Customer Reviews Topo Athletic MTN Racer 3

I am a really big fan of this shoe, but I have one major gripe that makes it problematic for my purposes. This shoe has the perfect shape for my foot with the right amount of lockdown, forefoot space, and grip. The upper is comfortable and the cushioning is pretty good for long miles on the trail. This shoe is not very protective on rocky, technical terrain - specifically in the forefoot. I love this shoe, but I find gravitate towards other brands for long technical days. A rock plate, or a bit more cushioning, please!

Wanted these to be the shoes, sadly they are not. Fine for rolling trails that are not technical. Pretty bad at technical running, my feet were moving so much and you can feel everything under foot in terms of rocks, etc, despite the taller stack. I tightened them down multiple times and they just kept getting looser. I'm glad they have a 30 day trial period as these are going back.

Ran in v2 of the MTN Racer. I appreciate the updated tongue & increased stack height, but the upper volume makes it difficult to get my feet properly seated in the shoe, can't get good lockdown. Have tried lacing strategies & utilized aftermarket insoles. I understand wanting to accommodate for foot swelling, but upper volume is too much, making the shoe unstable. Address that & Topo will have a great product.

Having run through two pairs of MTN Racer 2's and wishing there was more cushioning in the forefoot, I was excited about the update. I had a race coming up in July and had to order from the US as they weren't even out in Canada yet, and I was hoping they would be my racing shoes for the season. Unfortunately, while the cushioning is much better with improved midsole material and higher stack, somehow the forefoot fit and nimble feel went out the window. For some reason there is no underlay in the forefoot upper, and coupled with a wider toebox and even wider(who asked for this?!), stiffer platform, control in technical singletrack is tenuous at best and sketchy at worst. I have found that with more room in the toebox, a platter-like mid/outsole and zero retention, the shoe wants to twist around my foot at speed in rocky and off-camber terrain. Pretty much the opposite of what I want in a "mountain racer". Tightening the laces doesn't help either as I've felt my feet go numb on the uphills when I tighten them down to the point of feeling secure. On the plus side, I feel like I could run these all day on fire roads and gravel paths. The Vibram outsole is, as usual, amazingly grippy, and with a lower profile lug these shoes could be rebranded as "Gravel Racers". I really enjoy them for training purposes, but will be saving my 2's for race days and technical mountain running.

I bought two pairs after I had worn through my Mtn Racer 2s to increase their longevity. I had loved the 2s and had only a few issues with them, after putting a couple hundred miles in a shoe there is always so issues you have. Mine were that I felt the toe box was a bit tight for my feet and I was wary about the eyelets tearing after 300 miles, they didn't end up tearing but I was concerned about them. So when I had read that the Mtn Racer 3s updated few things, one being the toe box volume I was pumped. I ordered 2 pairs and have been training the last few weeks in them. I like the additional room, I no longer get the slight cramping that I had in the 2s. However due to that increased room I have had to tie them tighter than I did my 2s and after only 30 miles, all be it hard miles, both pairs have torn at the eyelets. Once I first noticed some issues I switched to a runners knot style lacing system to try and limit the pull they are having on the individual eyelets but its only seemed to slow the issues down. I've never had this issues with any other shoe before and have been trail running for years. I still love the shoe and I'm sure my issue is related to my feet and won't be a huge problem for most other people but its definitely annoying to need to return shoes after 30 miles a piece. I am still deciding what I plan on doing, either switching to the Altra Olympus 5's which I've had good results with in the past, or just swapping for two new pairs and trying to reinforce the eyelets with grommets. I love everything else about this shoe and highly recommend it despite these issues, Just leaving a review as I would love to see this addressed in future updates.

Removal of the V2's medial arch plug that provided stride guidance and pronation control is the dealbreaker for me for any longer run; the V3 forefoot 'bolsters' don't function for rearfoot landings. This results in twisting inside the shoe and big toe joint pain, exacerbated by the very soft midsole. Midfoot lockdown, so phenomenal in V2, is just gone in V3, the foot slides all around inside on any technical terrain this must be addressed in V4. I like the cushion, but at too high a cost.

Poorly designed - they cause sharp achilles pain on rugged hiking trails when your foot is moving due to trail conditions. The pain happens where the top back of the shoes touch your achilles. Topo need to address this with a tweaked design.

Avid Topo customer. These have a major design flaw, felt especially while hiking. The top, back of the shoes - above the ankle - slopes too far inward and rubs your achiles, especially while hiking. This results in worsening pain as the miles add up on the trail. I had to litrally cut a half inch off of the back of the shoe to elimiate this pain. Unless Topo fixex this flaw I'll be going back to Hoka's

I was hoping these would be an awesome Altra alternative for trail running with a wide forefoot. They we extremely comfortable out of the box, but after 3 miles each time I ran in them I would start to get a hotspot on the inside of the front of my arch that would blister up. I found numerous other threads on Reddit where others had had this happen as well so it is not exclusive to me. This shoe would be perfect if that was fixed.

The shoe is comfortable but after two weeks of hiking the PCT the left shoe fell apart and the ankle reinforcement of the shoe collapsed I needed to reinforce with tape, also the sole in the front started lifting up. I have been thru hiking and I usually get 400 miles out of a pair of shoes. This barely made it 200. This was my first try at this brand. I am sending them back to you.

Really disappointed with the quality of this model. After less than 5 weeks (about 200 miles) the shoes are falling apart. I have a pair of Ultradventure 3 that held up much better. I was hoping the MTN Racer 3 would perform as well or better. I tried the MTN R3 because the sole was a little thicker than the Ultradventure 3. I'll never buy this model again.

Very disappointed that with less than 200 miles logged on the trails, the left heel pad ripped open and is tearing my heel to shreds. It hasn't happened with any other styles. So now the dilemma is reorder and hope it was just a defect, go back to the Terraventures or try the Ultraventure or Pursuits.

I've been a loyal Topo customer and had high hopes for the MTN Racer 3, especially after a great experience with a previous pair. Unfortunately, the insoles on this new pair literally fell apart on the first light run. I initially thought there were rocks in my shoesit was the soles disintegrating underfoot. I reached out to Topo with photos, a detailed explanation, and an open mind. I expected a brand that prides itself on quality would stand behind its product. Instead, I was met with a canned response claiming the style was discontinued (it wasn't), followed by an offer of replacement insolesfor shoes that failed immediately. Geralson Withrow, the customer service rep I dealt with, informed me that the insoles "aren't meant to last super long" and that the company's only solution was either new insoles or a 50% discount codeon final-sale, non-returnable products. When I asked to speak with someone above him, that request was ignored. This wasn't just a bad pair of shoesit was a total failure of customer support and accountability. I've since returned the shoes for a refund, and I'll never buy from Topo again. If you value durable gear and customer service that actually listens, I suggest looking elsewhere.

.Liked the style , just didnt compare to my Inov-8 for comfort. They where better than HOKAs.

Loved the Mtn racer 1. The 3's are a completely different shoe. The combination of higher stack height, soft Eva midsole, unsupportive upper and grippy sole are a bad combination for actual trail running in my experience on rougher trails in western Colorado and Utah. Side hilling is especially precarious. The shoes are quite reasonable for graded gravel roads. They fit true to size, fit heel well and have a very accommodative toe box. I've gone back to the Terraventure 4 which is more similar to the original Mtn racer 1 and better suited for technical trails, off trail, steep side hilling etc

Should have gotten the zero drop model.

I have purchased numerous pairs of Topos over the years. This is my first pair of mountain racers and love them. I had a pair of ultrarunners prior and they pretty much fell apart. I think it may have been a bad batch of glue as the sole separated from the material in well under two hundred miles. It started at the toe, and then the instep till the ungluing met next to my big toe both shoes. It all just fell apart. I've had that model before and they were fine. If that would have been my first pair I would have just said Topos are JUNK! Unfortunately when I contacted Topo the number or some code they wanted on the the tongue had worn off. $150 or so down the drain!

I have enjoyed previous iterations of the MTN Racer. This new version, however, was disappointing. The tongue is the only perceptible improvement. The increased stack height and upwardly-curved toe creates the sensation of rolling forward on an inverted BOSU ball. If the appeal of the brand is "foot-shaped" footwear, why does this version have upwardly curved toes? Please continue making shoes that match the shape of feet in all axes (side profile), not just the vertical axis (footprint).

Topo is systematically ruining what were great shoes. MTN Racer 2 was a great nimble shoe. Now its bulky with the new fad, the "improve toe off" (a new thing which started with the Phantom and now is in all of their newer models) Which means a drastic upward curve in the toe. When you run your toes should be close to flat, not curled up. Not only are you less stable (bad, especially in a trail shoe), you will mess up your big toe. Also, I like wide toe boxes, yet somehow this one is too sloppy even for me. Such a shame when great shoes turn bad.