The Asics Metafujitrail is a performance shoe designed for hitting the trails at speed. It combines a full-length carbon plate with a noticeably high stack of FF TURBO and FF Blast Plus cushioning. That dual-layer foam is built to balance energy return and comfort while keeping the weight as low as possible.
The upper is made from a breathable NEXKIN mesh which aims to improve lockdown due to reinforced areas and Pebax yarn in the midfoot.
Check out the monthly podcast for the latest kit news and updates:
CHAPTERS:
00:00 – Intro
00:15 – Stats
00:27 – Design
01:06 – How’s The Fit?
03:00 – The Run Test
13:38 – Should You Buy It?
More ways to enjoy The Run Testers
Subscribe:
Follow Us:
Listen to The Run Testers Podcast:
Watch The Run Testers Shorts:
Some other videos you might find useful:
The North Face Summit Vectiv Pro 2 Review:
On Cloudsurfer Trail Review:
Saucony Peregrine 14 Review:
Asics Trabuco Max 3 Review:
Hey Tommy for other in testers in this Video we are going to be doing our full Review of The aex Meta Fuji Trail let's Have a [Music] Look the A6 meta Fuji Trail costs 220 or $250 it weighs 267 G or 9.4 o for men in A size 8 and the drop is £5 [Music] MM The aex Meta Fuji Trail is Performance shoe designed for hitting The trails at speed it does that by Combining a ful length carbon plate with A noticeably High stack of both FF turbo And FF blast plus cushioning that dual Layer foam is built to balance energy Return and comfort while keeping the Weight as low as possible the upper is Made from a breathable NEX King mesh Which aims to provide lock down due to Reinforced areas and paback yarn in the Midfoot on the out soole is a healthy Lay of the Brand's ax grip outsole Rubber for a high level of grip on both Wet and dry surfaces providing plenty of Durable ility there's also an extra Layer of rubber that's meant to shed Dirt and mud while also improving Traction when it comes to fit I tested My regular ax size which is a UK 8 and a Half and I found the fit nicely on point There's plenty of room up front in the Toe box for length and across the top of The toes great for longer run Adventures
Where Feet can swell and for Steep Downhills where you want to avoid your Toenails jabbing the end of the shoe It's easy to lock in the midfoot for a Good secure hold and I had no slipping Off the midsole on the rolling runnable Trails the heels also held well for me In those conditions though I found I had Some sliding forward on the very Steepest descent but thankfully nothing That was too troubling overall I was Happy with the fit and I would recommend Going true to size in The Meta Fuji Trail when it comes to the fit of the Aex meta Fuji Trail I've got my usual UK Size 9 here which is a US 10 for aex the Size I use across asx's Road and Trail Range and I've got a good fit with the Shoe got a good amount of room in the Toe box good hold around the heel and Midfoot I've not had any concerns about It rubbing or lifting at the heel or the Toe being a bit cramped when I'm on Downhills or anything like that so yeah All around I was happy the fit of the Shoe and I would stick to your normal Size the fit for me in the ax meta Fuji Trail I'm a size eight in the UK this is A size eight uh I found to be a very Comfortable shoe for uh performance Shoes so performance shoes you normally Expect them to be a little bit leaner on The upper so they give you a more um uh Controlled fit uh but there's definitely
A lot of room in this in in the for foot Of this shoe definitely in front of my Big toe and around the the front side of My uh foot got fairly average with foot So I don't tend to have many problems With mhu um but I did find this to be Nicely on the roomy side which is what You want when you're running trails Especially long distances when your feet Might swell up um there's plenty of Padding around the ankle collar as well Uh I found that the laces were very easy To do up and I do like this this lace Format similar to what you find on uh Some of the older alphafly versions um That it just means you can tie it really Nicely it doesn't it doesn't loosen up Or anything like that so uh yeah I Definitely say to my size in this shoe Found to be very very Comfortable I've done about 55 60k in The Meta Fuji Trail so far and that's Mostly been done on fairly tame Trails I Would say like this is not a shoe that I'd necessarily feel the most Comfortable taking on to very technical Trails especially as not the most Experienced Trail Runner I'm someone Does a lot of trail running but always On fairly you know well- Grom stuff here In the UK and that's where I've been Running on it mostly in my local Forest Bit of road to Trail some some muds some Twisting Forest pass with a bit of roots
And that kind of thing but no steep Technical descent or anything like that And like I said that wouldn't be this Wouldn't necessarily be the shoe that I Would pick for that kieran's done that Testing for us in the Lake District Taking that risk for all of us so yeah He'll have a lot more to say about that But mostly for me I just want to see how Fast and fun this feels when you are on More wroom trails and can really have a Go at running Speedy stuff which I've Done a bit in training also used it at Some slower speeds and actually found it Quite an enjoyable shoe for General Training like again on wroom Trails I Have not had any real stability concerns With it on that kind of stuff even as a Heel Striker and it's got a fairly soft And narrow Hill but if you on those World groom Trails I felt fine in it and Bombed down some descent in it but again On good paths I mean I wouldn't go Bombing down technical stuff in this Myself but I'm sure some Runners will be Able to do that out there and yeah I Really like the feel of the shoe it's Got a closer feel to Road Super Shoes Than the previous carbon trail shoes I've tested from Ax you get a more Responsive Lively feeling from that Midar with the carbon plate you Certainly feel the high stack and that Feels protective you know enjoyable
Bouncy all the things you kind of expect From a big super shoe with a carbon Plate in it it isn't as soft and Squishy And Lively as some trail shoes that have Come out in the past couple of years Like the hok Tex and X3 or the Adidas Terx agravic speed Ultra which have even More wild designs I say that really do Give you a lot of Bounce and a lot of Fun with their midsole this isn't asx's Latest midsole phone for the road and Obviously you got that dual density Effect in there to add a bit more Stability and for me that does tame the Ride down a little bit which is good for The trails but at the same time loses You some of that really explosive Pace That you can get from the best Foams in Road shoes but compromises have to be Made for the trails and this shoe hasn't Made that many but I think it maybe has Made a few more than something like the Adids or the H which have got those Midell Foams that deliver a bit more Bounce I said it certainly is a far shoe When do hit those nice runable stretches It feels good on the road as well it Grips well on wet surfaces if they're Hard I think the grip certainly comes un Stuck on anything too soft muddy Anything like that like the lugs are Quite widely spaced out they're not Designed to really bite into anything That is going to be you know too sketchy
Under Fon here in the UK it tends to Turn into a quog m my Forest as soon as Any kind of rain happens in the Autumn So yeah certainly shoe that's built for Certain conditions certain Trails if You're on them you can bomb along very Fast in the shoe and it's got a really Fun feeling I think it'll also be very Protective on those kind of runs over Longer distances like Trail marathons or You know pushing towards Ultra marathons But I do think there are limitations Here with the design that means it's Feels very sketchy on certain runs even If I've taken it on pretty mild single Track stuff in the forest it just feels A bit sketchy if you're running down a Hill and you you know you've not got a Very smooth surface to land on I think It can feel a bit kind of jarring and Worrying on that kind of thing and the Outsole I think is a little bit limiting As well in terms of the terrains that it Will grip well on feels like a shoe That's built for hard ground for sure Has an outo that can feel a bit like a Road shoe when you do hit anything Vaguely muddy but so it's a fun shoe That I've enjoyed running in but one That I think is probably a little bit Niche Okay so when I did the first run review Of this I talked about how it was better For running on softer ground uh got some
Comments about that what I meant when I Said softer ground was running on like Canal paths and Woodland paths and Things like that I meant as opposed to Like running on road and rock and and Stuff uh I think that since I have been Testing I've got up to about 70k in this Year so far uh and I've done it across Quite a lot of different uh terrains and What I found is that that midsole has Loosened up a little bit since I started Running in it um but I I think it's a Shoe that is um it's a bit of an Acquired taste this shoe I I often talk About how I think that um carbon plate Trail shoes are a little bit of a funny One um and I don't think many people Actually need them if you're a general Runner and you're going out and you're Doing nice comfortable Trail runs in the Hills and across fields and things like That and you're just enjoying yourself You don't need a car plate in your your Trail shoe you're not unless you're for Some reason trying to go really fast out On the Trails um you don't you don't Really need a carbon plate in the shoe Uh and to be honest I think a lot of uh If you you are running faster I think There's there's better options when it Comes to light faster shoes I think the Carbon plate does add an experience to These trail shoes which I'm not a Massive fan of I don't really run on the
Trails for Speed um even if I was racing Actually on a lot of the trails around The South Downs where I I I live I still Prefer to use a shoe that is a little Bit sturdier I don't necessarily need That carbon plate in there because most Most of the time I'm running on softer Ground and uh muddy ground and things Like that so um I'm not not massively um Swayed by uh C plate trail shoes uh but Uh I do think this is one of the better Versions out there so I've tried um a Few I've not tried the more recent tekon X3 I've tried the tecton and the tekon X2 I really like those shoes uh I think The reason I like those shoes is because Even though it's got a plate in it it's Very subtle um and you don't really Notice it it rides very much like the Speed goat which is natural enjoyable Shoe to run in um and it just sort of Delivers a the plate gives a bit of a Subtle benefit on the harder ground that That you run on uh this is a little bit More uh obvious the plate in it so when You're running out on the road it does Deliver a little bit like a road Performance shoe um but when you're out On the trails and you're running on that Sort of softer ground mud things like That it's not really designed for that You're not getting the benefit of the The carbon plate when you're running on Softer ground um but it's not a shoe
That's really designed for those sorts Of terrains anyway um I think the sweet Spot for this shoe is running along Hardened Forest paths Harden Canal paths Those sorts of things maybe through Forests in the US where it's nice and Dry uh and really you're just getting Almost like a road surface but with just A little bit more softness in it because That then the carbon plate has has a Value to it the other thing as well I I Nick talks about this is the stability Of this shoe it's quite a thin shoe um And if you are running on uneven terrain Um you don't really want a thin Trail Shoe because you know you can go over Quite easily um if it's a rachu fine Because you can you're flat you're Running on flat ground and you can Control it and you can see what's Goinging up in front of you um when You're on the trails bit riskier Especially with with midsole like this Cuz it's quite high midsole it's quite Thin midsole and it's not particularly Soft midsole so um for me there's a Sweet spot for this shoe and it is those Those those paths those American routes Through forests and things where it's Really nice and dry and you've got flat Paths in front of you I think that's What this this works really well for um I mean you can still find those sorts of Routes in the UK but you have to be
Quite lucky when you're doing it because Um most of the paths in the UK at some Point will get muddy uh and it's not a Shoe designed for wet ground uh muddy Ground because the outs soole on it it's Fine um if you're on fairly comfortable Paths um but as soon as it starts Getting wet or muddy or slippy there's Just not enough grip on it's very um Sporadically spaced around the the the The um lugs small sporadically spaced uh So I would definitely say that it's it's A shoe that is not particularly well Designed for most of the running that we Do in the UK I think there's a sweet Spot for this shoe um I think uh the the Benefits of the shoe are probably going To be on those sorts of terrain if You're running long distance and that's When that plate is going to kick in and You're going to start getting the Efficiency gains of that plate um and The FF turbo midell phone working Together so I do like it I think if You're using it on those specific Specific Trails um and I have had some Nice weather over the summer where I was Testing this the trails are great great That I was using for this it just felt Very nice I could have a nice Comfortable Pace but again I'm not Picking up I'm not going that fast in The shoe so it's I'm not really getting The benefits for it um but overall I
Think it's a solid shoe for that Niche Purpose but if you're looking at this And thinking I'm oh I want a new pair of Trail shoes and um I want something nice And comfortable for going for uh 10 20K Runs out in the out in the wilderness um And I want it to be comfortable you're Not going to get this because it's it's It's performance you so uh it's a Specific person that's going to buy this Now in testing I've covered close to 100 Miles in The as6 Meta Fuji trail that Includes a full marathon Race test on The runable mixed terrain of the New Forest marathon where I clocked to 308 a Course PB in this shoe plus I did a more Testing 8 Hour 55k Ultra at the five Valleys Ultra on the much steeper climbs And descents and more technical terrain Of the UK's late District The aex Meta Fuji has an easy light and Airy feel on The foot with plenty of room in the toe Box lots of wiggle room that makes it Really long haul Ultra friendly I found On that Ultra I also ran in 23° during That marathon and it's like these were Built for those conditions I also plowed Through loads of Puddles shindy mud and Bogs in the Lake District and even when They got wet they shed excess water and Mud quickly so I never felt way down in These shoes now perhaps unsurprisingly For a trail shoe that shares much of its DNA with a road carbon race shoe the aex
Metas Speed The aex Meta Fuji Trail I Think excels when you're attacking Tamer Runnable Trails on firmer ground it's Brilliant on light off-road River PS Groom gravel sections on single track Trails that aren't too steep anything Basically that's not too Technical and Doesn't require kind of rock solid grip When you're running that kind of Trail The big stack of energetic foam and that Carbon plate kicks in I think for an Incredibly energetic ride with all the Wild energy you're willing to risk Unleashing in fact the midell Performance I could outperform some Road Shoes on the tarmac during the road Trail marathon where I push close to my Road marathon pace it ran like an Absolute dream however when you hit the Steeper descents on ground that's less Certain that punchiness I think becomes A bit of a problem on the more uneven Grassy downhills of the Lake District or When you rarely get a reliable Landing Gravity has already got you struggling For control I the midle stack is simply Too high too unstable and too aggressive At least for me an averagely kind of Gifted downhill runner at times the shoe Left me feeling massively out of control Was a bit of a struggle now gifted Downhill Runners might be able to Control R it more but it's likely I Think to be too aggressive on those
Conditions for the majority of people Now the grip is excellent on the more Runnable terrain the 4 and 1/2 mil lugs Here nicely grippy for the flatter we Conditions at the New Forest Marathon Not too sticky when I ran on the bone Dry Trail and there shallow enough also To allow easy movement on the road but On the steeper slippier Downs wet rocks Grass surface mud I wanted more even on The wet grassy climbs I found my wheel Spinning sometimes my feet were slipping Back so I just found I wanted a bit more And obviously you've got quite shallow Lugs here so it's not entirely Surprising but yeah grip could be better If you're tackling you know really wet Or tricky Terrain okay my verdict on The aex Meta Fuji Trail uh I like it I think it's Very good for what it does I think I Lived in an environment where it was Nice weather all the time and there were Really flat enjoyable Forest paths and Canal paths and things that didn't have Mud on them and I wanted to run fast I Think it would be a great shoe U if I Was racing on those it's definitely a Shoe that I would pick if I I did um Longer distance races in that sort of Terrain because uh it works really well It delivers very similar to a Performance um Road shoe uh however for Most people you're probably not going to
Need a shoe like this unless you're You're racing on on those sorts of Trails I wouldn't use it on uh the Downs Where it's quite Rocky muddy wet um Because it's just I just doesn't have The grip or the support or the stability That I want from uh my trail shoes when I'm out there because I am liable to Fall over quite lot I do slip on things Um and I think this would be a little Bit of a risky shoe to use on there but Um if you if you are using it for the For all those sort of really nice paths In in nice weather and you're running Fast I think it's a very very good shoe I much prefer it to things like the Endorphin Edge which I found to be a Little bit of a clunky shoe didn't Really enjoy that too much it's quite Similar to it in a lot of ways um but I Think this is just a little bit feels a Little bit faster a little bit Nimble Than that shoe um but for me if I was Going to go for a performance level shoe Um out on the Trails I would go for the Tekon X2 haven't tested the X3 just Because it it's a bit wider it just Feels a little bit more subtle bit more Comfortable and you you can go easy in That shoe and and not feel like you're Losing out uh and you know lacking Stability in it um so for me I think the The the tecton range is probably better But I do think it's a good shoe if
You're using it specifically for the Purpose that I've stated verdict then This is an excellent turbocharged Trail Shoe that's ideal for fast runs on a Very specific type type of terrain Namely groomed off-road paths gravel Tracks and anything where there's a Certainty to your Landings it packs all The oomph of a road shoe and just enough Grip to handle less taxing trail Conditions Those runs and races where You wonder if you can get away with the Road shoe that's where this shoe will Work best anything too uneven that's Where it struggles for stability when You compare it to the more traditional Shoes like the Hocus speed goat 6 or a Metal agility Peak or an ax gel truko It's like a trail shoe on steroids There's a clear difference between these Punchier super foam races and the more Traditional Trail shoes now the ax meta Fuji Trail definitely drops into the mix With the hokan X3 the Adidas agravic Speed Ultra right up there with the best Faster Trail options trail shoes are Changing fast and while this isn't a Shoe I'd recommend for every Runner or a Shoe I'd choose first to run steep Technical terrain when the off-road is Runnable over almost any distance this Is a highly capable shoe that serves up A whole lot of fun so I did enjoy Running the aex meta Fuji Trail but it's
Not really one that I think I'd go out And buy myself in general carbon plate Trail shes I think have quite a niche Appeal and they have to really work in Certain ways so I think the ones that Probably work the best for me are the Ones that really go all out and create a Road Super Shoe like feeling for the Trails like the hch next3 or the Adas TX Agravic speed Ultra they're really fun To used to run in the bouncy they do Have stability concerns I do think the H Actually is pretty okay like for a very Pouncy and soft shoe like you can do Pretty well in that shoe I'd say I do Think the metap Fuji almost feels a bit More sketchy at times the way it kind of Jars on uneven descents in particular But the Adidas is you know very wild and With that narrow heel on that shoe I do Think that's again a bit concerning but Then you have rods in that shoe which Again gives you a little bit more Flexibility at sometimes so those shoes I think are probably out there and Better options if you do want that Really wild you know bouncy Super Shoe Feeling on the trails The Meta Fuji Isn't quite as good as those shoes but It does still have some of those Concerns I think that would make it Unsuitable for lots of Runners it isn't The most stable like I say it's built For certain terrains I think it can get
Away from you a little bit on the sense And while you know it's certainly very Fast and if you're on the right car of Terrain you're going bomb along a canal Toe path or that kind of thing feels Like a shoe that only really shines in a A fairly Limited of circumstances and That makes it tough to recommend unless You are really dialed into those Circumstances and know that's exactly What you want it might be a lot better Though if you are always on harder Ground you know in warmer countries and Most of your trails are much firmer but Even then if it's Rocky and uneven Rock I'd watch out for stability again with The shoe a little bit that's it from us On this review of The aex Meta Fuji Trail thanks a lot for watching don't Forget to like subscribe click that Little bell and if you're going to catch Me below you can find link to our Podcast which comes out a couple of Times each month thanks all for watching Catch you next time Oh
