Tarkine Trail Devil 2 Review: Lil’ Lighter, Lil’ Wilder

What You Need To Know

Introduction to the Tarkine Trail Devil 2

JOHN: Do good, be great. Those are the words you’re greeted with when you open the box of the brand-new Tarkine Trail Devil 2. Shoe companies face a challenge when following up on a great release. We really enjoyed the OG Trail Devil here at Believe in the Run. I try not to be cynical about follow-up shoes, but in so many instances, it feels like a shoe can only get worse. The OG Trail Devil did well by being eco-friendly, using a recycled upper and laces, and was great by basically kicking down the door and offering a surprisingly great debut (which, in my opinion, was up there with well-established companies that had been making trail shoes for a long time).

In movies, video games, books, and (especially) shoes, I don’t like to be let down with follow-ups. I’m genuinely rooting for Tarkine and the Trail Devil to succeed. It’s always good to see a Cinderella story about an underdog doing great and winning in life, so let’s see if this belle found her ball.

MICHAEL: There are very few feelings in this world that can match that of anticipation — particularly, the anticipation of something you know you’re likely to enjoy. The smell of a home-cooked meal, a familiar drive to a trailhead, and the Advent season all come to mind for me. In this case, I had that wonderful feeling when the Tarkine Trail Devil 2 arrived at my door (it was, of course, marginal compared to my feelings toward Advent, but there nonetheless).

You see, we had a really fun time with this shoe in 2023. It outpaced our expectations and garnered lots of praise from our reviewers — a pretty difficult feat for a relatively unheard-of brand. At the conclusion of last year’s review, I mentioned that I couldn’t wait to try next year’s version, anticipating a smashing hit.

For the Trail Devil 2, our Aussie friends at Tarkine made some strategic changes to the original model. The resulting update features a nearly indistinguishable silhouette from the original yet boasts a perceptively faster (and more fun) experience on the run. With a significantly lighter weight, updated midsole and outsole materials, and an updated upper, the Trail Devil 2 is poised to be the smashing hit we were hoping for last year — six foot four, full of muscle, and dealin’ out Vegemite sandwiches like they’re Halloween candy. Speaking of which, I’m going to try to make fewer Men at Work puns in this year’s review and keep it business as usual, but I can’t make any guarantees.

SAM: John and Michael have sprawled out the possible paths we could take over the next few hundred words wildly, and I have no idea where to turn as the caboose to this charging introduction. Do I pick up John’s worthy talk of the impossible task put to second iterations? Should I seize onto anticipation and wax theological as Michael did? It would be a chance to give my rarely used seminary degree some work. Or, do I again follow Michael and continue deeper into the world of his sandwich-slinging Paul Hogan look-alike: “That’s not vegemite, THIS is vegemite.”

Or maybe I should just blaze my own path. After all, Crocodile Dundee jokes are clearly not my strong suit. I’ll go ahead and talk about this shoe some, briefly, so we can get on to the part you all came here for.

The Tarkine Trail Devil 2 is almost wholly revamped from version one, which sounds crazy to me as we were pretty fond of that first model. After all, it took “Best surprise shoe” in our Trail Best in Gear. There is a lightened and more structured recycled upper (along with recycled laces), a light, springy, and soft peba-infused midsole equipped with a rocker, and a reworked Claw outsole that’s meant to provide structure and improved grip. All of this with a hefty stack height of 33mm/39mm at a wildly light 252 g or 8.8 oz for a US M9. Tarkine says all of this together makes for “one of the fastest trail shoes in the world.”

What we like about the Tarkine Trail Devil 2

JOHN: Upon opening the box of the Trail Devil 2, even the most cynical person has to crack a smile. The colorway is one of the coolest I’ve ever seen. The black, purple, and green design just instantly made me happy and it looks fun — suggesting the vibe that trail running is all about wild times with friends partying, eating, dressing up silly, messing around, and connecting with nature. I love the look of the shoe so much—it’s great.

The shoe lost about an ounce and now has a PEBA-infused midsole. It’s softer, lighter, and much more enjoyable to run in. The previous Trail Devil felt great, but I did not want to push the pace in it. The Trail Devil 2 is a much speedier shoe that feels incredible.

Tarkine has done an excellent job making the Trail Devil a better all-around shoe. If you read our previous review, they pretty much fixed the “What we didn’t like” section on the OG.

MICHAEL: There are many things to love about the Trail Devil 2, and most of them pretty much revolve around fixing the little things we didn’t necessarily enjoy about last year’s model. All of the great things we enjoyed about that shoe are still present in version two and, in my opinion, accentuated even further with updates to the materials. My primary concern with the original was weight, which was completely negated with version two tipping the scales at 9.4 oz (266 grams). Break out the Excel sheets, folks — that’s an improvement of over 15% compared to the previous 11.1 oz (314 grams).

Now, one might say that the first Trail Devil still ‘ran light’ because of the responsive midsole, which is true to some extent. However, at the end of the day, the scale doesn’t lie, and a 15% decrease still feels like a 15% decrease on the run. In my estimation, the lighter, quicker feel of the shoe pivots the Trail Devil from being a solid daily trainer option to a true racing option, especially with the changes in the midsole that I’ll get to here in a second.

Next up, the fit of the Trail Devil 2 is a significant improvement over the first shoe. Version two seems to be a bit more snug through the midfoot for me, only adding to the Trail Devil’s race day appeal. Overall, the fit is similar to that of a Topo Athletic or Altra shoe, lending itself to fans of a wider toebox without sacrificing a secure lockdown.

Lastly, the change in midsole material is very promising for version two of the Trail Devil. In last year’s review, I incorrectly predicted that the dense Zenfoam midsole foam would last anywhere from 300-500 miles. Unfortunately, this has not been the case, and since that review, I’ve put in an additional 50 miles or so on the Trail Devil and the foam feels like it’s deadening prematurely. Thankfully, the Trail Devil 2 features a lighter, softer, and appreciably bouncier Zenfoam material, this time with a bit of PEBA mixed in.

The resulting experience is a shoe that is noticeably lighter on the foot, bouncier through toe-off, and softer on descents. Also, I have a feeling this midsole foam will last a bit longer. PEBA blends are known for adding a bit more longevity to midsoles, and I suspect the Trail Devil 2 will be no different. Bravo, Tarkine. Or should I say, “Good on ya, mate?”

All these changes give the Trail Devil 2 a significantly faster, delightfully fun experience. With the Zenfoam midsole still airing on the firm side, I think this is a fantastic option for runners looking for a quick, versatile option for training, racing, or tempo work from the marathon distance and below. On the right terrain, the Trail Devil feels light, fast, and fun underfoot.

SAM: John wasn’t kidding when he talked about how eye-catching the Trail Devil 2’s design is. This is a fun-looking shoe. It has a little bit of a cyberpunk look and plenty of really fun details, such as the Tasmanian Devil print on the insole and the coloring on the midsole.

Like John and Michael mentioned above, the fit of this shoe has improved significantly over the first. This version again features the foot-shaped toebox with some slightly improved padding around the heel. Everything seems to have been taken in a bit and has a little more structure. Where we were cinching down the laces to the point of folding the toebox material in last year’s shoe, the Trail Devil 2 secures comfortably around the midfoot. The fit really isn’t far off from the Altra Timp 5 or the Topo Athletic Ultraventure 4. I think I might have been the only one of our reviewers who struggled with the lateral side of the old toe guard causing pain, but that’s cleared up here, too.

We, like any runner, really love a good midsole. And while we were fond of the last one, it did have some longevity issues. Tarkine tossed in some peba, and wow. They managed to keep a similar durometer, although I think this peba blend is a bit softer. It’s also springy and downright fun. Over my test miles, it began to settle in some, which I appreciate because it feels a little firmer but with the same responsiveness I prefer. I also don’t see any hints of the foam starting to dull out after 40ish miles.

The biggest difference from this PEBA-injected midsole foam is the weight savings. Michael dove deep into this, but the Trail Devil 2 absolutely delivers a fast, fun, and lightweight ride. The Claw outsole with new lug arrangements supports this on trails. I was really happy with the grip this offered, even on soft beds of leaves and loose dirt.

What we don’t like about the Tarkine Trail Devil 2

JOHN: The only aspect of this shoe I’m not fully sold on is the Claw outsole. It is better than the previous version, the grip is excellent, and it’s not stiff or cumbersome. It feels great to run in, but, as pointed out in the last review, it would have been nice to have Vibram. With that said, I don’t hate the Claw outsole. It feels really good, and maybe I’m asking for too much here, but I would have liked Vibram.

MICHAEL: The move towards a lighter-weight construction for version two of the Trail Devil was no doubt a great one, in my opinion, but changes like this sometimes come with a cost. This time, it was the comfort of the upper. While the upper material itself performed adequately, I found the material and construction of the tongue to be both physically and emotionally irritating.

When lacing up the shoe, the paper-thin pseudo-suede tongue bunches up and is generally annoying to fuss with, hence the emotional irritation. Then, after getting the sides of the tongue situated juuust right to lay nicely over my extensor tendons, it will quickly shift over mere strides into a run and begin to irritate physically. Thankfully, as with most fit issues like this, there is a possibility this construction works well for a different foot shape. Notably, it seems that John and Sam had no such issues.

Additionally, as John noted, the change in the outsole material of the Trail Devil is still somewhat underwhelming. The updated Claw compound does feel slightly tackier compared to the original, but the new version isn’t much better. I’d say it does great in 80% of conditions and likely will not be of concern if you live in an arid climate. It’s really for my fellow East Coasters that I’m sowing the seeds of caution here. In the words of our review last year, Claw just ain’t Vibram. On a more subjective note, the laces were a bit too stretchy for my preference.

SAM: I found the tongue on the Trail Devil 2 just as annoying to deal with as Michael did, but I didn’t experience any irritation or pain with it, and after two or three times trying to get it to lay flat, I just gave up, and it was still perfectly comfortable half folded against to top of my foot. Different foot shapes, like Michael said above. The fiddlyness with the tongue isn’t helped by the laces, which are a little long, kinda thick, hard to keep tied, and very slippery.

It’s less apparent on trails than on roads, but the rocker geometry of the midsole sort of disappears for me when I land midfoot. It’s there when I’m walking around, but as the foam settles in, it seems like the softness of the midsole isn’t quite enough to carry the rocker through my stride. Again, I only really noticed this when I took the shoe down a road section.

Finally, I’m a little worried that Tarkine got their hands on Nike’s old trail outsole rubber. While the grip is totally fine on dry, rocky, and loose surfaces, as soon as you add any water to the mix, all the grip vanishes like Vegemite toast at an early brekkie.

Final thoughts on the Tarkine Trail Devil 2

JOHN: I’ve reviewed a lot of shoes this year, both some really good trail shoes and some real big disappointments and the Tarkine Trail Devil 2 is my absolute favorite so far. Congratulations to Tarkine for a great job making the Trail Devil even better. If you are a fan of the Altra Lone Peak or the Topo Athletic Terraventure, you need to add this to your rotation. It’s got the look, comfort, performance, and durability — the total package — you won’t be disappointed.

MICHAEL: With massive improvements to the weight and midsole material of its predecessor, the Trail Devil 2 is a great option for runners thinking outside the box (or continent, for that matter) when looking for their next shoe. With its quick, low-to-the-ground feel and accommodating toe box, the new Trail Devil 2 is perfect for anyone looking for a simple, lightweight, and versatile option for training or racing up to the marathon distance.

SAM: Version two of Tarkine’s Trail Devil does exactly what a second iteration should: improve on the original. With the Trail Devil 2, we get some pretty huge improvements that result in increased comfort, performance, and fun. This is a shoe from a small eco-conscious company that exhibits performance not far off from some of the benchmark models of more established brands, like the Altra Timp and the Topo Athletic Ultraventure, and for that I’m a fan, especially since it weighs less than both those shoes. Do you like everyone asking, “What are THOSE??” gathered around the trailhead at a group run? The Tarkine Trail Devil 2 might just be for you.

You can pick up the Tarkine Trail Devil 2 for $171 (or thereabouts) from Tarkine by using the buttons below.