes super quick and the Xero 5 were amazing. They tend to last a really long time and they have great grip. If you live somewhere cold and icy, these shoes allow you to run all year long.

The winter conditions in my area are very inconsistent, usually in a cycle of 'no snow', then 'several inches of snow', then 'melting/freezing' and back to nothing at all. I have run in these shoes twice already. The fit is good. Depending on the make/model of the running shoe I am either 8.5 or 9. I went with 8.5. Out in the world, my footing feels secure and confident on loose snow, packed snow, and 'white ice' (very packed snow+ice). When transitioning to hard packed limestone trail the grip is still good. Obviously on a paved surface, there is a lot of click-clack from the spikes, but it doesn't feel slippery. So far, I am very happy with these and they are fulfilling the purpose I intended for them.