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Tarkine Trail Devil 3 Review - 78 Miles

Scott Hilton

Posted Aug 25, 2026

I reached out to Tarkine to see if they would be willing to let me test their newly released top end trail model, a model I have been wanting to test out for quite some time. They were kind enough to agree to send me a pair.

Total

Form

Performance

Value

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Tarkine Trail Devil 3

4.3/5

(1)

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Pros

Lace garage
Laces
Tongue design
Toebox fit and overall fit
Step in comfort
Responsiveness of foam
Breathability of toebox area

Cons

Price is on high side
Does not wick/displace moisture well
If you are running in deep sand, it can come into toebox through upper
Midsole is compliant enough to feel palm sized rocks through it on the run

Review Goal: After my review of the Giants by Tarkine, I wanted to step up a notch and see what their Trail Devil had to offer and the timing was good with a new version being released. I was excited to see they added a Vibram outsole to it as I struggled with that in the Giants and I was interested to see how a their upgrade in Outsole on this model would improve grip on the trail. I also wanted to see if the Peba infused midsole could create a more dynamic underfoot experience from my time in the Giants. Lets see how this turned out

Deets and Usage

Deets:
Weight: My size 12's came in weighing: Left 12.5 Ounces, Right 12.1 Ounces
Weight: Sample size weight: (Men size 9) 9.59 ounces
Heel Stack: 39 MM
Drop: 7 MM
Upper: Global Recycled Standard (GRS) mesh upper with TPU overlays

Outsole: Vibram Megagrip with 4mm lugs

Midsole: Tarkine's proprietary foam which from what I can find, is a Peba infused blend

MSRP: $198 USD

Usage: I have 78 miles in the shoes on a mixed array of surfaces in dry and wet conditions. Sand (Deep beachy light sand), dirt, roots, rocks, grass, weeds, a bit of pavement. Texas dirt in wet and dry conditions. Long runs of 13.5 and 18 plus miles. I ran on trails in Houston, Texas and in Huntsville, Texas and in Louisville, Kentucky and in the Black Run Preserve of New Jersey. The shoes traveled well.

Upper

Laces: Sawtooth laces that with a lace garage at the top of the tongue, made for a brilliant design and spot on performance. Zero issues with laces coming undone or getting in the way
Tongue: Nice lightweight fully gusseted tongue
Upper material: The mesh is a nice comfortable upper which has some breathability even with the TPU overlays.
Heel: The heel has some structure via a TPU overlay at the lower portion of the heel and then the upper part of it is flexible. It was a nice set up for me and my mechanics I did not experience any heel slippage, rubbing or irritation and did not have to do anything unusual to get a nice lock down
Collar: They have a medium amount of padding, just enough to aid in lock down and protection, but not too thick and bulky. It's just right for me as I sweat a lot and don't like "meaty" collars.
Toe Room: The shoe has a nice foot shaped design, which is not overly big. My foot felt like it had toe wiggle room and room to plant and stabilize my forefoot, but not so big it was slipping around. Fit: The shoes fit true to size to me and overall, the comfort at step in is on point. My foot shape matches up very well with design.

2 negatives
Negative 1: It does not seem to wick/displace moisture very well. On days that were a bit more humid and I was sweating down into the shoe, it would tend to fill up with moisture (Sweat) and it did not displace it very well. I would get the "squish" on the run and could see the moisture come up through the toe box. I did not get a chance to run through any streams or water as it is fairly dry in Houston right now, but it is something to keep in mind if you are running through water.
Negative 2: I used this shoe for a 50K run (DNF, see notes below) which has a lot of sand on the course, the negative I encountered was the mesh in the toe box that allows for the breathability, allowed for a ton of sand to come into the shoe. So, be wary of sandy trails as you might be digging sand out. I had to pull out the insoles to dump sand.

Overall, very positive experience with the upper in most conditions. The 2 negatives are unique encounters in my opinion, but wanted to note them to aid in your decisions.

Outsole

I struggled some with the outsole on the Tarkine Giants in some wet conditions with traction and was able to get onto the same trails post rain in the Trail Devil 3s with the new Vibram outsole. The difference was fairly clear in that I had no issues in the same areas of wet trail that the Giants struggled on. Vibram is well established as a top end traction outsole and the performance in these shoes are no different.

They performed well on all conditions, including deep loose sand. I mean, I sank and the sand still sucks, but it gripped and ripped the best you can in loose dry sand. I may try hover shoes next time.

I also did several miles on pavement in these shoes on transitions to trail and the outsole performs pretty well on pavement. It's not the best, but they also don't feel like futbol cleats running on pavement.

Midsole

The positives: The underfoot experience is a pleasant and moderately dynamic feel underfoot. It doesn't have the rebound of say an ATPU, but it does have a nice rebound that doesn't overflow into an unstable feel. The shoe overall is very nimble underfoot and the midsole on most surfaces provides enough protection that you can enjoy the run and do some longer miles in the shoe.

The one caveat to this, is palm sized rocks. The trails in Huntsville State park of Texas, have some areas on their CCC trail that has had some construction work and those areas have had Palm sized (cobbles, fieldstones etc) and/or sand laid back down to correct some of the damage to the land done during the forestry work. The midsole does not have any kind of rock plate, so it is just outsole and midsole between the rock and your feet. The Peba infused foam is soft enough to allow that direct compression from the rock pressure to go up into the foot. Whether this is an issue for you or not is probably a bit up to your own preferences. I do not always get along with plates, so I would prefer the set up as is myself, but wanted to point this out as informational.

50K choice

I had a 50K event on the books and felt good enough about the shoes going in to use them at least as the beginning shoe, but honestly figured they would be good for the entirety of the run. I DNF'd this event, but it has nothing to do with the shoes. I started encountering problems with my breathing in real temp 102 degrees Fahrenheit with a feels like temp of 107. I decided a little after 18 miles in, that it just wasn't worth it for me.

At the end of the run, my feet and legs still felt good, so I have zero concerns with using these shoes for a shorter Ultra. I don't think I would use for a 100K, but for a 50K they would have been great.

The only negative I had as noted in the upper, is the shoes filled with sand. I was expecting issues with sweat, but it was so hot my sweat was drying up very quickly and the shoes stayed relatively dry. However, they did fill with the fine grains of sand I was running through.

Final thoughts

I really enjoy running in these shoes. The midsole is dynamic enough for long runs, the outsole is vastly improved, the shoes are nimble on foot which is great for those rooty type of trails in Texas and I am a fan of the design.

I do feel the price is a bit high (but I feel that way on most shoes nowadays) and hope they look at moisture displacement on the next version.

Reminder of Tarkine:

Tarkine is an Australian running shoe company founded by runners Sam Burke and Ross Johnson, with a strong focus on sustainability and eco-friendly materials. The company creates high-performance running shoes using recycled and biodegradable components, and offers a take-back program for recycling used shoes. Tarkine's products are designed to be durable, with some models lasting over 1,000 km, and are suitable for elite runners, casual joggers, and lifestyle wear.

They have a very nice resale option set up on shoes returned to them. They do a lot of good things for the environment in an effort to make their business eco friendly and still putting out very good shoes that are durable and competitive in the market.

They are not sold in store fronts in the USA at this point in time, but they will ship to the states.

They are carbon neutral on all orders