Crank Brothers Stamp & Mallet Trails Shoes - Boa & Lace Closure Systems

Is This The Perfect Trail Shoe For Both Clipless & Flat Pedals? 

It was about 4 years ago when Crank Brothers first launched their shoe line and since has become a top favorite for mountain shoes, both clipless and flats. With their match ID, they made shoes for Mallet DH and Mallet Enduro pedals and now the Crank Brothers Mallet Trail  & Stamp Trail shoes are here and are made to match the Crank Brothers Mallet Trail Pedals. Crank Brothers have kept lots of their shoe similar but made some great improvements to increase performance as a trail shoe. With the Boa upper getting a more performance upper than the Lace, the two each have their spot and I think riders will like each version for different reasons. 

4 New Shoes:

With the new Trail line of shoes comes with 4 models, Mallet Trail Boa, Mallet Trail Lace, Stamp Trail Boa & Stamp Trail Lace. Mallet being the clipless model and Stamp being the flat pedal model. 

Both of the new Mallet Trail shoes, the Boa and Lace, come with pre-installed Crank Brothers Cleats just as the previous Mallet shoes did. If you run Crank Brothers Pedals this is an amazing feature, the cleat channel is made to match up with Crank Brothers pedals. Crank Brothers have even gone as far as installing shims, a black shim is 1mm and made to work best with Mallet Trail, Candy and Double Shot pedals, where the Grey shim is 1.5mm and made to work best with Mallet DH and Enduro pedals. Once the bottom of the shoe wears from use, you can take out the shim and get a tight fit and retain the contact that the shoe sole gets on the pedal. 

Mallet Trail Boa:

The Crank Brothers Mallet Trail Boa shoe is the higher-performance shoe from the Trail line, and I would say the highest performer of mountain shoes from Crank Brothers that still get enough protection to really push this shoe in a trail - enduro riding style. As mentioned above, the Mallet Trail Boa features a pre-installed shim and cleat, that Crank Brothers refers to as the Ready To Ride setup. The Match Box design facilitates easy pedal entry and efficient mud shedding, while the extended 35mm cleat track allows for rearward positioning, enhancing control during descents. With a mid-friction MC1 rubber compound, the Match Compound enables smooth entry and exit with exceptional longevity. The Match Outsole is engineered for balanced traction on and off the bike, boasting great walkability and an optimized pedal interface. Some other features include a stiff fiber-reinforced nylon shank for efficient power transfer, an extended heel for added support off the bike, toe protection with front rubber wrapping, a low-rebound EVA midsole to dampen vibration, and suggested cleat shims for different pedal models, making the Crankbrothers Match system a versatile and high-performance choice for mountain biking enthusiasts.

The shoe boasts a Boa asymmetric closure system along with a quick-adjust hook-and-loop strap, ensuring comprehensive foot wrapping. With the Boa Fit System Li2 offering dual-direction micro-adjustment, riders can achieve a precise fit tailored to their comfort. Designed to keep debris at bay, an elastic collar complements the gusseted, perforated, padded tongue, enhancing breathability and overall comfort, this is one of my favorite features found on the new Trail shoes. Crafted from ripstop material, the shoe guarantees exceptional durability, while a padded heel ensures optimal retention and comfort. Further, robust TPU toe protection adds an extra layer of durability and safety to the shoe. The Mallet Trail Boa is offered in 1 color, a black and gum version. 

Mallet Trail Lace:

The Mallet Trail Lace features many of the same performance features found on the Boa version but gets a bit more relaxed fit for all-day comfort. An integrated pocket for lace retention

 Has been added to the tongue as well as enhanced breathability via laser-cut perforations on the upper. Between the two versions, the Boa boasts performance at the highest level, but can come at a more snug fit compared to the Lace upper that feels a touch more similar to the Mallet DH and Enduro versions. The Mallet Trail Lace is offered in 3 colors, black with a gum outsole, a blue with a gum outsole, and a white with a purple outsole. 

Stamp Trail Boa:

Much like the Mallet Trail Boa, the Stamp Trail Boa gets a premium upper that is pretty much the same as between the two Boa versions. The outsole has a more flexible shank to improve the flat pedal feel and walking ability. If you are looking for one of the highest-performance flat pedal shoe, the Stamp Trail Boa is going to be a hard shoe to beat. The only color option is the same as the black with gu, outsole as the Mallet trail Boa. 

Stamp Trail Lace:

It's a similar story with the Stamp Trail Lace when compared to the Mallet Trail Lace. The upper is a more relaxed fit for all-day comfort while the outsole of the shoe remains pretty much the same as the Stamp Trail Boa. A solid and sleek flat pedal option that comes in 3 different colors,  black with a gum outsole, a blue with a gum outsole, and a white with a purple outsole. 

Ride Impressions:

I've been able to have about 3-4 weeks on the Mallet Trail Boa shoes, having ridden the Mallet Enduro and Mallet DH does for the past 3 years, I was stoked to get a pair of these to try. Overall I've been really impressed with the Mallet shoes, having the same pair of Mallet Enduro shoes and ridden them weekly for years, but I've had two gripes with them. 1 is a hard thing to balance, but the padding is great and makes for a very comfortable shoe, but when you get it wet which you often do crossing rivers in the spring, they take a very long time to dry. Second is the open top of the skate-style shoe allows a lot of dirt or debris to get in. From my first look at the Mallet Trail Boa shoe when I was able to see it at Tapei Bike Show back in spring of 2023, I was excited this shoe would fix both of my issues while keeping the other great traits I love about the Crank Brothers shoes. 

Upon first wear and setup, I could tell these have a much stiffer sole than the other siblings in the mallet shoe line. Both the upper and sole are stiffer and feel much more performance-driven, which I like. I'd say most of the time when I am wearing these shoes im doing a good amount of pedaling. After a handful of rides and doing some walking in them, they started to break in and really got to be more comfortable. I had no fit issues wearing my typical size with no pressure points and having the combination of the Boa dial and the strap, its easy to get the shoe as snug as you like. I found I really only have to undo/do the strap when putting on the shoes, as the Boa down low once set, can pretty much stay at that tension. 

Have these fixed the two small issues I found with the Mallet shoes? In short yes. The new ripstop material and overall less padding seems to eliminate a lot of the water retention the Mallet shoes had, although I havent fully submerged these yet, we have had a bit of rain and that has created a ton of water crossing here, so the shoes are getting wet but seem to not hold much or any of that water. The hell cuff is also great, I havent had 1 small rock get in the shoe in a few weeks of riding, where on the Mallets I had that happen every few rides. So far, no complaints with the Mallet Trail shoes! 

I ride Time pedals these days, while i've tried to ride Crank Brothers, I can never really get comfortable with the system for my riding style. Putting on the Time cleats was straight forward and I went with no spacers. This lead to a great feel when clipping into the pedal, I had support from the shoe and pedal without it being too tight. There is a very distinctive click when your in which I really like, and its nice to know that the shoes work with other brands as well. The previous Mallet shoes worked well with Time and Shimano as I tried both, but there is always they chance that something had changed. 

Worldwide’s Final Thoughts:

Crank Brothers is no longer a new player in the shoe world, with a new line of Trail shoes coming in clipless (Mallet Trail) or flat pedal (Stamp Trail) versions, the Crank Brothers shoe line is really shaping up to compete with any other notable shoe brand out there. Utilizing their Match system to match the shoe style to the pedal, you have 4 new shoes to choose from for your trail riding. The Mallet Trail boa, Mallet Trail Lace, Stamp Trail Boa and Stamp Trail Lace. With the Boa versions aiming at a higher performance needs, and the Lace versions a great everyday trail shoe.