We bought a pair each of these remarkable shoes about six weeks ago. I guess we have by now worn them a few hundred kilometres including in our ascent of Mt Bartle Frere in Qld back on 1st September, and of course we have been wearing them around the farm on our steep wet slippery slopes. We have never fallen over once. These are just about the grippiest, most comfortable and certainly the lightest shoes we have ever owned. Mine weigh 290 grams and Della’s were under 230 grams.
They need a good wash but are completely unmarked and have no sign of wear at all. I was a little worried about their ‘flimsiness’ in rough going, but they make you so light on your feet it is so much easier to put your feet where they should go, you do not hurt your feet at all. Heavy boots need all that cushioning because you have so much less control when wearing them. As a hunting shoe they are excellent because you can walk so softly and quietly in light shoes.
Probably one of the best features of these shoes for us is that they are a wide fit. Pretty much the only other shoes I can wear are Keens in a half size. These Topos are if anything even more comfortable for our wide feet than the Keens. They are particularly gentle on our feet when going downhill when you suffer the most damage to your toes in poorly fitting shoes. .
Mine:
Della’s:
These shoes have a fully welded construction such as I discuss here. In the case of these shoes it works out much better than sewn construction. So far these shoes are bulletproof. You must understand this: I have a huge box of completely unsatisfactory shoes I have bought over the years and have been able to wear approximately once. These shoes are so vastly different I extremely doubt that you will be wasting your money on a pair. If you are in Melbourne you may be able to buy one of the Topo model shoes as I did from https://backpackinglight.com.au
We bought them from Injinji (below), whose delivery and customer relations are unsurpassed. Highly recommended. We chose shoes size exactly the same as we would have worn in Keen and they fitted perfectly. The thinner material of these shoes mean they have more give than the majority of shoes, so they are dramatically comfortable.
Specs:
‘The Terraventure pushes the limits of lightweight performance and rugged durability. This platform features an aggressive lug design providing better traction and mid-foot stability. A flexible ESS forefoot rock plate protects the foot from stone-bruising while the ghillie lacing system insures a secure midfoot fit.
- // 6 mm rubber outsole
- // 14 mm (heel) // 11 mm (ball) midsole
- // 5 mm footbed
- // Total stack height 25 mm x 22 mm (3 mm drop)
- // Weight: 294g. (size 9)’
If you really ‘need’ a waterproof shoe, Topo have such a model: https://www.injinjiperformanceshop.com.au/collections/topo-athletic-footwear/products/topo-hydroventure-mens – and it only weighs275 grams (Mens US size 9)
PS: I have tried a couple of other brands of ultralight shoes, for example a pair of Inov8s which weighed less than 200 grams. They were incredibly grippy but did not give the same amount of cushioning as my Topos. They may work quite well for you but they were much too narrow for me. My feet overlapped them which caused considerable discomfort so I had to abandon them.
See Also:
https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2017/10/11/topo-terraventure-shoes/
http://www.theultralighthiker.com/2016/05/03/keen-shoes/
http://www.theultralighthiker.com/ultralight-shoes/
http://www.theultralighthiker.com/foot-care/
http://www.theultralighthiker.com/why-you-should-get-your-feet-wet-when-hiking/
Hi Steve,
I bought a pair of topo’s after reading your review. I couldn’t get the terraventures in the store I went to but they had MT-2’s so I purchased them instead. Very uncomfortable on my arches initially but once I got used to them I absolutely loved them. After that I found a pair of terraventures discounted online so purchased them also.
I found the terraventure’s less comfortable as my toes seem to get squashed in the foot box on steep terrain unfortunately.
My MT-2’s have done a few km’s now though and the one thing I’ve found is they do not like water. To be fair I hunt a lot of rivers (ford through and sometimes walking in the river) and they have been extensively wet for prolonged periods. In less than 6 months the lower has detached and curled away from the upper causing them to badly rub and irritate my little toe. It’s also starting to detach on the outside in a few places, so consider that the welding construction may not hold up well when wet a lot. considering my rough use they only have a few holes in the mesh and overall I’m happy with them.
Just a word of caution if they are going to get wet a lot it may be something to consider for a prospective purchaser.
Thank you for that review Scott. I’m sure others will appreciate it. I thought I had specifically recommended such light shoes only for track walking but for hunting I guess the lighter your shoes are the more carefully you will have to go so you don’t hurt your feet so the quieter you will be – so you will see more of the quarry!I hadn’t really thought of that aspect. i was thinking more of not wanting to have injured feet far from a track or vehicle. I usually use Keens for hunting. They are not the ‘bee’s knees’ but practically nothing else fits my very wide (toes particularly) feet. Perhaps try a pair of Targhee 2s for hunting. Cheers, Steve.