Saturday, September 21, 2024

Tecnica Pyrox Hybrid Review: What a Sweet Ride! 4 Comparisons

Article by Sam Winebaum

Tecnica Pyrox Hybrid (155€, USD to be announced)



Introduction

UTMB 2025 saw the introduction of several 2025 releasing trail shoes and one that caught my eye (it looks great), and which has delighted me on the run most is the Tecnica Pyrox Hybrid. It’s a door to trail type shoe which will be joined by a similar more trail focused Pyrox Explore in 2025.


Of course, it has a cheery and colorful vibe but  what really adds to the fun is the 2 supercritical foams midsole of PEBAX and EVA. Instead of stacking the foam super high, it goes with a  lower stack 28 mm heel 24mm forefoot and a very broad on the ground platform. 

It includes  “impulso 4D” geometry which seeks to deal with both vertical forces as well as terrain and stride adapting horizontal and diagonal ones by reducing friction in each foot strike.


This increases flexibility and stability while delivering a nimble, very energetic ride. It works and really well on both trail and road.

I will say it upfront it has one of the most fun and smooth road rides of the past year even if it’s at a  quite considerable weight  319g/ 11.25 oz US9 for its stack height of 28.5 mm heel /  24.5 mm forefoot. 


Unlike many “heavier” shoes, the weight is absolutely not noticed when you step on the gas even if at a very slow paces it does feel a bit backweighted. Not surprising given the giant and stable 90mm wide heel.


The upper is an engineered mesh with surprising amounts of room and especially so for an Italian shoe, in the past “notorious” for their narrow small fits. The upper leans more road than trail as it is quite unstructured and roomy.


Never heard of Tecnica? They are a well respected brand in hiking, mountaineering and ski boots as well as skis through their Blizzard brand. And they are not new to running and running innovation. Several years ago we tested their Origin trail runner whose upper and footbed was custom molded in retail stores. An effective concept but a bit complex at retail..

 

Here things are much much simpler, elegantly so actually, and I found it very pleasing and energetic to run on more mellow trails and roads as well as hiking as I got plenty of testing in during our recent adventures in Switzerland. 


Let’s get into the details noting that my pair is a late prototype with a few changes to come for the production release in early 2025.

Pros:

  • Versatile, fun to run and wear door to trail option
  • Very dynamic and  energetic ride due to its 2 super foams midsole: and especially fine as a dedicated road shoe with extra traction.
  • Distinct sensation of decoupling of vertical and horizontal forces from Impulso adding to midsole energy and smooth ride flow while never feeling blocky or “hung up” and this at any pace.
  • Notably stable underfoot due to wide platform and lowish stack, without ever feeling ponderous
  • Adequate, not in the way on firm terrains and roads 3.5 mm lugs outsole
  • Comfortable (mostly) secure upper with plenty of room near ideal for broader feet, for road and very mellow trails.


Cons:

  • Upper is clearly more road than trail focused in construction and fit.
  • Weight at 319g / 11.25 oz US9 / EU42 sample is up there for a supercritical foams shoe, and trail shoe at a relatively low 28.5 mm heel /24.5 mm but truly not noticed on the run 


Most  comparable shoes 

Scarpa Golden Gate ATR 2

Nike Pegasus Trail

Saucony Ride TR2 


Stats

Weight: 319g/ 11.25 oz US9 / EU42 sample 

Stack Height 28. 5mm - 24. 5mm

Stack Height: men’s  28.5 mm heel /  24.5 mm forefoot (  4mm drop spec) 

Platform Width: 95 mm heel / 80 mm midfoot / 115 mm forefoot 


First Impressions, Fit and Upper

The upper is a simple, quite dense and thick,  very pliable engineered mesh. Very road comfort oriented is how I would characterize it.

There are no overlays beyond a moderately pliable toe bumper. 

The tongue is a very lightly padded mesh with a top leatherette strip and a gusset.

The heel counter is quite long to the front and rigid. It must contribute quite a bit to the shoe’s weight and seems to be intended to try to secure the foot in the unstructured rest of the upper. 

All the collars are well  padded and very comfortable.

The collars’ opening is very broad for any shoe, road or trail, and this in combination with the rest of the upper makes the Hybrid upper really more road focused than trail as even with the very stout heel counter and broad platform on technical trails the midfoot hold gets shakier.  The opening just ahead of the achilles collar really needs to be brought in to better snug the ankle. This may be a prototype issue and I will let Tecnica know that there is some work to do.

My pair (US9/EU42) is a half size up from my usual US 8.5 and fits me correctly. Sizing down to my usual US8.5 would provide too little front toe room (just under a thumb at US9) given the broad but relatively low toe area and bumper


The upper is high volume and mostly unstructured. On the road, it is a  nearly perfect upper for me and for sure will be for higher volume broader feet. On trail, I find too much room at the rear collars and not quite enough hold at lace up due to the rear volume. The upper, due to its dense thick mesh and big heel counter adds weight. A thinner mesh with more overlays is in order although that might affect the beautiful styling!


Midsole & Platform

The midsole is made up of two  supercritical foams separated by the Impulso 4D technology. Underfoot  (orange) we have genuine PEBAX super critical foam which is soft yet very springy. This foam is common in high end road racing shoes and increasingly in trail shoes as well. Below the PEBAX layer we have a supercritical EVA foam (yellow). It is a bit denser in feel and adds stability to the already broad platform. 

The midsole has carved grooves in its top surface leading to slots on the side. 

This is the Impulso 4D technology. Impulso is intended to separate vertical forces from horizontal ones, letting each stride and each foot adapt as needed instead of prescribing one direction of forces. I find it highly effective,


Many conventional road shoes try to deal with flow through the stride with a deep center decoupling groove exposed from the underside and through the design of the outsole. This is a  more trail focused shoe so Tecnica was wise to put the adaptive elements higher up with lots of flat contact and rubber at the ground. 

But they also did not neglect segmenting through the front of the outsole as we have a nice front flex point to toe off from while to the rear it is longitudinally rigid.


It absolutely works. During hikes on rougher terrain the shoe adapted to terrain very well. During road and smooth trails runs it provided lots of easy and quick to turn forward motion taking advantage of the energy of the foams. 


Despite the very flat on the ground quite rigid profile of the shoe and 4mm drop I found Impulso and the overall midsoke geometry highly effective at all paces. There is a special easy dynamic flow to the ride here.



Outsole

Outsole at 30 miles: no wear


The outsole is Tecnica’s Tecbnigrip compound in what they call a “gravel” pattern. The lugs are 3.5mm so more than adequate of all but highly technical trails needs.


As a road to trail type shoe, to save weight, and contribute to the Pyrox’s truly excellent manners on road (flexible enough, no harsh rubber feel, and quiet) the outsole is well segmented.


At 30 plus miles, with about half road/pavement/gravel running and half trails (hiking,) there is almost no wear to even the fine patterns of the outsole.This should be a long lasting durable outsole.


Ride, Conclusions and Recommendations

In a surprise, but sort of expected given the midsole foams here the Pyrox is one of my favorite road training rides of the year and for any road paved or gravel. 

The combination of those foams, the broad if somewhat lower stack height, the Impulso 4D decoupling of vertical and horizontal force and the outsole all come together very smoothly and effectively. Even if it is not a “light” shoe it sure runs like one with lots of energy return, well stabilized by the trail outsole and broad platform.


It is very close to “perfect” given its road , gravel, easy path, super fun to run performance and could do the same on more technical trails. But…its high volume, most unstructured upper is clearly more road and broad comfort focused than trails performance in fit and construction. Broad high volume feet likely will have better trails use hold than I did.  Dialing the fit in with more structure for trail uses and reducing the weight  could potentially make it near a 10 for me. I hope between now and release Tecnica will tune the upper.


As it stands mow it is a great choice for runners who mix it up between road, lighter trails, sloppy winter conditions and who want to do so with a state of the art platform which for me was big smiles every time out.  If you don’t run it is a superb walking/ light hiking shoe and probably, also as intended for Tecnica retailers in ski towns, a near ideal do anything mountain town shoe with some colorful Italian flair.

Sam's Score 9.4 /10

-0.3 for trail upper support and high volume, -0.3 for weight

😊😊😊😊


4 Comparisons 


The ride and fit remind me most of the 361 Eleos (RTR Review) road shoe which has  a similar very energetic supercritical foams midsole, broad platform and roomy fit. The Pyrox differs primarily in having a far heavier duty outsole and as a consequence also weighing more. Either is a great ride but if you leave the pavement even for a bit the Tecnica is the more versatile choice.


I am also now testing the Scarpa Golden Gate ATR 2 (RTR Review soon), also marketed as a door to trail shoe and a big positive update over its lumbering version 1. It is lighter than the Prolox,  somewhat firmer despite having a similar partial supercritical foam midsole and has for sure a more secure trail focused upper.  Traction is equivalent, both having 3.5mm lug outsoles It clearly lags the heavier Pyrox on hard firm surfaces with not as smooth  flow and pulls ahead on more classic trails as things get more technical due in large part to its non stretch upper, also true to size and only slightly lower volume than Pyrox. 


The Saucony Ride TR 2  (RTR Review)  has a softer, less stable but more deeply cushioned midsole, especially at the forefoot. The Pyrox foam feel is all about decisive spring while the Ride TR2 expanded TPU beads foam is bouncier but less pulled together. Its upper leans more towards trail than the Tecnica’s but it is still more road than trail focused due to its midsole. Both have equivalent traction outsoles with the Saucony’s more extensive and notably less well segmented in comparison to the Tecnica whose ride is smoother and more fluid and this despite its higher weight. Just a better overall geometry and foam package chez Tecnica..


NIke Pegasus Trail 4 (RTR Review)  has been one of my favorite door to trail shoes in recent years. I have not tested the Trail 5  (RTR Review) with its additional stack and new foam. The Pegasus Trail 4 has thinner riding, a bit more agile forefoot and overall its foams are duller and dated in comparison if the shoe is lighter and more responsive. If uptempo door to trail leaning trail iis your focus then the Nike is is a better choice due to its upper and agility. If daily all around training with a lean towards road and gravel then the Prolox. . Ride win easily for the Tecnica.


Index to all RTR reviews: HERE


Tecnica Introduces the Pyrox line and Impulso 4D at UTMB 2024



The Tecnica Pyrox Hybrid 155 Euro (and Explore 170 Euro) will be available March 2025. 


Tester Profile

Sam is the Editor and Founder of Road Trail Run. He is in his 60’s  with 2024 Sam’s 52th year of running roads and trails. He has a decades old 2:28 marathon PR. These days he runs halves in the just sub 1:40 range if he gets very, very lucky. Sam trains 30-40 miles per week mostly at moderate paces on the roads and trails of New Hampshire and Utah be it on the run, hiking or on nordic skis. He is 5’9” tall and weighs about 164 lbs, if he is not enjoying too many fine New England IPA’s



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