Asics Metafuji Trail 2 is a rocket on gravel, but a risk on real mountains

Introduction to the Asics Metafuji Trail 2

REESE: I have a pretty rough history with the Metafuji Trail. I honestly wanted nothing to do with reviewing this shoe. In 2023, while testing the first iteration of the Asics Metafuji Trail, I snapped my ankle while running in the mountains. This wasn’t your average ankle twist. This was the kind of twist where my ankle hit the ground, I heard a pop, and then I heard myself yell, at the top of my lungs, expletives. I couldn’t put much or any weight on it as I hobbled back to the car, and then my ankle ballooned up to softball size — a dark blue and purple softball.

I thought that once my ankle healed, I’d be back to my normal, stable ankle self. That has not been the case. My ankle has never been the same. To this day, it is swollen, and I never go on a trail run without taping my ankle. I’ve sprained it four more times since. And before the Metafuji Trail, I had never sprained my ankle. So, needless to say, my interest in giving this shoe a second chance was low.

I committed to running the second version first on gravel roads before I’d take it anywhere near an errant rock. Just to be sure. I was willing to give it a second chance, on my terms.

RENEE: I didn’t run in the first version of this shoe, so I had no preexisting trauma or anxiety about rolling my ankles. Although looking at the stack height, such fear is understandable, and my body must store some fear of falling while running. During high mileage weeks, I often have mini nightmares about falling while running, and I wake up with my legs moving. It’s weird. Let’s not analyze it.

I haven’t had any of my “falling” nightmares recently because it’s summer. And it’s hot. Like really hot. And the humidity is gross. All of that adds up to me not running my usual mileage and being cheap with speed workouts. I haven’t felt like using the treadmill to avoid the heat, so dare I say I’m getting even slower than I already was, thanks to aging. I’ve been running, just slower than I prefer.

Then this shoe arrived. And I felt fast. And I ran fast. Everything a mediocre runner wants from a super shoe, I was getting from this shoe. And for consumers, that’s what I want to know about a super shoe. Sure, it works for elites. And fast people. But how about the common folk who cringe at spending $280 for one shoe?

TAYLOR: My job here is to basically echo everything the ladies have already said.

So, in duty to my fellow reviewers, here we go.

As Reese iterated, the first version of Asics Metafuji Trail was a glorified, albeit very good, gravel racer that was a bit scary to take on anything even a little bit technical. I was delighted to see that Asics didn’t completely abandon its initial design, and I was even more ecstatic when it was easy to tell that the Asics Metafuji Trail 2 was going to be a much more functional racer for the trails.

And to riff on Renee’s intro, I’ll take altitude over humidity on most days of the week, and it has been a long time since I’ve had a falling while running or missing the start of the race dream. What does that say about our current state of psyche?

Before I follow this rabbit trail too far, let’s get to the shoe.

What we like about the Asics Metafuji Trail 2

REESE: I’ll eat some humble pie on this one. Just one serving. I’m still a little skeptical, but I really enjoyed running in this shoe. I’ve actually been reaching for it long after I’ve wrapped up my testing miles in it. However, I do need to say that I haven’t taken it on crazy technical trails. I simply am too scared or traumatized by the first iteration. I’ve put this shoe into the “works really well on flowy trails and gravel paths” category. I realize it can be a UTMB shoe, but for me, and my ankle health, I’m keeping it more mellow.

The midsole is the real shining star here. On the first run or so, I was undecided about it, but as I logged more miles, the foam softened slightly, and I fell in love with its feel. Asics has sandwiched an X-shaped carbon plate between their light and bouncy FF Leap and FF Blast Plus foams. It’s a nice Goldilocks-type feel, not too soft that the material is unstable or floppy, but not too rigid that it hurts your feet or is a limiter in how long you can run in this shoe.

I loved the ride of this shoe. It felt so fast. The carbon plate stiffened the midsole just enough to give a nice push-off and rebound, but the FF Leap right underfoot softened the harshness that carbon plates often impart.

The upper of this shoe is lovely. An integrated tongue and booty that is lightweight, breathable, and comfortable? Say less. But when I saw the laces, I could hear my eyes rolling. Ugh. No. However, these laces are the least offensive drawstring laces I’ve used. Now, I’d love the option to cut them out and put in normal laces, which I suppose I could do, but as is, the system is simple and stays (mostly) put. I did encounter some weird tightness where it cinches for the first few steps, but it sorted itself out quickly. Again, post-testing, I’d probably just put in normal laces if I got annoyed, but right now I’m fine with these.

The fit of the shoe is quite nice. It sounds like Renee and I have similar foot shapes: low-volume feet with narrow heels. So we both loved how this shoe hugged our feet.

RENEE: Let’s start with the upper. A booty-type upper hardly ever works well for me. I prefer laces and a traditional tongue so I can adjust the lockdown where needed. I reviewed the Kiprun Kipsummit Race, and although it has laces, it’s still a booty upper. I couldn’t get a good lockdown; the material folded over itself above my midfoot, and the shoe felt chunky, especially given the rigid ride. The Metafuji Trail 2 upper fits me like a glove. I have low-volume feet and a narrow heel, and this upper is perfect for me.

Yes, the toebox is angled, not my preference. However, this allows a solid forefoot landing on uneven terrain, and for the shoe’s purpose, I wouldn’t change the fit. Bonus: the lace garage actually works. I struggle with some of the Salomon garages. The placement and ease of the garage here is the quickest and easiest I’ve experienced.

Underfoot, the midsole feels better with more miles. The insole doesn’t look special, and it has no arch support. I thought I’d switch it out, but after 30 miles, I realized the insole breaks in and lets the midsole mold to my foot. The shoe feels aggressive initially and becomes more flexible mile after mile. From the forefoot landing, the ride is fast, similar to the adidas Agravic Speed Ultra 2, but more controllable thanks to a more secure upper fit.

The Metafuji Trail 2 is one of the lightest super shoes in its category. In terms of sizing, the Metafuji is slightly shorter than the Agravic Speed Ultra 2 in the same size. I have half a size smaller in the Metafuji than I wear in the Asics Metaspeed Sky+. I could half size up to help with the angled toebox, but I’d lose some control on the tricky downhills.

My first run with the shoe was a slow three hours, in the heat, and this is not a slow shoe. While not the ideal slow run shoe, it’s still comfortable. If you’re a mid- or back-of-the-packer and know you’ll have a few hours of slow paces worked into an ultra, the Metafuji will work. The shoe does feel better at slow paces with more miles, so I suggest running at least fifty miles (I have 62 miles while writing this review) before using it as a race shoe (if you’re slow like me).

Of course, fast is the goal here. And I felt fast in the shoe during speed workouts. From sprint intervals to longer threshold intervals, the shoe worked for me and with me, even on the climbs. All of my workouts in this shoe had me thinking my GPS wasn’t working. What a great feeling. And if you need to walk up inclines, the shoe is a more comfortable option than the Agravic Speed Ultra 2.

TAYLOR: What do you want in a race day option? For me, the ideal is going to be lightweight, fast-feeling, efficient, and fun. That’s a major wishlist that switches priorities depending on the race. The Metafuji Trail 2 checks all of those boxes — at least to an extent.

For starters, the whole shoe feels lightweight. The fit and materials are perfectly conducive to the shoe feeling like an extension of the foot. It does take on a slim, trim attitude all around. Depending on your foot shape, that could be fantastic, or it could completely disqualify you from grabbing this shoe.

My foot is on the wide end of average. From the heel to the toe, it felt slim. At the same time, I had nearly zero issues with foot comfort besides the occasional forefoot pinch that definitely depended on the angle of footstrike. Overall, I found myself more pleased than anything. The technical Motion Warp upper and comfortable knit tongue/collar created a very nice silhouette conducive to that next-to-skin feel and agility.

Underfoot was basically the same story, as Renee and Reese mentioned. It’s an airy, snappy, speedy ride. The dual foam layer worked seamlessly with the FF Leap top layer, providing noticeable comfort, cushioning, and responsiveness, while the underlying FF Blast Plus added a lightweight, supportive layer to balance the inlying X-shaped carbon plate. Admittedly, it wasn’t as energetic as the first version, but I’ll take a cut in that department for the resultant trail usability.

This shoe shone most on smoother singletrack, gravel, and road-to-trail scenarios. It was also super efficient for uphill running.

Even though the Asics Metafuji Trail 2 has a slim outsole profile, it isn’t unstable. Surprisingly, it was very neutral. I cannot recall ever rolling my ankle, and only once was I wobbly from a downright rear heel landing.

Underfoot, the Asicsgrip 3.5mm lugs rocked. Grip was fantastic in most dry and wet conditions, with the only real limiter being softer conditions with mud or sand, where the lugs can’t dig deep enough. I’m really happy with the durability of the outsole, too.

What we don’t like about the Asics Metafuji Trail 2

REESE: The outsole of this shoe, combined with my total fear of taking this on technical terrain, combined with the shape and stack height of this shoe that backs up said fear (well beyond my history with it), puts this shoe in the gravel or gravel-adjacent category. The Asicsgrip outsole and the 3.5mm lugs feel a bit lackluster. Even running on loose gravel or crusher paths, I could feel some slipping.

The shape of the shoe, while it fits my foot well and adds more stability to this platform than the first version, did take a little getting used to. The tapered toe box forced me to really push off from my big toe, which sounds silly, but if you’ve got rigid or inflexible big toes like this old lady, well, that’s gonna present a little bit of a problem. The joint in my right toe would get sore mid-run in this shoe. The left, however, was fine, as my ankle is so jacked up on that side that I supinate pretty heavily. Guess there was some benefit to permanently messing up my ankle.

Obviously, whether the taped toe box is good or bad for you really depends on your anatomy. For me, I needed to run in this shoe every other day to avoid overstressing my toe.

RENEE: The shoe is all good news until it isn’t. The type of terrain the shoe can handle depends on the runner, and for my mediocre abilities, it’s tricky on loose rock, especially on downhill sections. The ride and midsole aren’t the issue; it’s the height and 3.5mm lugs. Advertised for highly technical terrain, the shoe will be best for groomed, well-maintained trails, not for singletrack covered in rocks or debris.

The shoe is great for rolling gravel and service roads, but I’m of the camp that a road shoe can be a lighter, faster option for those miles. For constant switchbacks, foot placement is tricky, and at my skill level, I need to be slow and cautious, which negates the purpose of a super shoe. The On Cloudultra Pro is a better option for me on that type of terrain, but it’s not nearly as fast a shoe. The New Balance SC Trail 2 is also a more approachable super shoe for mediocre runners, but it doesn’t have nearly as much stack for ultra distances and isn’t nearly as fast a shoe. The upper of the Metafuji Trail 2 worked great for me, but the fit will likely be constricting for high-volume feet and those needing a wider toe box.

TAYLOR: For better and worse, the Asics Metafuji Trail 2 has a very different build from most ultra race day options out there. I gave a lot of positives above, but my negatives will be wrapped up in fit and function.

I would set a ceiling of “moderately technical” terrain, and it would operate best within a timeframe of 15 minutes to a handful of hours.

Listen, I know Tom Evans won UTMB in this shoe, and I know Ben Dhiman also kicked some major butt with an iteration of this. In the landscape of trail racers, this just isn’t a mass-appeal ultra racing shoe. You’ll need to have a slimmer foot to be in this one for hours on end. It feels (generally) too aggressive a shoe for UTMB, Hardrock, and the like of these beautiful technical mountain races.

While I can get along with the fit for hours on end, it is ultimately the forefoot rigidity that will limit the terrain for the Asics Meteafuji Trail 2. I’m around 170-175 pounds. Anything off-camber or misangled came at a price. There was very little forgiveness that would allow for really fine-tuned movements. That’s one of the only race-ready aspects missing from this shoe. I only wanted to be on moderately technical terrain for short bits in the Asics Metafuji Trail 2.

Final thoughts on the Asics Metafuji Trail 2

REESE: I know that Asics wants this shoe to be the do-it-all fast trail shoe, but it solidly feels more like a road-to-light-trail or gravel shoe. It performs well there. Just the other day, I did a road run with intervals on gravel paths in this shoe, and it was perfect. Marketing is one thing, application is another. Someone with more stable ankles could certainly find this useful on more technical trails, but I didn’t have that experience.

I am truly surprised by how much I’ve been using this shoe. It fits my foot so well, and the midsole gives just enough pop to make me feel fast on any run.

RENEE: The Metafuji Trail 2 is a good one, yes, even for mid or backpackers. For terrain, I’d be wary of mud or rocky single-track trails, mostly because of the stack height and my ability as a mediocre runner. For fast runners looking to podium on a mix of terrain, this might be the best option available. For everyone else, this is still one of the best options for a plated trail shoe as long as you have a low-volume foot and can manage the angled toebox.

I have no glaring negatives about this shoe and only hesitate to give it a perfect score because of the price and its limited use on truly technical or uneven trails. Otherwise, chef’s kiss.

TAYLOR: Slim & Sassy could be a mantra for the Asics Metafuji Trail 2. While it didn’t end up being an all-terrain ultra blaster for us, the lightweight and aggressive build could crack a cold one with Stone Cold Steve Austin. This thing can absolutely raise some hell for a few hours on faster, less-technical terrain (5k to faster 50k). This version gained some range; however, ultimately, it’s still a fairly limited race-day option for the masses.

In terms of comparisons, there’s not much out there that’s like this. The Arc’teryx Sylan 2 is really the closest modern comparison. Honestly, though, the Asics Metafuji Trail 2 felt most like an updated race-ready version of the Salomon Pulsar Trail Pro 2, and I love it even more for that reason.

You can pick up the Asics Metafuji Trail 2 for $280 on August 1, 2026, from Asics by using the buttons below.