Ignore the DH tag, the Crank Brothers Mallet DH is a great pedal for trail use. The platform is the large and concave, your foot wholly contacts the body.

>>> Best mountain bike clipless pedals

Without doubt the Mallet was one of the first platformed clipless pedals to really give riders the stability of a flat pedal. This latest version builds on the tried and tested design and has a few improvements. It still has the slightly concave construction and four adjustable pins at each end but now Crank Brothers has incorporated the Traction Pad Technology found on the Mallet E to be able to fine tune the pedal/shoe interface.

Setting up the proprietary brass cleat immediately highlighted the solid connection between the two. As with the Mallet E we had to run the cleat with a spacer and wind the pins almost all the way in to enable a solid engagement and reliable release. The cleats provide around six degrees of movement when engaged, plus they can be swapped to provide two differing release angles depending on how much retention you feel comfortable with. This is provided as the Mallet has no way of adjusting the spring tension, so riders liking a little more security can opt for the wider release angle.

Engagement isn’t as positive as the more traditional SPD style pedals but the upside to the lighter action and design is engagement in thick mud is exceptional.