Since the ’80s, Teva has been synonymous with action sandals, the official footwear of river guides and festival goers. Its latest offering, the Teva Trailpeak ($160), however, is a comfort-first trainer-trail runner hybrid.
The sneaker-style Teva Trailpeak, on sale Sept. 1, is hardly Teva’s first closed-toe offering, but it might be its best. (Our team tested the Grandview Max Hiker last year and gave it mixed reviews.) This ultralight running shoe blends the everyday comfort of casual trainers with just enough durability and support for light off-road duty.
I tested the Teva Trailpeak for 2 weeks this summer, including a 7.5-mile round-trip hike up and down 14,272-foot Quandary Peak. The plush HYPER-COMF+ midsole on the Trailpeak provided enough cushioning to save my soles. The omission of a TPU shank lets you stay nimble and fast if, unlike me, you’re hiking or running for time.
In short: The Teva Trailpeak is a comfortable, everyday trail-running shoe with enough chops to handle moderately technical terrain. It pairs what Teva calls its “lightest and most responsive” midsole with a speedlace system, a unique internal webbing that creates a structured upper, and a grippy proprietary outsole for a nice generalist trail-running shoe.
Compare the Teva Trailpeak in our guide to the best trail running shoes.
Teva Trailpeak
(Photo/Teva)
Specifications
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Comfortable
- Speedlace system is easy to use
- Good lateral support
Cons
- Questionable durability
- Only OK traction
Teva Trailpeak Review
I don’t consider myself an avid runner, but I use a ton of trail running shoes, both in modest runs and a lot of hiking. I put the Trailpeak to the test on the aforementioned hike up Quandary Peak.
On that hike, I was joined by the Teva product team and Erin Ton, an FKT-collecting mountain runner who helped design the Trailpeak shoe. (When I say I hiked with her, I mean she was there at the start. She quickly disappeared up the trail, ascending 3,200 vertical feet faster than I was capable of.)
Quandary is an “easy” 14er that exemplifies the terrain the Trailpeak is built for. It’s a well-worn trail, but it’s hardly a paved rec path, and three-quarters of it is jagged, high-alpine scree. The firm foam midsole let me feel the rocks enough to adjust foot placement for weird angles, but not so much that I ever flinched on sharp edges. Notably, my feet weren’t sore the next day.
On the descent, the outsole wraps up in front of the toe, and there’s an internal toe cap that combined to protect my feet from kicking rocks. And while it’s no mountaineering boot, the thicker heel provided decent braking on steeper sections.
Internal Webbing
The standout feature for me is the internal webbing. It’s a bit of a nod to Teva’s sandals, which use heavy webbing to hold the foot in place. Here, the webbing winds up the foot under a mesh upper.
When I pick up the pace and move faster with more precise forefoot-only steps, the criss-cross webbing offers lateral support I don’t expect from this comfort-class trail runner. The best thing I can say about the Trailpeaks on hikes is that I never notice them.
I often hike in Altra Lone Peaks, and while I like the wide toe box, the house slipper–like upper provides next to no support. Those shoes are at their best on wide, smooth, predictable trails. Cinch up the Trailpeak, by contrast, and you’re much less likely to slide off the soles and stretch into the sides of the uppers.
Teva Trailpeak: The Tech
The 3mm lugs on the proprietary Spider Rubber Endure outsoles provide traction without making them clunky around town. They’re a compromise sole that’s efficient enough for road running while giving you enough grip not to hate them on mildly technical trail.
The speedlace system cinch is another nice touch. Compared to laces, this means no stopping a hike or run to retie them — a welcome nod to real trail-running use. Tightening to a secure fit will leave you with plenty of excess, for which there’s an elastic across the tongue to hold it tucked away.
The midsole has Teva’s proprietary HYPER-COMF dual-density foam, which the brand says mixes the comfort and support of plush EVA with the responsiveness of hypercritical foam. That tracked with my experience testing, where it felt like a sneaker during casual use, but the denser core provided bounce and protection during more athletic use.
Who Is It For?
Plenty of people will pick up the Trailpeak for everyday wear, as so many do with Altra Olympus and On Cloud trainers. What differentiates the Trailpeak from other lifestyle/trail hybrid options is the off-road capability. There’s traditional running shoe comfort, but the 12-point “cage” inside provides more lateral support than most trainers. This makes the Trailpeak more capable when the trail gets off-angle, or you take a wrong step.
Still, the Teva Trailpeak is more of a running sneaker than a technical trail shoe. The lateral support is a nice touch, but it’s pretty soft around the edges. I suspect the ultralight (235 g for Men’s U.S. 9) foamy construction won’t have the same durability under regular off-trail abuse as a hiking boot or more technical trail runners like the Scarpa Ribelle Run 2. For something more in that vein from Teva, you’ll have to wait for late 2027 when the brand plans to drop a more technical, trail-first Trailpeak model.
