Topo Athletic MTN Racer 4 Review

The Topo Athletic MTN Racer 4 is for you if...

You want a trail running shoe for fast-paced training or shorter races. 

You prefer a roomy toe box with a supportive midfoot and heel. 

You are looking for an uptempo trail shoe that can handle various terrain. 

What is the Topo Athletic MTN Racer 4 made for?

Topo Athletic developed the MTN Racer to do just that—race through the mountains with speed and comfort. It entered the market as a new option for faster trail running, offering more cushioning and an aggressive lockdown for runners to feel secure on various terrain. With some mechanical tuning along the way, the MTN Racer has kept true to this mission of comfort, durability, and traction for rugged uptempo runs. 

With the MTN Racer 3, we saw some new materials incorporated into the shoe, but many agreed that the midfoot felt roomier than before, leaving much to be desired for achieving a snug fit necessary for speed. Now, with the MTN Racer 4, this has been addressed forthright with a slimmer midfoot and new heel construction, while still keeping that roomy anatomical toe box. In addition, Topo has elevated the underfoot cushioning with an FKT insole, made with water-resistant foam beads for efficient drainage and higher rebound.  

Topo has kept the midsole and outsole configuration from the previous version, including its comfortable ZipFoam and durable Vibram® Megagrip. Because of its generous toe box and being slightly heavier for a fast shoe, the MTN Racer 4 shines at faster training paces, giving you great security and groundfeel to fly across the trail when you’re out on your next adventure.

Comfort

The midsole and outsole blend gives a ride that is simple yet comfortable. The upper fits securely without feeling too tight or restrictive, and it was nice and breathable when running in hotter weather. We felt very connected to the ground in this shoe, which was great on some more uneven trails. 

Performance-focused shoes typically don’t have a ton of cushioning, and this shoe strikes a happy medium between not too clunky and not too minimal. If you are looking for the most plush underfoot experience possible, you may prefer a max-cushion trail shoe instead of the MTN Racer 4. With that said, this shoe has also gained about 1 ounce from the previous version. While this isn’t the lightest trail racing shoe on the market, we still felt we were able to pick up the pace on our day-to-day trail runs.

Performance

Even with “Racer” in the name, we found these shoes to be versatile in trail performance, from slower training runs to quicker paces.  We took these shoes on a few different types of trails, including more technical terrain and elevation changes, and felt connected and supported, with a get-up-and-go feel. When we wanted to go faster, we felt a nice responsive acceleration. The outsole was grippy on all kinds of terrain, and the lugs were great in wetter muddy areas, although we did find it was tough to get the mud out afterward.

Fit

Redesigning the fit was the main focus in this update, and it has paid off. Out of the box, we were very happy with the fit and feel of this shoe over a variety of paces and terrain. The upper feels secure in the midfoot and hugs all the right places, while still giving you good room to flex in the forefoot. The heel felt secure, the arches locked in perfectly, and there were no hotspots, irritation, or any other concerns from the get-go. We were also able to wear medium thickness trail socks without needing to size up.