ASICS - GEL-TRABUCO 13

Check into the Asics Gel-Trabuco series. I have been wearing these for both backcountry trails in Colorado, running on pavement, the gym, and on local smooth gravel trails. They are lightweight, flexible, with a grippy sole, and breathe well. They are unlikely to hold up for extended backpacking, though. But for general hiking and trail running, they excel. Be aware that you are going to see the soles wear sooner than some of the hikers on the list you gave. Trade-offs. I have Goretex hikers as well and I can tell you that they definitely are hotter and your feet will sweat in them. I have them in cold and warm weather models. They are good in cooler mountain environments and where you might hike in spongy, moist lowlands, and keep your feet from getting soaked from morning dews. Again, trade-offs.

The Asics Gel Trabuco 13 is excellent and I wear mine as you describe. But you mention "wet" trail. If you need waterproof-breathable, then try a low-cut GTX hiker - there a dozens of good choices. For reasonable price and construction, and comfortable out of the box, check out the Merrell Moab Speed Goat 2 GTX. It's low cut too and will work well for both hiking and walking. I have one of their mid-height GTX boot models and they have been great.

I have the non-GTX version of the Gel Trabuco 13. Excellent shoe. I'm sure the GTX model is great too. Since you like the brand already, you'll probably love these. I'm on my second pair of the Trabuco line. I wore the 11's tread down too much for serious trail use, but they are still in great shape for casual wear.

My personal thoughts about the three. I am far from being an expert and these are just my impressions :-) - Fuji Lite 4: my favourite when it comes to shorter runs. Snappy, light and fun shoe, with great feeling on the foot. I think their limit is probably (for me) around 15/20k runs. - Trabuco 12: It's the shoes that "convinced" me to move from Hoka to Asics. Light, very well-rounded shoe, with the right amount of cushioning. However, it lacked in my opinion a bit of stability (especially on the arches) and is quite "flat". Often I ended up hoping it would give me some more energy in return. I absolutely loved the sole. The drop, in my opinion, is right on point. - Trabuco 13: Honestly, it feels like a brand new shoe rather than an evolution of the 12. I feel the whole geometry of the shoe has changed, while keeping the same drop. It is a glove, with a more comfortable toe box, great feeling on the foot overall and tremendous improvement on the two things that I felt the 12 missed the most, stability and energy return. All this while keeping a great cushioning. They also changed the geometry of the sole, making it slightly more flat at the center. Very impressed with them. Overall, I am very satisfied of all three and they are in my rotation. As someone said in the comments, I am absolutely impressed by the durability overall: coming from Hokas, where the sole was gone super quickly (disappointingly), it is a huge improvement. I ran the entire summer of 2024 in the Trabuco 12 and the lugs are still in great conditions. I am a fan of Vibram soles, and probably the Asics' is the only proprietary sole at the same level but (at least in my experience) with a much much better durability. I also tried the Trabuco Max 2 and hated them to the guts (😅) but I am planning to try the new Trabuco Max 4 at some point. However, I think the Trabuco 13 are the sweet spot between comfort and performance.

Reluctantly looking for alternatives to Trabucos with similar features. I did 1,500km in my Trabuco 9s and absolutely adored them. I’ve gone half as far in my Trabuco 10s and they still have plenty life left in them. However, I don’t like the way the line is going, towards more cushioning – and weird, blocky soles on the 13s! Ideal features: - Wide toebox - Rugged sole - Rockplate - Seemingly suited to all terrains, even UK mud! - Can stash away the laces - Great heel lock Is there anything else that meets that brief? I’m open to exploring a summer shoe and winter shoe rotation. Admittedly the Trabucos are great for not slipping on mud, but they do pick it up a lot. I’m assuming smaller lugs or alpine shoes might make for better mud shoes. Thank you in advance for your help!

Had 9s, got 10s, might get 11s but I really don’t like where they’ve taken these ☹️

I did 1500km in the 9s by the way, solid shoe

Personally I'm a big fan of the ASICS Trabuco 13. I have done many long road/trail runs and they cope with both well. Well cushioned, comfy and a nice blend of stable, soft for a trail shoe and energy return. Great bang for your buck

I've been using them regularly because I genuinely enjoy running in them—but now I'm already on my third pair. Unfortunately, the upper mesh consistently fails after around 250 km. I bought the first pair in February, and both shoes tore in the same spot: the lower inner part. At first, I assumed it might have been due to rough terrain. But the second pair had the exact same issue, again around the 250 km mark, and now the third pair has failed in the same way. From February to the end of June, I've gone through three pairs—each showing the same wear pattern in the same location on both shoes. This clearly suggests a systemic flaw in the design or material.

Asics gel trabuco 13 have been perfect for me

Well I guess that depends on what we call technical and individual adaptation to that technical terrain. I prefer Asics trabucos for this type of terrain, closer to the ground, more grip o wet rock and not soft. I live inside the Zegama course, for this type of terrain AP5 works great for nearly all the course. But if going more rocky high altitude terrain I prefer the Asics. Haven't tried any of the shoes you mention to compare, sorry. All in all, they are a nice shoe for putting km on.

I use Asics trabuco. As gripy as vibrams megagrip if not more, quite close to the ground and not too soft. It also works well for long outings. I guess anything that fits well and is similar would work for me.

Mafate speed 4 is actually 7mm in runrepeat test. I have a pair, and they don't feel as other 4mm drop shoes I use. OP, you could try Asics trabucos. They are 8mm, go for 12th versión, 13th upper is trash

Asics trabucos work for me in highly technical terrain. Enough cushion but still quite stiff, not very high and wide fit. Trabuco 13s upper is not good, it breaks really easy, I'm in my second pair and I won't get more than 400km from any of them (second one is a replacement sent by Asics). 11 and 12 work better for this kind of skyrunning. I was getting around 700/800km put of them.

Asics trabucos work for me in highly technical terrain. Enough cushion but still quite stiff, not very high and wide fit. Trabuco 13s upper is not good, it breaks really easy, I'm in my second pair and I won't get more than 400km from any of them (second one is a replacement sent by Asics). 11 and 12 work better for this kind of skyrunning. I was getting around 700/800km put of them.

Asics trabuco is quite wide. Topo MTN racer 3 is too narrow for me too, mostly due to the midfoot

I do a lot of technical terrain, I have the zegama 2s in my rotation. Don't take them for that purpose. They are bouncy and nice running, but they are too soft for technical terrain and scrambling for me. I use them as recovery and easy trail shoes. I like Asics trabucos for that kind of high mountain activities, but 13s upper can't handle rough terrain. Maybe you could find the 12s on sale, or just go with the 13s and be ok with getting 400km more or less from the upper. Asicsgrip is in my opinion on par or better than megagrip. I have just raced 10 hours and a half on them in high altitude with 3.600m + and 4.000m -, lots of scrambling and some running parts. Ending with "fresh legs" and no pain. Mafate speed 4s are in my opinion better than speedgoats for technical terrain. Great traction in every surface and stiff enough while still confortable for long efforts. I was a long user of hierro V5 and v6, the V8 was a "road shoe", the v9 is made very narrow now for my shoe but it looks nice. Tomir 2.0 could be another option and also prodigio pros, but I haven't try myself this ones.

Asics trabucos are wide and roomy. The speedgoats 2E are actually very narrow and low volume. Even the mafate speed 4 in normal width are roomier. I tried topo MTN racer 3. They are wide in the forefoot, but narrow in the arch/midfoot. Can't wear them Agility peak 5 is also wide and high volume.

Trabuco 13s upper is problematic. I have a replacement pair from Asics just 100km in my first pair. The upper just can't handle minimally technical terrain without breaking. Despite this, it is a shoe I like for technical and long activities. I'm 69kg, with your weight I would go for the trabuco max. Mafate speed 4 could work I think. Fast but confortable shoe with big lugs. Agility 5 is a nice shoe, but I don't like it for really technical terrain. Hierro 9s looks great, but too narrow for me. I would take this one over agilitys with your weight. Zegama 2 is a nice shoe, but for easy terrain. Too soft for nothing technical. I use it for easy days and like it, really bouncy.

Have a look at Asics line up. Trabuco and trabuco max. They are plenty wide. I tried speedgoats 2E, they are not any wide. Mafate 4s are actually wider, but still not enough for me if I'm going long.

I have gone through lots of shoes, I have had issues finding ones that feel comfortable. For high mountain technical races I like Asics trabuco. Quite low, top grip on wet and dry conditions and enough cushion without feeling it soft. I have run on the trabuco 13s 43km +3.700/-4.000m with fresh legs. I like, but don't fit good for long outings, tomir 2.0 and mafate speed 4.

I have run 10+ hours on trabuco 13s. In very technical high altitude terrain. Wide, cushioned enough without being soft so they work well on technical terrain, rock plate, and one of the best grips in the market. The upper is quite poor, in 250km in rough terrain the shoe looks awful, but still in use. Asics sent me a replacement pair. I tried lots of pairs looking for that long technical race. Nothing really was so confortable so I ended with my trusted trabucos. Maybe a v11 or v12 will work better in high mountain races, more durable upper and better lug pattern for rocky terrain, but less runnable. Pairs I tried, and ditched for not being wide/confortable enough to my foot: Mafate 4 speed, Topo MTN racer 3, Sportiva akasha 2, Salomon génesis (and slab genesis), Hierro v9, Zegama 2 (wide enough, but doesn't work for anything really technical, I use them for easy runs), Tomir 2.0 (weird sensation with the insoles)

Fair enough. Maybe you live somewhere with hellaciously slippery mud. I’m in the UK which is pretty goddamn muddy for 9 months of the year, and I thought the outsole on the ‘normal’ Trab 13 (same outsole as the Trab Max 4) was solid in the mud. Not great when it got ankle deep and sloppy, but I’ve never had a running shoe that was.

I run in Brooks Glycerine on Road and Asics gel Trabuco on trails. Love the asics

ASICS Gel Trabuco. I love ‘em

I’ve got 11s and absolutely love them.  Got gifted a pair of 13s in the same size and they felt tighter - narrower. 

Se a qualcuno interessa, qui ho fatto una piccola recensione delle 13: [https://youtu.be/rKLTvtubp6k](https://youtu.be/rKLTvtubp6k) secondo me sono molto valide, ideali per le mezze distanze perché per le lunghe non sono poi cosi morbide.