So I tried the Fox Lux, FiveTen Impact Low, and the Tevas won.

The FiveTen Impact was so drastically massive when I saw them in real life they were out, even though they may have the awesome rep for pedal grip (which was my main focus searching for the right shoe) mountain biking, JMO. I thought I might try the lower profile Freerider, but the Tevas ended my ambition to do that...for now.

Up to this point I've been using New Balance 573's, which are incredibly comfy & have a knobby trail tread of soft enough rubber to be fairly grippy. However, having used the Tevas, I'm here to tell you that using a trail shoe is a joke compared to the platform pedal specific Tevas.

The Fox Lux's were just slightly small in size 11.5 D (I wear 11.5 2E in New Balance shoes that I get most of the time) and surprisingly Fox doesn't market these (nor their other models) shoes as a platform pedal solution BTW, and I found that astounding. Seriously during a chat session with one of the Fox "reps" I asked which shoe/outsole pattern did they recommend for platform pedals & mountain biking & the rep typed back 'what are platform pedals?'. She quit on me twice during the session too BTW. Useless customer relationship management. That aside, the Fox Lux was extremely light and even though tight I could tell they would be extremely comfy as 12 D's. They were fairly grippy on the pedals too, just couldn't give them a real test knowing I was sending them back.

The Teva Links shoes though are performing terrifically for me mountain biking in all terrain situations. They shed water and kept feet dry in mud and slosh in a recent 15 mile ride, and the grip is gluishly impressive - you are so connected to the pedals (Answer Rove brand) that you get more energy to the wheels, even get a pull stroke going like being clipped in. They haven't slipped at all for me - jumps, drops, landing, hops, etc it's all there. Yet, as others here have confirmed they allow you to reposition quickly in a pinch, staying solidly connected in the process.

The Links also have a better outersole tread design for the trail in the front and heel of the shoe bottom. If you are going to hike your way out of the woods because of a chain break one day, you'll have better traction and more efficiency hiking in the Links than the Lux or Impacts i would think.

It was a pain in the neck comparing shoes, but there were no stores locally that sell the FiveTens, Fox's, and Tevas to compare. Amazon is awesome in enabling the comparison, and I didn't even have to leave my house either!

I also tried the Pinners, which fit even a bit better than the Links do (both are equally cushy to walk in) and have the identical outersole texture and pattern as the Links. I may just keep them to kick around in and let the tougher Links do the dirty work. They look good too.