Scott Pursuit Gravel Review: Goldilocks for the Gravel

Introduction to the Scott Pursuit Gravel

REESE: The last time I ran in a Scott shoe was right around my honeymoon in 2023. And by ran, I mean hiked. I was as sick as a dog (are dogs that sick?) with COVID right after the party, and that majorly cut into the honeymoon. It evolved from a 10-day trip to a much shorter and more adventurous-themed trip. Don’t feel too bad for me; this was my second marriage. Maybe this is karma, but I digress. We were talking about shoes, I think.

I was testing out the Scott Ultra Carbon RC leading up to the honeymoon and spent much of the trip finishing out the last 60-70 miles of testing by hiking in the high alpine. I actually liked the shoe a lot. It was unusual that Scott produced a great carbon-plated racing shoe, considering the brand has historically invested far more in cycling and skiing. Trail running always felt like they dabbled in it because it might be what cyclists and skiers do when not riding or skiing. Fair enough.

Some time has gone by, and a lot has changed. I am still married — no third wedding…yet. Scott’s running lineup has expanded, and the quality of the shoes seems to be improving. Scott knows a thing or two about gravel cycling, the blend between road cycling and off-road riding, so maybe they saw some parallels between that and the blurred lines of road and trail running. Hence, gravel shoes.

JOHN: I’ve done back-to-back reviews of the Supertrac RC3 and the Pursuit Ride, so when I put on the Scott Pursuit Gravel, I immediately thought of the ending of 28 Years Later. Put another way, when Power Rangers form together, they make something special. The Pursuit Gravel is what happens when you merge a road and trail shoe. I was also time warped back to when I worked in run specialty, and the Hoka Challenger was a big hit with specific customers. They would rave about using it on a lot of the local trails that are a mix of road, gravel, and trail.

When I received the Scott Pursuit Gravel, I was transported back to those days. I’ve owned a few pairs of Challengers over the years and (like everyone else I’m eagerly awaiting the Challenger 8), but how does the Scott Pursuit Gravel compare? I used the Pursuit Gravel on trails around DC, local ones around the Fredericksburg area, and a lot of road and gravel where I live in Richardsville. Let’s find out how it did!

What we like about the Scott Pursuit Gravel

REESE: Many shoes these days seem to be designed for highly specific applications. Technical approach shoes, racing shoes for smooth terrain, max cushion racing shoes, and minimal carbon racing shoes. Despite all the specificity in many areas of the trail shoe world, I’ve found it pretty tough to find a shoe that I can use for a lot of the road and gravel running I do. Which is a decent amount.

If I run from my house, I normally run several miles or even all of the run on the road or crusher fine path. If I’m doing speed workouts, I tend to head to the road or gravel roads in the farm country here in Fort Collins. A shoe with 5 mm lugs is not only overkill, it’s a buzzkill. Talk about feeling slow. Yikes. This is all to say I love gravel shoes because they are so useful for my daily work-from-home midday runs.

There is a lot to like about this shoe, so I’ll go bottom up. Why not. I can’t find specifics about the height of the lugs, but the traction and the lug depth are just enough to provide the right amount of stickiness on hard-packed smooth trails or gravel bike paths and roads. I didn’t feel like the traction slowed me down or got in the way on my in-town runs. The traction obviously isn’t intended for high alpine runs, so if you head to legit trails, you might regret your choices. However, if you have a nice path to run on, it is the perfect choice.

I was especially impressed with the ER3 rocker. At lower speeds, it wasn’t overly pronounced or unstable. I’ve had ankle issues with aggressive rockers like the one on the Adidas Agravic Speed Ultra. I’ve found that at tempo pace, it feels good, but in technical areas or if I’m moving slower, it feels like a Bosu ball underfoot. Not so with the rocker on the Scott Pursuit Gravel shoe. At warm-up speeds, the shoe didn’t feel like it had a whole lot of personality, which honestly is fine for a daily trainer, but when I hit 7:30(ish) pace, it started performing more like a road shoe. The rocker felt like it allowed my stride to flow naturally.

And when you couple that feeling with the Ortholite Eco X-40 footbed, the shoe delivers a pretty plush ride. I typically remove stock sole inserts and replace them with my own, but I did test these out with the footbed that came stock in the shoe because, dang it, a cushy Ortholite footbed makes me feel like I’m running on clouds.

The upper isn’t much to write home about, but I can’t really complain about it. Because this shoe sits between road and trail, it has a little bit of toe protection and locks down a bit more than some road shoes, but the materials aren’t a lightweight as what you’d expect on a true road shoe. That being said, I didn’t feel like it was a hot or heavy shoe.

JOHN: Putting on the Pursuit Gravel, you’re immediately hit by the evolved rocker technology, engendered mesh upper, and Eco X-40 footbed, which is an excellent combination of comfort that greets you. The US M12 fit my foot well, in most places, but like the last two Scott shoes I’ve reviewed, I’m not 100% on the toebox, but we will hit that in the next category.

The enhanced gravel-specific heel support is noticeably comfortable. The combo of the heel support, Kinetic Nitrogen foam, and versatile traction offers a reliable feel across multiple surfaces. Also, in the past, I’ve used road shoes on similar surfaces to what I tested this shoe on, and I personally feel that they wear better and offer excellent durability.

I love the Pursuit Gravel’s colorway. As a diehard Os fan (even if I’m pissed at the team), I love them, so if you give me orange, I’m happy no matter what. It’s a beautiful-looking shoe.

What we don’t like about the Scott Pursuit Gravel

REESE: I’m having a hard time finding anything wrong or annoying with this shoe. My mindset is to only look at how well it does its job as a hybrid shoe, not holding it to trail or road-specific standards.

It’s not the shoe I’d grab for mountain running or road-only running, so if you tend to exclusively do those types of runs, this isn’t for you. But if you find yourself in the market for a shoe that you can use around town, on bike paths, and on some dirt roads, this does the job exceptionally well.

The toe box was fine for me when I used my inserts, which are thinner than the Ortholite footbeds that come stock. When I used the Ortholite inserts, I did notice it was a little more cramped simply because those have a little more volume. So, if you tend to need a shoe with a lot of toe box volume, this might be an issue for you, but it can be easily remedied with thinner footbeds.

I do have to complain about the laces because that seems to be my thing. They aren’t perfect, and I would suggest a double knot. But honestly, that’s not a big problem, but for some reason, I’m fixated on lace quality.

JOHN: The big thing I don’t like about this shoe and the last couple of Scott shoes is the toebox. I wore the Pursuit gravel over 30 miles, and I really think the fit of the toe box feels weird. It’s not narrow, but it didn’t lock me down enough. That’s my biggest gripe on this one (and the last two other Scott shoes I’ve reviewed). The worst was the Supertrac RC3; I blistered very badly with that one. I highly recommend trying this one on before buying, knowing the fit is a little wonky.

Final thoughts on the Scott Pursuit Gravel

REESE: Given that this is a hybrid shoe, the Scott Pursuit Gravel is balancing a fine line between road and trail. So holding it to road or trail-specific standards won’t do it justice. I honestly think it does a solid job at straddling the line and offers a great platform for light trail or gravel running. It’s like a Goldilocks shoe, not too heavy, not too luggy, not too lightweight, but just all around in the middle somewhere. I’ve found myself using this shoe several times a week, and it’s quickly becoming part of my shoe rotation.

JOHN: Part of me really likes this shoe to the point I’d like to use it on Burning River in a few weeks. My only hangup is the toe box. Other than that, I really like this shoe; it’s versatile and can be used on pretty much all surfaces. The grip is good for light trails, but if you need to do some road, it doesn’t feel bad there either. It also does what its name says and works well on gravel, just like a set of Power Rangers morphing into something awesome.

You can pick up the Scott Pursuit Gravel for $160 on September 10, 2025, from Scott by using the buttons below.