The Trabuco Max 4 is a high stack trail shoe designed for comfort and protection on the trails. The chunky midsole is made from the brand’s FF Blast Eco foam to provide a balanced and cushioned ride, as well as minimise impact. It also includes an EVA sockliner for additional padding.
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JUMP STRAIGHT IN:
00:00 – Intro
00:13 – Stats
00:29 – Design
00:57 – How’s the Fit?
02:23 – The First Run Test
09:04 – Early Verdict
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Hey Tommy from the Run testers in this Video we're going to be doing our first Run of the aex drabo max 4 let's have a Look at this Shoe the aex truko max 4 costs £160 or $160 it weighs 311 G or 11 o for men in A size 8 the drop is5 mm and the lugs Are 4 Mm the ruko Max 4 is a high stack Trail Shoe designed for comfort and protection On the trails the chunky midsole is made From the Brand's FF blast Eco foam to Provide a balanced and cushioned ride as Well as minimize impact it also includes An Eva sock liner for additional padding That foam is covered by healthy layer of A6 grip outso rubber featuring 4 mm lugs To ensure a high level of grip on varied Conditions while the upper is made from An engineered jacked mesh to provide Structure and breathability F then and in testing I ran in a UK and A half a US 9 and a half and overall I Found the fit to be very good you've got An accommodating toe box with good Clearance for both length and across the Top of the toes I had no issues getting The midfoot secured the big padded heel Collars held me well enough and offer Really nice plush Comfort overall no Rubbing no worrying sort of Achilles Problems overall I think this is have Got a signs of a shoe that has the fit That should deliver good comfort for
Long Miles when you're cruising the Trails from what I've seen so far I Would recommend going through to size so Fit for me in this shoe is very Comfortable uh I'm size 8 in the UK this Is a size eight it's got a roomy shoe uh There's plenty of space before the big Toe and around the uh front section of The shoe um it's fairly relaxed fit Overall really um what i f found is that It was very comfortable from the off There's quite a lot of padding around it Um and uh it was pretty easy to get a Nice lock down fit I have uh read some Reviews that say there's an issue with The laces that make it difficult to get A a lock down F easily and you have to Double knot it or or use the um the Little lace Hoops in it um I didn't have That problem at all I what the first one I didn't it was a 30k run um up on the Downs and it felt very comfortable for The whole for the whole thing I had no Issues at all with this year so I Definitely stay to my size uh in the Truko max 4 so as I mentioned there my first run In the shoe was a 30k run um from my House across the South Downs um and it Was on very terrains so big chunk of it Was on quite muddy paths um it's quite Nice in the UK now but um a lot of the Trails uh especially the lower trails Are still very very muddy um so a lot of
It was on that then on the Downs it was Really dry there was lots of rocks Inclines uh I did about 500 MERS of Elevation on the Run uh I also did quite A bit on road as well so probably about 10k of that run was on road so nice test For this shoe I don't normally do that Big a run um with that very terrain on a First run but I'm marathon training at The moment um and thought I'd enjoy the Trails for a run um and what I found on It is that really comfortable enjoyable Run in this shoe um it it's quite risky Taking the trail shoe out for the first Time if you're going to do really long Run uh and I've made that mistake before Um but I was very happy with this for The whole run it was very very Comfortable uh had no issues at all with It um that midsole despite the fact that It's a really chunky uh mid this FF Blast plus um midell foam it it's quite Balanced midell foam it's not that soft Even though it looks like it might be a Big soft um bit of foam it's not it's It's quite um quite well balanced so um On the road sections it felt absolutely Fine it didn't feel like a really Squishy Max cushion shoe it felt like it Was nice and responsive there's a little Bit of a rocker in there it feels quite Nice um on the trail sections that works Really well you don't run a really soft Uh foam when you're running across soft
Ground especially when you're on like Fields and muddy sections so it was very Good at that um and I didn't have any Issues with it for that for that whole Run it felt like a really nice enjoyable Shoe to do that sort of run in the pace I was running out was pretty slow it was My um for for me I I was around 6 Minute Kmers um which included all the Elevation as well so it was a very Comfortable pace for me I wasn't running Fast in this shoe at all um and I think That's really what the shoe is designed For it's Comfort it's cushioning it's Impact protection all those sorts of Things um but it does feel very nice on The feet and when you're on the flatter Sections you can get a nice consistent Pace in it it doesn't feel like a Sluggish shoe doesn't feel like it's Sapping your end or anything like that Um so on the road sections felt great Felt very very comfortable rocker works Very well with it it's not the softest Shoe as as as I've said but it does um Feel very cushioned and comfortable as You're running on it so had no issues on The road sections um the uh muddy Sections I did struggle a little bit in This out soole uh on it um is pretty Good for sort of the wet Terrain on um On harder surfaces but when you're Hitting um puddles of mud um it's not Really designed for that it's if you're
If you're if you're planning on running Like the Lake District or something and It's wet as it normally is um when You're running up there um it wouldn't It's not a great outside for that it's Very much designed for a little bit Lighter Trails or lighter um weather Conditions when you're out running um so When I was in the running through those Puddles it was a bit slippy uh Everything else is absolutely fine up on The Downs which can be a bit Rocky There's fields on it um there's some Nice Trails on there as well but it's a Bit of a mix on the Downs felt Absolutely great had no issues across Any surface on the rockier services it Felt very protected um didn't have any Issues at all felt very comfortable Didn't feel like there's any rocks hit Pressing into me there's there's not a Lot of protection on the upper but it Does feel like quite a well protected Shoe because of all the cushioning so I Didn't feel like it um I I was I needed Any more protection on my feet on that Sort of Trail um so overall really Enjoyed that first run in it and um I Mean I do like a big stack shoe um but It's quite a stable shoe as well so um When you're running on an uneven terrain And it was quite uneven where I was Running on but absolutely great despite The big stack height it's still a very
Stable shoe quite solid base on it um Quite a wide base as well works really Really well so yeah really solid run in That in for that 30k that I did uh and Looking forward to doing some more runs In it so I've just done my first run in The ax JRA Buco Max 4 I've done 7 miles It's been a mix I did quite a good chunk Of muting here on the road and then I've Come into Richmond Park which you can See behind me here which is mostly kind Of runnable buffed out Trails like the ones that you can see Behind me here everything's pretty Runnable it's not very steep there was a Bit of mud and a bit of sloppiness a bit Of wet in places but it's kind of dry It's the kind of ground that you can Really run without thinking too much About where your foot placement is it's Not technical in anyway it's not Particularly steep although I have found A few short steep downhills just to see How the shoes hold up overall What I'm going to say about these when I First put them on on the road initially They felt quite firm they've softened up And I think this is a shoe that's going To break in nicely and then what you're Getting is a lot of cushion a lot of Protection from the trails and the roads Initially I thought with this wasn't Really a shoe that I would like to run On the roads but they have softened and
Even on this really kind of hard firm Stuff starting to get a nice kind of Cushioned responses good feedback from The shoes as well not totally devoid of Ground contact there a bit of energy to The flight foam blast plus midsole that You've got here there's a decent amount Of rock ring to help make the Transitions feel nice and smooth so the Other thing I'll say this has a wide Platform so everything feels nice and Stable you get stability with the Cushion it's not going to make it the Most precise shoe though and that's Going to be interesting I think when you Take it onto something where you need a Little bit more Precision you know you Got small places to put your foot on This runnable stuff where you don't Really have to worry too much that's Great it's ideal you know for this kind Of stuff it's been absolutely spot on It's felt smooth cushioned it's kind of On the heavier side to me it feels Firmer in the heel actually softer in The mid to 4ot so when you're Landing Further back or if you're on your heel It's actually quite firm when you land On the 4 foot there's softness so I Think that kind of helps with the Overall stability the heels there's no Wobble in them at all so when you land Further back you do feel like you're Getting a reliable foot placement it
Doesn't make for the softest cut of Cushion heel Landings but in a trail Shoe I think that's fine I quite like That overall the comfort's been good I Think they disappear nicely on the foot Plenty of room up front in the toe box The uppers feel nice Everything feels Well held I've had good lockdown all of That stuff's worked really nicely my Feet felt well cradled for that hour and 10 that I've run I've run them quite a Slow pace mainly I've been going at 8 Minute miles which so you know my sort Of faster Pace will probably be breaking Down towards the seven so I've been Cruising I guess and for that I think This shoe has a lot going for it it's Felt really nice really good as a sort Of easy run Cruiser just out to get my Head up today in the sunshine and it's Done a good Job quick First Impressions then and for That first run hour and 10 minutes 7 Miles I like what I've seen from the aex Gel truko Max 4 for a higher stacked Cushion Trail shoe good for cruising Lots of good Comfort lots of cradling on The foot it's cope with all the terrain That I've put it through so far lots of Runnable stuff though so nothing Particularly technical or tricky it's Been good for that on the road uh you Know even though it's a big cushion shoe I think it took a bit of breaking in so
I don't know yet whether or not it's Going to cope if you're thinking about Something that's a proper road to Trail Shoe but certainly on the buffed out Compact Trail where you're not worried Too much about precision and picking Your way through narrow bits it's been Absolutely cracking uh I've enjoyed it Good Comfort I think interested to test It more on on more tricky terrain but so Far from what I've seen grip's been good Although it's very dry those lugs are Made be a bit heavy for the road that's Part of that road feel as well but Overall I would say this shoe has quite A lot going for it I've been fairly Impressed but more testing as ever is Required before we give the final Verdict so my early verdict on the aex Jabuka max 4 is is what is what you'd Expect it's a big comfortable cushioned Um Trail shoe that really does a good Job if you're going out and you're Trying to just have a nice consistent Pace a nice enjoyable run um prolong Distances that that M works really well For a long distance run very comfortable On lots of different terrain if you're Going on hard surfaces absolutely fine It's it's a great job at that nice bit Of rocker action from it if you go in on Softer surfaces very good cuz it's quite It's a firmer midell than you'll get From a lot of shoes that have this level
Of Stack K in uh so overall I think it Is a really solid enjoyable uh shoe to Take out based off of that first run um And definitely something that if you're Looking for Comfort um and you want a Big sturdy shoe I think it do that but It's not a it's not a slug issue either It just feel like it's a little bit to It because that way that Midol and the And the rocket geometry Works uh it's Nice to maintain a nice paac in it so Yeah very much enjoyed that first run in It and looking forward to doing some More Trail runs in it soon that's it From us on this first run thanks lot for Watching don't forget to like subscribe And click that little bell and if you're Going to capatch blow you can find a Link to our podcast which comes out a Couple of times each month thanks lot For watching catch you next time
