For a debut shoe from a brand-new company, the Ignition gets enthusiastic Rookie of the Year props. It handled technical, rocky trails with aplomb, but unlike many other burly mountain-running shoes, it also felt remarkably light and nimble. Large, well-spaced lugs on the outsole clung to both boulder fields and loose scree, and the upper- a stretchy mesh bootie wrapped in minimalist synthetic overlays- secured the mid- and forefoot remarkably well. The upper is thin on padding, so some testers felt the need to compensate with a thicker sock.