Asics Gel-Trabuco 11 Trail

An already fantastic shoe now even better with improvements made to the 11 range adding to both comfort and durability. An excellent shoe for trail running and hiking in warm to hot conditions

Now into my third pair of trail runners over the last 3 or so years, my second Gel Trabuco, and have to say I am a massive fan of the Trabuco 11s. Previously I owned a pair of Gel Trabuco 10s and while these were an excellent shoe they lacked a little durability on the upper.

The 11s however more than make up for it. The shoes were comfortable from the beginning needing little wearing in; improvements have been made in cushioning, especially the heel, making for a very comfortable run on all surfaces from asphalt, gravel trail and hard rocky track. The toe guard has been made more robust and extended to better cover the little toe adding to durability, on the previous version the material split in this area on both the left and right shoe despite width being correct, this pair so far shows no signs of wear. A new tread pattern gives excellent grip in all conditions and also seems to be very hard wearing; 340km in, many on sealed surfaces, and tread wear is more than acceptable.

South Australian summers can be very hot so I opted for the standard shoe instead of waterproof and these shoes are very breathable meaning my feet don’t overheat on hot days, I have run in 30C+ temps and have remained comfortably cool. The shoes also dry very quickly when they do get wet from a water crossing or light rain.

All in all the Gel Trabuco seems an excellent shoe all round and while I am still only half way to the distance I got out of my 10s, I would definitely recommend the 11s.