Summit Approach Shoes
The Summit Runner Approach shoe is a versatile hybrid designed to bridge the gap between technical performance and lifestyle comfort. This shoe is engineered for those who live on their feet, whether navigating tricky hikes to the crag or standing on a ladder for an eight-hour setting shift. The Summit Approach isn't just a shoe; it’s a high-performance design that blurs the line between technical precision and "I could wear these to bed" comfort.
Vibram Outsole
All Day Comfort
Flexible and Durable
Designed For Wear
Our 90-Day No Questions Asked Return Guarantee
You’ve got 90 days to put your gear to the test—on the wall, on the road, or wherever adventure takes you. If it doesn’t perform, fit, or feel right, send it back. No questions, no hassle. Just a guarantee that your Escape gear should work as hard as you do.
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At Escape, we stand behind every product we make. Our gear is built to be used—and used hard—but if something doesn’t perform the way it should, we’ve got your back. Whether it’s a defect, a failure, or just not working for you, our team will make it right. We believe good gear comes with even better service—no excuses, no runaround, just real people who care about keeping you climbing.
Customers praised this hybrid approach shoe/trail runner for its excellent grip, comfort, and versatility for hiking and light climbing. "Felt safe and secure scrambling," said one customer. The cushioning and stability are highly rated. However, sizing runs large—most recommend sizing down half to full size. Some noted a narrow toe box and short tongue issues.
Absolutely loved the grip or tried. Felt safe and secure scrambling in southern Utah! Dried super fast and was right level of breathability.
Gotta say the tow box is very narrow and my pinky toes went a bit numb after a mile. Could be me.
The main reason for 4 not 5 stars is really that they cracked on the tongue. The tongue truly isn't long enough and I had to pull on it multiple times.
I have uneven legs and therefore wear heel lifts on one side. This made the tongue even worse.
Looking forward to trying them out indoor setting situation.
Nice shoes guys, well thought out.
I haven't been able to do any technical climbing in them, but so far I have been loving these shoes for slab/slide hiking. The rubber feels as grippy as my tx4 mids, but the mesh upper makes them a bit more pleasant in the summer temps, plus the cool color scheme is a nice upside, too. The sizing is a bit big, I got a 9.5 and they fit more like a 10/10.5.
Very comfortable shoes for all day wear. They run quite large. Mine ended up being sized more comfortably and were great for walking around the crag, but had too much space to reasonably climb in. If you want to do some easy climbing in them I would recommend downsizing appropriately for that. Great shoes all around.
I really like these shoes quite a bit. They are very comfortable they are great shoes for hiking up to the crag and they are very comfortable after getting down from a long climb. I think the sizing is a bit large so I would recommend going down a half size to a full size if you want them sort of tight to hike in but mine are great for easy approaches to the crag and wearing them all day. I highly recommend getting these shoes.
Great fit - true to size. Love the cushion and width of the sole for stability. I also like the colors :)
The best way to describe the Summer Runner Approach would be a trail runner that can handle light climbing. They have a wider toe box than most approach shoes, making for a more comfortable fit. The Vibram sole offers a good balance of cushion and stiffness. I typically wear barefoot shoes and find myself grabbing these for trips to the gym. As other reviews have mentioned, they do run a 1/2 to a full size big. Great shoe, and I look forward to putting more miles on them.
Got about 10 miles in these so far. They have been quite nice. Good support for my foot shape, I would recommend doing a half size lower than expected. Color and feel are very nice, I even get to climb some easier stuff without a shoe swap. Well done escape. Hopefully climbing shoes will come next :).
These shoes do exactly what they are designed to do. They are a nice cross between an approach shoe and trail running shoe - perfect for longer approaches with moderate scrambling. I can switching to these for long technical ridge traverses and those approaches that are a bit longer and too techy for a pure trail shoe.
As others have said, size down! I read to go down a full size but I hate having a shoe that will be used long distance too short at all. So, I went down a 1/2 size and there definitely too big both width and length. I've used mine enough to not be able to return them so I will probably give them to a friend.
These are great shoes that strike a good balance between trail runners and approach shoes. They have the cushioning of a trail shoe but they're not too floppy to bust out some moderate rock moves. The soles seem pretty sticky. They do run quite large--I had to size down a number size compared to my other approach shoes.
I was pleasantly surprised by these shoes. They by no means will replace my normal approach shoes for cragging, but they fit a role I didn’t know I needed for coaching and setting. Normally for both of those I have to pick between comfortable standing shoes or being able to do some light climbing in my approach shoes. These bridge that gap with lots of cushion, but I am still able to do a bit of climbing, even if it’s not as good as normal approach shoes.
I’d say these are great for those niches, but most people would be better served with normal approach shoes (I don’t like scrambling with shoes that get wider at the soles like running shoes).
I really wanted to like these shoes, great colors, I like the hybrid approach shoe/trail runner build, and they seem well made, but ultimately decided to return them since I have some pretty specific requirements for shoes. Luckily, Escape has a good return policy for these.
I have high arches and a borderline wide forefoot with a narrow heel. The arch support wasn't there and even playing around with different configurations of insoles, I couldn't find the support I need. The width was a little tight but would likely be ok once broken in. As far as length, they aren't kidding when they say size down. I'm a size 12/46.5 in New Balance, size 12/46 in Keens, size 45 LaSpo TX3 sometimes an 11.5, depending on the brand. I got a pair of 11.5/44.5 and they were still too big. I would probably go down another half size for a casual/hiking fit and a full size down if I wanted to climb in them.