gabby
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Post by gabby on Jul 17, 2024 8:42:27 GMT -8
Saw someone on YT who raved about a TOPO ( Tony Post) Athletic Shoe Company shoe - I think it was the Pursuit model. He said he was a devotee of the Altra Lone Peak, but had switched to the Topo shoe. A quick look at Topo's models led me to the Trailventure 2,  which was on sale (in the color above) at Amazon for $77. I bought it, and I've worn it a couple of times walking hereabouts, and I like it: big wide toebox (like the Altra LP), Vibram sole, rock shield in the sole (like the Brooks Cascadia) and amazingly cool color. (If I ever drop mustard from an overloaded wiener on 'em, they won't even need cleanup!) :^D Feels good, seems nicely supportive and I don't feel rocks underfoot unless they're very large. I was going to add a post to this thread because there was some discussion of the Lone Peak there: "my take on the best hiking boots in the market"But that thread was created by someone doing a driveby, so I figured I shouldn't revive it. |
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rebeccad
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Writing like a maniac
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Post by rebeccad on Jul 17, 2024 18:45:17 GMT -8
I got a pair of Topo running shoes a couple years back and like them pretty well. They have enough heel lift not to irritate my PF and a very roomy toe box, something else I need more and more these days.
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Post by downriver on Jul 17, 2024 20:08:20 GMT -8
Nice color scheme. Excellent price, too. Vibram soles and a rand, too. It’ll be interesting to see how well they hold up. What’s the heal drop on them?
Happy Trails,
DR
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cweston
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Post by cweston on Jul 18, 2024 4:39:05 GMT -8
Aside: I was surprised to find praise in the body of the post, after the subject heading referred to the brand as “cockeyed.”
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Post by leadbelly on Jul 18, 2024 10:22:59 GMT -8
good color for a pittsburgh steelers fan.
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gabby
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Post by gabby on Jul 18, 2024 16:40:01 GMT -8
Aside: I was surprised to find praise in the body of the post, after the subject heading referred to the brand as “cockeyed.” Granted, it was perhaps a poor choice of words. I guess I might’ve used “damned“, but that would’ve been changed to “darned“. (I guess.) I was basically referring to the garish color scheme (Yeah, I could’ve been more specific), and the fact that there seem to be so many different brands of shoes these days, most of which I have never heard of. Back in the day, when I worked as a programmer, everyone used to refer to anyone’s latest announcement of a new favorite scripting language (PERL, Ruby, Python, Lua, VBA, etc., etc. — the list is endless) as a YASL: “Yet Another Scripting Language”. But I “wax nostalgic” … |
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gabby
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Post by gabby on Jul 18, 2024 19:57:59 GMT -8
What’s the heal drop on them? 5 mm |
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driftwoody
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Post by driftwoody on Jul 19, 2024 21:31:48 GMT -8
I tried on a pair of TOPO's at REI a couple years ago (don't recall the model but it was very much like the one in the pic).
I liked it a lot, but just couldn't get it locked in to avoid heel slippage.
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gabby
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Post by gabby on Jul 21, 2024 13:17:35 GMT -8
I tried on a pair of TOPO's at REI a couple years ago (don't recall the model but it was very much like the one in the pic). I liked it a lot, but just couldn't get it locked in to avoid heel slippage. I’ve done ~30 miles total in the boots so far this week and I haven’t had any problems. But everyone is different! HYOH, YMMV, etc. ;^D I’ll be trying the low quarter Topo Traverse in the next week or so. I’ll let you know how it goes.  |
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gabby
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Post by gabby on Jul 21, 2024 17:59:29 GMT -8
I’ll be trying the low quarter Topo Traverse in the next week or so. I’ll let you know how it goes. I'm completely aware that personal experience - especially insofar as clothing (and esp. shoes/boots) goes - is only marginally useful to others, but I actually did wear the Topo Traverse (for the very 1st time) for my workout today. That consisted of walking for 6 miles, albeit on my treadmill, at ~3 mph. (Treadmill miles and times are, as I'm sure you know, not comparable to miles on terra firma, in "real" conditions of heat, wind, rain and so forth. And, yeah, it actually rained today: in Texas, in July - go figure. The reason I was on the treadmill in the first place.) However, I didn't experience any problems with heel slippage on this shoe (the one pictured in the post above), but that very likely has a great deal more to do with my anatomy and my predilections and habits in shoe wear (vs. yours or anyone else's) than it does the characteristic performance of this particular shoe. I found the Traverse to be, in this very short test, as comfortable as the Trailventure 2 (mid). Solid shoe with what I see as good support and a nice wide toebox. YMMV. :^) FYI: I tend to resort to the same insoles I wear in all my shoes to walk (cheap grocery store foam deals), and I always wear synthetic fabric toe sock liners to prevent chafing and blistering under my Thorlos or Darn Toughs. (Mostly Thorlo maximum pad Basketball socks, FWIW. I have very, very bad feet!) ETA: I'm not trying to sell this brand, and I have no monetary interest whatsoever in the company. Just passing info. As usual, the best assessment of shoes/boots is that of the person who will wear same. :^) |
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Post by downriver on Jul 23, 2024 16:46:11 GMT -8
I’ll be trying the low quarter Topo Traverse in the next week or so. I’ll let you know how it goes. I'm completely aware that personal experience - especially insofar as clothing (and esp. shoes/boots) goes - is only marginally useful to others, but I actually did wear the Topo Traverse (for the very 1st time) for my workout today. That consisted of walking for 6 miles, albeit on my treadmill, at ~3 mph. (Treadmill miles and times are, as I'm sure you know, not comparable to miles on terra firma, in "real" conditions of heat, wind, rain and so forth. And, yeah, it actually rained today: in Texas, in July - go figure. The reason I was on the treadmill in the first place.) However, I didn't experience any problems with heel slippage on this shoe (the one pictured in the post above), but that very likely has a great deal more to do with my anatomy and my predilections and habits in shoe wear (vs. yours or anyone else's) than it does the characteristic performance of this particular shoe. I found the Traverse to be, in this very short test, as comfortable as the Trailventure 2 (mid). Solid shoe with what I see as good support and a nice wide toebox. YMMV. :^) FYI: I tend to resort to the same insoles I wear in all my shoes to walk (cheap grocery store foam deals), and I always wear synthetic fabric toe sock liners to prevent chafing and blistering under my Thorlos or Darn Toughs. (Mostly Thorlo maximum pad Basketball socks, FWIW. I have very, very bad feet!) ETA: I'm not trying to sell this brand, and I have no monetary interest whatsoever in the company. Just passing info. As usual, the best assessment of shoes/boots is that of the person who will wear same. :^) The low quarters look good, too. Heck, if I can find them for a low price I might try them. I do prefer a higher drop, though. I’m also interested to see how they perform on trail as I am interested in their durability. Looking forward to your report & updates…! Happy Trails, DR |
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gabby
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Post by gabby on Aug 11, 2024 10:49:45 GMT -8
Now it's the middle of August. I've been going out in the early morning and at night (illegally,FWIW - parks around here are "restricted use" after sunset) doing about 4 miles each day - sometimes slightly more. The shoes (Topo Trailventure 2, Trailventure 4 and Traverse) are, IMHO, doing great. Still comfortable, flexible and don't pinch my feet, even though they're all "right out of the box".
But ... it has come to my attention (both from the wife, who got a pair of Trailventure 2s, and at least 2 or 3 reviews online) that the "ballistic rock shield" in these shoes is just too much for some people. (Everybody is different, esp. when it comes to clothing and even more so with shoes.)
I find them perfectly okay with a decent cushioning insole, but YMMV (of course). I haven't put enough mileage on these shoes to make any assessment of durability, etc.
More later on (I hope: there are still days when I wonder if there'll be a "later on".) :^) But you can't worry about that stuff, can you? I keep thinking what my doctor says when I ask him what I can do to improve my (diet, exercise, etc.): he always says something like: "what you're doing got you this far, you're in reasonably good health with no huge problems - why change anything now?" So, until I feel some worse, just keep on trucking along. :^)
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