Although we no longer sell the original Terraventure on our site, be sure to check out our latest trail running shoes and hiking boots!
The Terraventure features our classic Topo fit, roomy in the toes but snug in the waist and heel. Like the MT-2 and Runventure, it also features a fully gusseted tongue and a 3mm heel-to-toe drop. However, the Terraventure was designed as a more rugged evolution of the Runventure: it offers more protection and cushioning, we isolated the rock plate to the forefoot, and it features a more aggressive outsole with deeper lugs and a wider base platform to insure stability and durability. It’s the most rugged Topo we’ve ever built, but a real value at just $110.
Why does the Terraventure have a 3mm drop?
All Topo shoes feature 0-5mm of drop; we like a more neutral underfoot platform that can encourage better posture and a midfoot strike during running. Making shoes between 0-5mm of drop with different levels of cushioning allows the user to find the Topo model that feels right for them.
How do you balance light weight and durability?
It’s really a combination of design, material selection, and shoe making techniques that prioritize those benefits. We tried many different upper materials, optimizing for abrasion resistance, breathability, comfort, and weight before settling on the mesh material we selected. The shoe was designed without overlays and features only one seam (in the heel under the TPU protective cover). The simplicity of this construction means fewer threads that can break and fewer parts to delaminate or fail. The upper pattern is printed directly onto the mesh, giving the shoe more body, reinforcement, and durability where it’s needed.
The sole is where we really put our work in. As the former president of Vibram USA, I learned a lot about making performance footwear soles over the years. Terraventure features aggressive, wide-breaking lugs for tricky downhills, stability lugs through the midfoot, and smaller sharper lugs with flex grooves in the forefoot to optimize uphill and sidehill traction. Each lug edge is chambered for mud/snow release and/or traction while maximizing rubber-to-ground surface contact. Our rubber compound is also critical, balancing the need for durability, slip resistance over a variety of conditions, and lightweight.
What type of testing was involved with the development of the Terraventure?
A small team at Topo and ‘friends of Topo’ who are passionate about trail running and hiking all tested the product (women and men). We went through four generations of sole development before settling on the final design and compounds. We tested prototypes in all different conditions and across different surfaces. We also tested our products against other top brands we respect before settling in on the final fit, upper, and sole specifications. The fine tuning, collecting feedback (good and bad), is really the exciting part for me – that’s when you start to know if you really have something, and with the Terraventure I think we do!
What’s your favorite part about running in the Terraventure?
This shoe was designed to tackle rugged conditions. Years ago, I was associated with the Leadville Trail 100 and learned a lot about the gear needed for tough Ultras (Editor’s note: Tony is a Colorado native and the co-founder of the Leadville Trail 100 mountain bike race). I always wanted to build a shoe like this, it’s like having the perfect tool to do the job — there are other good durable trail shoes out there, but fine tuning our fit while perfecting the product for all those extreme conditions is what I find satisfying. I hope others will have as much fun testing their Terraventures as I have! There’s always more we can learn and improve, so let us know what you think, good or bad – we love any and all feedback!
How do you balance light weight and durability?
It’s really a combination of design, material selection, and shoe making techniques that prioritize those benefits. We tried many different upper materials, optimizing for abrasion resistance, breathability, comfort, and weight before settling on the mesh material we selected. The shoe was designed without overlays and features only one seam (in the heel under the TPU protective cover). The simplicity of this construction means fewer threads that can break and fewer parts to delaminate or fail. The upper pattern is printed directly onto the mesh, giving the shoe more body, reinforcement, and durability where it’s needed.
The sole is where we really put our work in. As the former president of Vibram USA, I learned a lot about making performance footwear soles over the years. Terraventure features aggressive, wide-breaking lugs for tricky downhills, stability lugs through the midfoot, and smaller sharper lugs with flex grooves in the forefoot to optimize uphill and sidehill traction. Each lug edge is chambered for mud/snow release and/or traction while maximizing rubber-to-ground surface contact. Our rubber compound is also critical, balancing the need for durability, slip resistance over a variety of conditions, and lightweight.
Content adapted from an interview by Running Warehouse with Tony Post, which posted to their blog on Dec. 2. Click here for the full article.
I am close to the second part of the gr5 in france. Hope the mt2 does as good here as in the netherlands.
PS: ditch the lorem ipsum!