What is the trail running shoe brand owned by Columbia?

Montrail is Columbia’s trail-running shoe brand.

Montrail began as an outdoor footwear business and became known for technical hiking and trail-running shoes. Columbia acquired the brand in 2006 for $15 million plus assumed liabilities, adding a specialist footwear name to a company better known at the time for outdoor apparel and winter clothing.

The brand’s identity later shifted. In 2016, Columbia announced that Montrail would become a sub-brand of Columbia, with products badged “Columbia Montrail” beginning in spring 2017. That means older references may describe Montrail as an independent brand owned by Columbia, while newer references may call it a Columbia sub-brand.

Salomon and Merrell are also major trail-shoe makers, but they belong to different corporate groups. Sorel is another Columbia-owned brand, yet it is primarily associated with boots and cold-weather footwear rather than trail-running shoes. Thus Montrail is the canonical answer for Columbia’s trail-running footwear connection.