Gel Trabuco Series

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 

Option 3: trail running shoes 😁 You’ll need something to give you “stability” and dont be always putting “weight” on your knees when you come down from hills. I did it with some Scarpa, Salomon (worst shoes for me) and I’m planning to do it with ASICS Trabuco.

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.

asics trabuco 12 - best trail running shoe imo, super comfy, long lasting and great grip. Check the reviews on these 10/10

I decided to try Trabucos after running in Cascadias for a few years and I think I’ll be going back to Cascadia. Despite the length of the Trabucos being good I find I have to do the laces up really tight otherwise I feel like I’m sliding around in the shoe even with a heel lock, got bruises from the tight laces during my last ultra.

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.

I've hiked all over those islands in every conceivable terrain and weather condition including just hiking all day in a driving rain. I carry two pairs of low cut shoes (wear one, the other in my bags). One is a trail runner. The other is a climbing approach shoe. I also carry some light weight scuba shoes I just for full on wading when I expect it. I use the trail runners for any dirt/forest trails. For volcanic trails and trails over rock slabs, I use my approach shoes, which have a full, stiff rand and a sticky climbing rubber sole that protects my feet from sharp rocks which would completely destroy the trail runners. Neither are GTX. If they get wet, I just take out the insoles back at my hotel/cottage and then dry them overnight. Sometimes they can be a little damp in the morning, but walking dries them out soon enough. I've used different brands over the years, but my current trail runner is an Asics Gel Trabuco 13 and my approach shoe is an older model of the La Sportiva Boulder X. They are pricey now, but they have really good models, many of which use synthetic uppers which will dry easier than leather Boulder Xs. But I tried to avoid hiking in high rain forecast days with my approach shoes. If you can only have one pair, then I'd probably opt for a trail runner, especially if you don't plan on doing a lot of craggly rock hiking.

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.