ASICS - Gel Trabuco Series

Fit matters, as all the major brands produce some good trail runners. I used a Trabuco way back in the day and they were fine.

I used to use Asics gortex runners, switched to Salomon.   Both I've had excellent experience with running on dirt and over rock plateaus and waterways.   A few runners ive met doing tough mudder really liked ice bug. 

Both Asics gortex and Salomon gortex Ive found to be the best I've used.   I get probably 2-3000km out of them?   Say 8km a day of sandstone gravel fire trails and rocky escarpments for a year. I  would get 12-18 months out of them.   Sometimes I just wear out heel rubber and foam is still good so I build it back up using Sikaflex or something to go another 6 month lol 

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.

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.

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.

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.

They run small and very snug compared to the prior iteration. Had to take out the insole to get the perfect fit. go half a size for wide feet

They run small and very snug compared to the prior iteration. Had to take out the insole to get the perfect fit. go half a size for wide feet

I've using mine for around 150k, so far so good. But honestly, I prefer the previous (Trabuco 11), don't know why but the 11 fits like a glove, (I’ve run 1200k on them). Still use them for recovery runs, the mesh in one of the shoes start to rip apart, the cushion is not the same anymore, but for small recovery runs that’s enough. About the Trabuco 12, 2 weeks ago have done a pretty hilly and muddy 20k Trail Run, the grip on these is insane. A lot of runners had problems with grip and a lot of falls. Only one time it fails me, but I was getting out of a small river we must follow for 1 hundred meters and on the exit the terrain is slippery. Because of constant running down (and up), with water and sand/mud inside I had an abrasion in one toe. I've started to notice on speedy down runs around 15-16k mark, in the end I have no skin on the spot. But I’ve already use them to do some runs (20k-30k) and never happened before. The cushion is very good, I have wide feet and they feel comfortable, not like the T.11 but good enough.

I've using mine for around 150k, so far so good. But honestly, I prefer the previous (Trabuco 11), don't know why but the 11 fits like a glove, (I’ve run 1200k on them). Still use them for recovery runs, the mesh in one of the shoes start to rip apart, the cushion is not the same anymore, but for small recovery runs that’s enough. About the Trabuco 12, 2 weeks ago have done a pretty hilly and muddy 20k Trail Run, the grip on these is insane. A lot of runners had problems with grip and a lot of falls. Only one time it fails me, but I was getting out of a small river we must follow for 1 hundred meters and on the exit the terrain is slippery. Because of constant running down (and up), with water and sand/mud inside I had an abrasion in one toe. I've started to notice on speedy down runs around 15-16k mark, in the end I have no skin on the spot. But I’ve already use them to do some runs (20k-30k) and never happened before. The cushion is very good, I have wide feet and they feel comfortable, not like the T.11 but good enough.

I was pleasantly surprised by Asics Grip on the Trabuco 12. They performed miles better than my Vibram shoes in both very dry (going down a 45% incline rock face) and very wet conditions (pouring rain on smooth rock).

I'm on my second pair of Trabuco 12s and I love these shoes. I think the 13 is a tiny bit firmer (and more stable). If have used them for both trail running and pretty technical hiking. I was really impressed with the durability and the traction on these shoes. The traction is way better than my heavy hiking boots with Vibram outsoles. In fact, I have had a couple pretty scary hikes where I picked the Trabuco over my cat. C/D hiking boots, simply because the traction is so much better.

I like Asics Gel Trabuco. Comfortable, good traction, cushiony enough that I don't need to add inserts. I don't tear through shoes as fast as some others though, but they do seem durable to me.

Waterproof: I find the Asics Gel Trabuco GoreTex are among the comfiest waterproof shoes I have ever had. They are trail running shows. Older versions were more low-key, the new ones have a horrible "goretex" writing on them. TropicFeel AT Hdry are also pretty good. Non-waterproof: Asics Gel Venture 9. There is now a version 10 Columbia Drainmaker XTR The Columbia are more ventilated than the Venture 9. I use the Columbia in the summer (I can also wear them without socks) and the Asics Venture in the winter, when I don't need waterproof shoes. Depending on where you're going, would something like waterproof show covers / gaiters be an option? There are people who wear GoreTex in the Florida summer - I'd die. But if you are going somewhere when it can rain a lot one day and get very sunny and hot the next, waterproof show covers might be an option. Functional but ugly... The RunRepeat website has excellent reviews

Clocked 1,500km in Asics Trabuco 9s

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!

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!

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