Both those shoes are much higher stack and I would not recommend either for technical terrain. MTN Racer 3 *could* be a good option if you can get a good midfoot lockdown, but it lacks in that department in my opinion. But its stack is still fairly high, and you lose a ton of ground feel vs Terraventure. Not sure about the new 4 version. Vista’s stack is much too high to ever be considered suitable for technical terrain. I know of the terrain you are referring to in the NE and I would not recommend either for it, personally.
Topo Terraventure’s are 3mm, MTN Racer’s 5mm. Both are wider than average, though perhaps not quite as wide as some other models or other Altra models. They also have a snugger fit in the midfoot, which I personally like. I’ve found it’s much easier to get a good lockdown fit with Topo while still having plenty of room to move my toes.
I'm on my 7th pair of Terraventures and they consistently last me 700 miles and I generally retire them due to a hole in the side. I don't think I've ever experienced more than an inch tear though. To be honest I don't take anyone who refers to things as bombproof seriously.
I had 5 pairs of the 3s and then 2 pairs of the 4s. I just get the current model, but I went through 4 pairs on the PCT and Topo hasn't been updating them yearly.
Topo athletic, great toe box too. Unfortunately their website sucks so it’s hard to filter the features you want (e.g. a rock plate). I have the ultraventure 4 pros and the terraventure 4’s, both awesome for the mountains where I live.
I actually wear topo athletic terra ventures as my regular shoes around town here in Calgary. When I was away for a few years I had the same issue and thus wore my topo ultra ventures on the plane. They were so comfortable for travelling they became my go to travel shoes and hiking shoes. So now I run two sets at a time, one gtx for shoulder season and one non gtx for my regular backpacking.
Got some new topo terraventure 4 shoes. Got my first run in this morning just over two miles on pavement, just over two miles on trails. Trails are wooded/brushy hilly and a bjt rocky in places on my property. Really like them so far weren’t bad on pavement and were great for me on the trail.
Have used new balance in the past a fair bit as I try to buy usa made stuff. Want to try a pair of Carson’s would like to the get the standard issues ones. Wish they made half sizes 8.5 usually fits me best.
Have also used brooks, and Asics too. Not a big fan of the newer 990’s trying to transition to zero drop shoes. Before the topos I tried some Merrill Moab flights I got on clearance. The felt good trying them on but rubbed my arches wrong while running. Toughed it out with them since I already bought them and took them with me on a deployment for pt shoes. Anyways sorry for the ramble pics of the trail area and terraventures.
https://preview.redd.it/fm6l8swb9h9f1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=67cca5826cf6123d7232e21677801b1a37c1cc75
Top Trail Running Shoes on Reddit
1
Mount to Coast
H1
85% positive of 177 users
Versatile road-to-trail, but struggles on wet, technical downhills.
Distinct_Young_8318
