This is my experience with Topo as well. I have tried the Terraventure 3, Ultraventure 4, and MTN Racer 2. The Terraventure held up the best but are a very low cushion shoe compared to the others. But the others both fell apart too quickly.
Hiking shoes will not be BIFL but as the old saying goes, spend good money on anything that goes between you and the ground.
I just bought my second pair of Topo Athletics after putting on IDK how many hundreds of miles over three years on my Terraventure 3's. The only reason I replaced them was that the sole was starting to lose its grippiness and I wanted a model with a little more cushion, so I got the UltraVenture 4.
I would give the Topos a try. I've had two pairs of Trailventure 2 (and several pairs of Altras) and have found them to be similar in width to Altras. I think Altra are slightly longer in length especially the Lone Peaks. As mentioned previously by other posters - you really need to try them on. In my experience the Topos are a bit more rigid than the Altras, which I find more reassuring in use. As with all hiking gear decisions, it depends on what fits you best and what makes you feel good on the trail!
In general, not specific to that shoe. As the other commenter said, they fill with water and don’t drain. They also make your feet hot. I only use them in snow since the warmth is a bonus at that point and snow melt will freeze your feet.
Topo does the wide toe box. My Ultraventures have a 5mm drop, Terraventures have a 3mm drop and there is also the mtnracer model as well (haven't tried that one yet).
They are very comfortable and roomy for me with good lugs. They feel a little weird walking on pavement so mud, gravel, rocks, roots, and sand are all good but pavement is a no unless you enjoy suctioning to the pavement. If you need them to do pavement as well, look at the Terraventures which are bomb proof in durability as well. I think my husband has about 800 miles on his Terraventures with the outsole still intact. I have a lot less on mine but it should be well over 300 miles on mine and still waterproof. Terraventures come in waterproof and non-waterproof, fyi. The Ultraventure is a lot cushier than the Terraventure but both do a good job of protecting your foot from the rocks and roots.
I can not speak to durability on the Ultraventures yet as I have only put 100 miles on them but so far they are still looking like new other than the inside heel. As to the inside heal, I have to use stickers in all my shoes as my heels always rub through all shoes there so that doesn't count against them in my book (Haglunds deformation is obnoxious but the stickers are a cheap fix).
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Mount to Coast
H1
85% positive of 177 users
Versatile road-to-trail, but struggles on wet, technical downhills.
Hiker_Ryan
