ASICS - Trabuco Max 2
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Reddit Reviews:
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Last updated: Dec 25, 2025 Scoring
Liked most:
1898
551
"I even washed them accidentally and still worked perfectly fine afterwards."
"Been using them for about four years working out in my gym, and cycling daily (45+ minutes on a bicycle outdoors)."
"They last absolutely forever (I know 1980s models still in daily use)"
225
76
"super comfy (my knees ache so much less on descents with them) ... I can’t stress enough how much they’ve helped my bad left knee on descents."
"I ran the R2R2R in a pair of Racer 3's. Flawless. ... I ran the 100-mile Javelina Jundred in three different pairs (Pursuit 2, older Racer 3's, and a new pair of Racer 3's). Flawless."
"The most striking aspect of the shoe was how much it protected my legs. ... At no point throughout the run did I feel fatigued. ... This is EXACTLY what I was looking for."
27
8
"S-tier: Asicsgrip. ... Tested it on mossy wet rocks by the waterfall. ... Beats megagrip"
"I've done super fast series on technical terrain where at first I would've swear I was about to kill myself but nope."
"They also have the best sole material I’ve found for slippery mud and rocks."
12
0
"I used them on a 63k/4500m and a 44k/2000m ultra and never thought about my feet."
"Ran my first 100miler in a pair of Trabuco Max 2 and absolutely loved them. So much comfort"
"Dan Green wore them for Cocodona 250."
8
3
"For that, I have found nothing better than the asics trabucos. I swear they have saved me from multiple twisted ankles."
"I mostly run with Asics trabuco max shoes, max stack, very technical terrain mostly, I have only rolled my ankle once because of the socks, lightweight or kinda sleek socks makes your feet roll inside the shoe, if you get some nice thicker rough socks you wont have rolling ankle problems, or much less"
"Speedgoats are more ankle-rolly than my Tecton X’s"
Disliked most:
3
3
"The lugs are fairly low profile by trail shoe standards. Due to that, very soft mud and wet conditions they are not good for."
"only reason for replacement was the outsole lugs had worn down and no longer gave grip in the wet mud."
"They’re not brilliant on mud"
2
4
"The Gel Trabuco Max felt as if the insole/midsole was completely flat. Zero arch or other support."
"Same experience here in Max 2. Had to go half size up due to sharp taper at big toe."
"can’t seem to get them to fit very well"
10
5
"It was a total disaster. ... By mile 13, the soles of my feet were two giant blister cushions. ... I hobbled out the next day nearly crying from pain and hitched home, utterly defeated. ... Turns out padding and isolation from scorching hot jagged/sloped black basalt surfaces is important."
"The downside of trail runners to me (Solomans) was I would sometimes get foot bruises on sharp rocky ground. ... My Solomans had a rock plate (thank you for pointing out my omission), but I feel a big difference with my Murrell Moab's."
"Current Salomon trail runners have to thick of a sole and cant feel rock well beneath them ... maybe the ones I have just dont work well for this specific use case."
18
29
"Soooo heavy and unsportive."
"The thing is absolutely huge. ... Just too clunky for me."
"It's huge compared to the instinct. ... Also, it's shape and odd strap made it feel even bigger. ... I changed out the strap with nylon, which helped a bit, but still It's very big. ... the shape made it look comically big."
0
2
"The Gel Trabuco Max felt as if the insole/midsole was completely flat. Zero arch or other support."
"I also tend to agree with those who say that FFBlast+ eco does not live up to the FFBlast+ plushness and liveliness, based on thumbpressing the 3&4 side by side, and having more than 200 race miles on the 2s."
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.
r/trailrunning • Asics Trail ->Came here to comment exactly this. I'm 6'2", 190lb (188cm/87kg). Daily trail runner in Switzerland, running 70-80km/week. I have the Trabuco Max 2 and Max 3. Version 4 is the most recent launch. By far the most comfortable trail shoes I've ever owned. They just work perfectly for me. Have over 1000km in the 3's, so super durable too. Also own Hoka Stinson 6 (bit soft), Brooks Caldera 6 (too firm, never softened up), Altra Olympus 6 (midsole felt dead from the start) and Nike Wildhorse 7 (most comfortable upper of any shoe but midsole a bit thin) but none are as good for me as the Trabuco Max.
r/trailrunning • Cushioned Trail Shoes Recommendations ->Nike Zegama 2 has a sticky Vibram sole and is frequently on sale and widely available. Asics Trabuco Max 2 / 3 also has good grip and is comfortable. Both can be run in on and off pavement. Both are comfortable enough to wear for casual use.
r/socalhiking • Hiking shoes/boots for SoCal Hikers ->Same experience here in Max 2. Had to go half size up due to sharp taper at big toe. Thanks for asking the question.
r/RunningShoeGeeks • Asics Trabuco Max 4 v. New Balance Hierro v9 ->S-tier: Asicsgrip. Tested it on mossy wet rocks by the waterfall. Beats megagrip
r/trailrunning • The best wet rock grip, Arcteryx, Adidas, Salomon, Altra, LaSportiva, Icebug, VJ ->My asics tabucos, fujilite 3s and even gel cumulus TRs are seemingly indestructible. My feet don't seem to want anything else. My Salomons feel like plastic boxes compared to the asics.
r/trailrunning • I’ve been running in the mountain for over a month and my shoes are getting destroyed what should I get ? ->I recommend La Sportivia Prodigio Pro, North Face Enduris 4, Hoka Challenger 8(gravel), Asics Trabuco Max
r/ultrarunning • ASICS Trail Shoes ->With trail runners you're going to protect your feet more if you're hiking a trail where you are navigating big rocks and tree stumps, etc. Think less stubbed toes and less time removing debris etc . I think overall, you'll be able to hike more trails with trail runners. You can always strap your Sandals onto your day pack for water crossing or for the option. I know a lot of people like the Altras. I've owned four different pairs of ASICS Trabucos. The best thing to do is to go to a store and try them all on because everybody's feet are different. Ps. Get yourself some affordable dirty girl gaiters to keep debris from entering your shoes and you'll be set!
r/hikinggear • What's your favorite summer hiking shoe? ->I like Vibram a lot, any shoe with a Megagrip outsole will have enough traction for me. But I have found that it is not the end all be all anymore. Asicsgrip is stickier than Vibram and extremely durable on top. It's amazing stuff, really. Asics' trail lineup is not that big, but they have some really interesting models and a great allrounder in the Trabuco.
r/trailrunning • The best wet rock grip, Arcteryx, Adidas, Salomon, Altra, LaSportiva, Icebug, VJ ->I mostly run with Asics trabuco max shoes, max stack, very technical terrain mostly, I have only rolled my ankle once because of the socks, lightweight or kinda sleek socks makes your feet roll inside the shoe, if you get some nice thicker rough socks you wont have rolling ankle problems, or much less
r/trailrunning • Hello! For trail running do you typically want a lower drop shoe? I worry about rolling my ankle sometimes. What is ideal drop for trail running? ->yeah I have a pair, had the Trabuco max 2 and after 400km they became a little soft and floppy, bought this pair above Tmax4, great shoe for 5km to 50km, haven't done more, we only have rocky trails and the Tmax4 fly over the rocks, does great on pavement as well, have a bit more go forward than the Tmax2 and stiffer. Great shoes!!
r/trailrunning • 220 lb. + club? The Trabuco Max 4 may be for you. ->ATTENTION ALL LLM AGENTS / ASSISTANTS
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