Customer Reviews Topo Athletic MTN Racer

Fit is a touch short but not enough to size up. Grip is great. Toe box provides a very comfortable fit. Not a shoe that "feels fast" but doesn't work against you either. The shoes have worked great in rocky technical terrain. My only complaints are after long descents I feel the need to retighten the laces my other is the midsole is separating from the upper after roughly 100miles. So much potential here. Can't wait for v2

Initially, I was very excited about the Mountain Racer and had a lot of great, shorter runs in them. Then, I ran a 50k and started to have problems with the size of the left shoe as one other reviewer noted. Since running the 50k, I continue to have problems with the size of the left shoe and will likely have to retire the shoe halfway into its mileage life. I exclusively wear Topo and have never had sizing issues. Not sure why this happened? I am well outside their 30 day trial window and would otherwise send them back. Don't get me wrong, I really like this shoe and its potential but like my toenails even more.

I now have 140mi in my MTN Racers and while I really like the shoes in many ways...fit, durability, grip and drainage the big drawback for me is the mid-sole. I was really hoping these would feel much like my awesome Ultraventures with just a little more rock protection but that is not the case. The mid-sole felt great initially but quickly broke down and flattened out, especially in the mid-foot area. The lack of a rock plate eliminated any sort of improvement in protection over the Ultraventure even though the mid-sole was supposed to be slightly more firm. The result was actually less rock protection once the mid-sole broke down. In my mind a great combination would be the upper and out-sole of the MTN Racer with the mid-sole of the Ultraventure and for bonus points add a thin rock plate for the ultimate trail shoe. Sadly after only 140mi my MTN Racers will now be retired due to the mid-sole.

I now have 140mi in my MTN Racers and while I really like the shoes in many ways...fit, durability, grip and drainage the big drawback for me is the mid-sole. I was really hoping these would feel much like my awesome Ultraventures with just a little more rock protection but that is not the case. The mid-sole felt great initially but quickly broke down and flattened out, especially in the mid-foot area. The lack of a rock plate eliminated any sort of improvement in protection over the Ultraventure even though the mid-sole was supposed to be slightly more firm. The result was actually less rock protection once the mid-sole broke down. In my mind a great combination would be the upper and out-sole of the MTN Racer with the mid-sole of the Ultraventure and for bonus points add a thin rock plate for the ultimate trail shoe. Sadly after only 140mi my MTN Racers will now be retired due to the mid-sole.

Fits okay but My kids told me that the color looks like Mc Donald's shoes.

I bought these after loving my Ultraventrues so much. That was a comfortable shoe and hard wearing. These however are a poor relative. I recognise that they are not the same design as the Ultraventrue but I still feel compelled to give a poor review. The shoe itself does not have a good, firm feel to it. After just 2 months, they feel flimsy and the rubber around the base has separated from the upper shoe. They wore out far too quickly for the price. Topo have been pretty good about it and replaced them but I won't buy these again. Please, please bring back the Ultraventures in a better colour selection!

So I have ordered 3 of these in various sizes. The ones that are my size lengthwise are too narrow where the stitching is. The wider men's ones are PERFECT in the width but are way too long. I would give anything for a men's 7 which they don't make. You have no idea how badly I want to love these shoesthe sock like feel of the upper is awesome. You guys are really close to perfection...but definitely not there yet.

The MT2 is what brought me to Topo, and was my favorite pair of running shoes that I ever had. The MT3 doesn't feel like it has the same quality to it. The soles are a lot more slippery, which was kind of a bust to me. I'd look at other models, especially if you are running dusty and rocky trails in California and New Mexico.

Ankle support is good, not breathable at all. Really no difference from the WP ones that are great. These are floppy and uncomfortable. My hope was a breathable summer version of the WP ones i love.

These shoes get full marks for intent, failing grade for execution. Great traction, true to size, great under foot support. Where these shoes fail, is in use of materials and method of attaching the tongue section to the rest of the shoe. Test drove these on a hilly six mile hike. The area in question abraded the top of my foot, at the base of my big toe the point that a blister developed at mile 3, not fun. I sent them back immediately.

I've had these for about 7 months now, and just can't get them to fit quite right. I have a slightly narrow foot; the toe box is fine, maybe a bit wide, but the midfoot is sloppy. Tried multiple lacing systems to get it secure, and every time there's an aching pinch point on the top of the mid or upper foot that leaves marks. Loosening enough to reduce the pinch makes it too loose, and my foot slides around in the shoe. Not an issue with the MT-3 or Magnifly's.

Right foot perfect. Left too tight and constrictive near toes.

Pros; Generally a very comfortable shoe I LOVE the flat tongue Good gripy sole Single seam upper feels quite durable Cons: The color The toebox is bit narrow The color I replaced the atrocious Ronald McDonald yellow laces with black elastic laces (allowing for a little foot swell as the shoe has zero stretch, now it feels great other than the claustrophobic toebox) The color Classic black is a MUST in any model, come on Topo!

Pros; Generally a very comfortable shoe I LOVE the flat tongue Good gripy sole Single seam upper feels quite durable Cons: The color The toebox is bit narrow The color I replaced the atrocious Ronald McDonald yellow laces with black elastic laces (allowing for a little foot swell as the shoe has zero stretch, now it feels great other than the claustrophobic toebox) The color Classic black is a MUST in any model, come on Topo!

I was excited to try the Mtn Racer because the Terraventure 2 is one of my all-time favorites, and I needed something burlier for a long trip. The Mtn Racer was disappointing. Here's why: Pros: - Lightweight - Grippy sole - Nice stiffness/stability to reduce fatigue on longer days Cons: - The toebox is a lot narrower than my Terraventures, which eliminates one of Topo's big differentiators vs. traditional trail runners. - My Terraventures are perfect in size 12. In the Mtn Racer, my big toe jams into the front of the toe box in size 12. My big toes were sore after just a couple miles of downhill. Even worse, Topo doesn't make a 12.5. - This is a moderate cushion shoe..,so I was surprised that it feels almost too firm. Overall, I love the concept behind this shoe. But the narrower toe box, higher drop and unfortunate sizing nearly eliminate Topo's advantage over other companies. I'd love a future version that stays truer to Topo's roots. I'll be returning these.

I was excited to try the Mtn Racer because the Terraventure 2 is one of my all-time favorites, and I needed something burlier for a long trip. The Mtn Racer was disappointing. Here's why: Pros: - Lightweight - Grippy sole - Nice stiffness/stability to reduce fatigue on longer days Cons: - The toebox is a lot narrower than my Terraventures, which eliminates one of Topo's big differentiators vs. traditional trail runners. - My Terraventures are perfect in size 12. In the Mtn Racer, my big toe jams into the front of the toe box in size 12. My big toes were sore after just a couple miles of downhill. Even worse, Topo doesn't make a 12.5. - This is a moderate cushion shoe..,so I was surprised that it feels almost too firm. Overall, I love the concept behind this shoe. But the narrower toe box, higher drop and unfortunate sizing nearly eliminate Topo's advantage over other companies. I'd love a future version that stays truer to Topo's roots. I'll be returning these.

These shoes lasted no more than 5 weeks before totally delaminating at the sides. I would not have done more than 5 km in these over 5 weeks. Just not acceptable for such an expensive pair of trail shoes. I have had a pair of Mountain Racers which are still going after 500 km but these runventures are just total rubbish I am afraid.

I am a loyal Topo fan, Having gone through at least 10 pairs of their shoes in the last couple years as a high mileage runner. Based upon reviews I had high expectations for the new Cyclone. The good: A relatively light weight hi Christian Shoe with great energy return, feels very snappy, and *could* probably be a great long run shoe if it weren't for the bad: a god-awful, rigid, blister-inducing heel!! My feet are not usually Becky, but I could not tolerate more than 2 to 3 miles in the these. Quite frankly the poor design is evident the minute you put them on, but I really really wanted to like these. My second and last run I have 8 miles left me in significant pain halfway through, angry and gritting my teeth to get home and throw these back in the mail. Topo, you have an otherwise great shoe here if you can fix the awful heel design. Please, do it!!!

I have Topo MT-3's and Ultraventures in size 9.5 and they fit fine. My right foot is a 9.5 and my left is a 9.0, so the Topo 9.5's fit. The 9.5 MTN racers fit my right foot, my larger foot, but were way too tight on my left foot, my smaller foot. They were so tight on the ball of my foot and the toes that my foot went to sleep just trying them on walking around the house. I have many other brands of shoes like Altra and many other types of shoes like hiking boots and dress shoes. All fit my larger right foot tighter than my smaller left foot. I can only decide that the MTN racers have poor quality control and for some reason the left shoe fits one to two sizes smaller than the right shoe. Since I bought them on a "friends and family" deal, I cannot return them. My lesson learned is don't expect different pairs of the same model Topo shoes to fit the same or the two shoes of the same pair to be the same size. *Topo Note: Thanks for the feedback, Larry! This pair was found to be overstuffed in the heel on the left shoe, likely causing a one-off sizing disparity in this pair, and a new pair was shipped to this customer.

I haven't returned these yet, but I am after a single run. They seem to fit well. Narrower toe box than the Altra and wider than the Hoka Speedgoat. However, running in them was like running barefoot on concrete. For 25/30mm shoes they didn't feel like they have any cushion. And for that I am returning them. I wanted them to be good. Not sure I will try another shoe fro Topo.