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.
Yeah same on the terraventure here. I think I'm on my 6th pair? 4 is even more durable than the 3. I can scramble and solo in them as well as hike and run. I'm not one to usually get all stoked up about a shoe but this one got me.
Terraventure is bombproof I wore out the upper before the tread wore slick. I've gone through 5 pairs in the last 4 years. And I do a lot of 4th and low 5th class scrambling in them in addition to long runs. I will always chime in to confirm when someone mentions the Terraventure here.
I prefer to use my hiking boots for terrain like picture 2 - 5 (in the mountains basically) because I like thicker soles not to feel the rocks, and I wand to protect my ankles ! However, I mainly hike with trail runners for everything else (I use the Topo Athletics Terra Adventure 4). I'm considering testing the Topo Trailventure, they seem to be a hybrid between hiking boots and trail runners, but not currently in the budget as I don't need new shoes.
And yes to hiking poles, they are great for balance as it almost makes you like a 4 legged animal. In my hiking group, I was the only one using poles, my partners are much more fit than I am. However, this year on our annual 100km hike, they all used poles and they told me that they could tell how much it helped them too !
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
