Kids' Trail Chaser Jr. Sneaker

We have ordered these shoes over the last 1.5 years for our son who does a lot of climbing and hiking. Did not think twice about ordering them again in 2 sizes. The new soles are awful. Slick, stiff outsole in the middle. It is not the same shoe as the previous iteration. We need something with more traction. Will not be buying ever again. Also note the photos of old reviews are of the previous design with rubber outsole, which is not the new shoe. I believe that is misleading. Very disappointing.

The middle of the sole is a fabric texture, and NOT grippy. We had last year's version, which was rubber and good traction across the whole sole, and they were perfect. But this year's version is awful, not safe for hiking. My kids both constantly slip while hiking over dry granite and roots on the trail. I've never had this problem with any hiking shoe ever. Why would you change the sole of a hiking shoe to something so ill-suited for hiking??