The new ASICS Gel Trabuco 13 is a lower-to-the ground trail shoe built to tackle a wide range of terrain. It had some important updates from the Trabuco 12 with a tweaked midsole and some savings on weight. We’re in the process of testing whether they work. Ahead of the full review, Run Testers Kieran and Tom hit the trails for some early miles to find out how it holds up.
JUMP STRAIGHT IN:
0:00 – Intro
0:21 – Details: Stack height, drop, weight, price
0:51 – Shoe whip round
3:45 – First run thoughts
8:53 – First impressions verdict
10:51– Now watch this: North Face Vectic Enduris 4 First Run
Hey people welcome to the Run testers And to our first run look at the new aex Joel truko 13 this is a lower to the Ground Trail shoe built to tackle a wide Range of terrain it's had some important Updates from the truko 12 and we're in The process of testing whether or not Those updates are a success in the Meantime though here's our initial Thoughts after some early test Miles quick details then and the truko 13 packs 34 M on the hill it's got 26 M On the four fo from 8 mil drop it weighs In at 10.2 o or 289 G in my men's UK 8 A2 or us 992 that is slightly lighter Than your average Trail shoe of this Type and happily a little bit down from The weight of the truko 12 on price it's £40 in the UK it's going to cost you $140 in the US moving on to a quick shoe whip round Then and the truko 13 has a flight foam Blast plus ecofoam midsole that is the Same as you get in the aex metap Fuji Trail also the truko max 4 there's just Less of it it's also the Pham that we Used to get in Road aex road runners Like the older Genova blasts but this Foam or version of it is tuned for the Trails there's a more pronounced rocker Than we got on the truko 12 with changes To the curvature of the heel to make Things a little bit more Dynamic Particularly if you're Landing further
Back now speaking of heels you've also Got a heel insert here for more cushion And protection there is a thin Rock Plate as well to add some protection From the lumps and bumps coming up to This lower stack trailer up top you've Got mesh uppers that are nicely Breathable there's good Flex in them There is a gusseted tongue that's Trimmed down to save a bit of weight Though it's still nicely padded the heel Collars are really quite plush too Really kind of um decent cushioning There the toe box has some internal Reinforcement to protect against the Rocks and toe stubs you've got a rigid Heel counter that offers a bit of Support there's some handy details like You've got this heel tab here to yank Them on and off when they're muddy there Is a lace holder on the top of the laces Here to prevent flapping laces and to Keep those laces from coming untied when You flip them over you've got a really Good covering of ax grip for the outsole Rubber with 3 and 1 half mil lugs in a New lug pattern that's been updated from The truko 12 to improve the grip and the Traction the fit for me in the gel rco 13 I'm a size8 in the UK this is a size Eight um it's quite a roomy shoe Actually um around the for foot it's It's what you want from a trail shoe you Want a bit of extra space um so that
Your feet can expand a little bit when You're out running um and it definitely Does that very well there's a nice level Of space around the midfoot and the 4 Foot not loads of space before the big Toe but there's enough uh some people do Like to have a bit of extra space but I Found this absolutely fine I definitely Stay to my UK size 8 in this I think It's a very comfortable shoe plenty Space for me uh and it's quite a nice Bit of wiggle room for me and I've got Fairly average WID feet so um definitely Found it very comfortable and I would Say to my UK size 8 in this shoe so in Testing I ran in a UK and a half a US 9 And a half I found the fit to be very Good in the shoe you've got an Accommodating toe box you good clearance Lengthwise there's good clearance also Across the top of the toes the extra Structure here with that toe protection Also helps keep the offers off your toes I had no issues getting good midfoot Security good lock down here the big Padded heel collar held me well enough But nice and comfort The tongues have ample padding to allow For a good lace lock down and I think This has all the signs of a shoe that Should deliver good fit comfort for long Miles cruising the trails and from what I've seen so far I would recommend going Through to
Size so the first one I did in this shoe Was a five mile across uh the common Near my house so it wasn't loads of Elevation it wasn't very Rocky it was Basically lots of Muddy Trails Fields uh And a bit of Road as well to to get There and back um and I very much Enjoyed it for that run uh what i' what I've experienced on that run and I know It was I've not done loads of testing in The shoe it's just a a fairly Comfortable first run at a a a Consistent pace for me which is about 5 Minutes 25 5 minutes 30 minute Kilometers um really really nice on the Road sections this FF blast plus midso It's comfy um it does have uh a nice not Massive wedge of cushioning in it but it Does feel quite comfortable on the road Sections which isn't always the case uh When you're out running in trail shoes Um the on the um muddy sections on the Fields it it's got a nice balanced Midsole so that um what you don't want Is a really soft midsole when you're Running on soft ground because you're Losing all of the benefits of um and you Just sort of sink into the ground you Not really get anything back it doesn't Do that it's quite a nice sturdy Midol Foam that means that it you can pick up The pace nicely it's a very nippy shoe Um and it does feel very good on that Softer ground the drop is noticeable in
This so it's got this 80 mm drop in it Um and you can feel that when you're out In the run it feels like a shoe that's Designed for picking up the pace I Wasn't running particularly fast on that Run um but it does feel like a shoe that Is designed for being a bit nippier if You look at something like the um Trabuco Max 4 that's very much designed For Pure comfort and cushioning and um Just getting through the run in a nice Enjoyable way whereas this is designed To be a bit nippier um it's one of these Trail shoes like the paragen range that Sits in the middle nicely of lots Different things that you'd want from a Trail shoe it's it feels a bit lighter On the feet uh the midsole is very much Designed for versatility so it's good Across different um terrains but also is Designed to um allow you to do different Paces because it does feel like you can Pick up the pace quite nicely in this Shoe um the other thing I'd say about it As well uh the outsole uh is pretty good It's a fairly um competent outso when You're running on certain levels of uh Ground in the UK so running across Fields absolutely fine gripped perfectly In the mud um I was really ining quite Muddy puddles on that run um and boggy Areas it's it it's not really designed For that it's it's very much sort of Midlevel outsold that it can handle most
Stuff but once you start getting to the Really really muddy murky stuff and You're looking at something like a an Innovate shoe where it's got much bigger Logs and they're much pointier so you Really grips into that mud uh it's not Really great for that I did find myself Slipping a little bit in some of the Sections but it's fine for the majority Of it um you just probably wouldn't use It if you running in the winter in the Lake District or something like that um But overall on that run I thought it was Really really comfortable definitely a Shoe that sits in the middle of all Those different things you want from a Trail shoe it's a great shoe that you You can take out and do road to trailing To an extent I wouldn't do a lot of Road In this but I think it could handle Pretty well um a good few kilometers on Hard Road um because that mid soole can Handle it quite well so that first run Very much um very successful very much Enjoyed it and pretty much why expected From the uh gel truko range now for this First run I've done 7 and 1 half miles In the truko 13 as part of a 14 half Mile where I did roughly the first half In the truko max bigger cushion and then I changed shoes into the truko 13 which I'd carried in a pack I took them for Mixed terrain run on some lighter Runnable off-roads got compacted mud bit
Of gravel soft grass the odd bit of Sloppy mud through a couple of Puddles Kind of wet sloppy mud in small sections I also had a good section of Road Commute to get there none of this was Particularly steep or technical though It was all kind of runnable stuff now it Was really interesting switching from The bigger stack heavier and more Cushion truko Max into the shoe I was Worried about the more direct ride Particular for the second half of that Run that you might have from the truko 13 but it might be a struggle on tired Legs but I immediately felt the truko 13's comparative lightness and Agility You certainly feel more of the ground Coming up you can more connected with The trail that lower stack really Delivers that kind of ride it's quite Direct but it's not devoid cushioning Though now a lot of trails are deploying Bigger wider Stacks Under Foot and I Like the fact that truko remains kind of Pretty precise there's a bit of Pop to The ride too I immediately wanted to run Faster in the shoe when I put them on More so than I'd found in those first Seven odd miles in the max 4 I felt Lighter more energized I felt a bit Freer underfoot and based on my first Miles in both shoes I think if I was Going shorter faster or more technical Terrain I'd probably choose this shoe
The truko over the truko max 4 now the Grip in the dryer conditions I ran was Excellent no problem there maybe a Little sticky for some of the road Sections where that combines with the Firmness of the mid Soo more but it is An okay shoe for the commutes I think if You're picking your feet with a high Turnover so you're not feeling too much Kind of hammering coming up Through First Impressions denim from Those initial miles I like what I saw in The truko 30 13 I think maybe even more Than I did with the truko max 4 but then I tend to lean towards shoes that maybe Sacrifice a bit of cushion for some Precision and Agility there's a balance To this truko 13 that sort of Treads That line between just enough cushion Just enough ground contact plenty of Control nice bit of precision now I'm Not the fastest runner on the trails but This for me feels like I could use it For faster miles but also drop back to Some easier Paces too not as comfortable And protective as a truko Max 4 but over It feels like a good reliable midweight Trail shoe that offers good versatility That said I really want to push it to a Two to three hours on feet run to find Out if it has enough underfoot to handle Those longer days on the trail we'll do More of that in the main review when That lands but so far I think the truko
13 has all the Hallmarks of a much Improved versatile Trail shoe at what Looks to be a happily comparative and Competitive price so my early verdict on The aex gel tribo 13 I think it's um It's not a Rising shoe I haven't tried The previous version of this but I did Expect it to be like this it it's Similar to something like the paragen It's that sort of um midlevel Trail shoe That gives you the ability to do quite a Lot of things it's quite versatile it's Comfortable it's got enough cushioning To do a nice and easy run on it you can Go on roads all those sorts of things It's very balanced Trail shoe that ticks A lot of boxes um and really there's not There's not really any downsides to the Shoe it's sort of ticks off everything That I want from a shoe the only the Only thing that I would flag is just the Outso is not great for really boggy mud But a lot of people wouldn't think about Using that for those sorts of um those Sorts of trails anyway so yeah Successful first run definitely going to Be using a lot more over the coming Weeks um as I hit the trails more as it Gets a bit warmer so that's been our First run look at the new aex Joel truko 13 hope it's been insightful give us a Like if so if you're not subscribed to The channel we'd absolutely love it if You do us that honor if you're in the
Market for a good trail show I'm going To pop two vids up on the screen Somewhere about now that you should go And watch otherwise thanks as ever for Stopping by and until next time happy Running people
