This is my 2 cents…
I have:
2 pairs of AF1
1 pair of VFN%2
1 pair of AF2
I have logged a lot of miles in the AF1s(roughly 500 year to date, over 2 different pairs). I use them as my training shoe because I like the squish for training. I have raced an open marathon in them and ran a PR in the AF1s. The PR may have been because I was in better shape but the shoes probably helped. I have run an open half in the VFN%2 and ran well. Missed my PR by 30 seconds, but it was a race I trained through.
I ran in the AF2 this morning and will not race in anything other than these from now on. In my opinion they are like the AF1 and VPN%2 had a baby. The firmness of the foam is somewhere between the two. The AF1 are super duper soft in my opinion while the VPN%2 are super hard. Again this is how I feel in them.
The AF2 fixed the heal blister issue I was having in the 1s. They are super comfortable. The tongue cushioning was something that I was surprised by, in a good way. The shoe was super comfortable and I felt I had good support in my arches(I have high arches).
During my warm up(8 minute pace) the shoe was fine to run in. During my intervals(5:45 pace) they were great. They were responsive and felt like they had the same “pop” that the AF1s have. I had read that they don’t have the same “pop” feel, but that wasn’t the case for me.
I had about a quarter mile walk back to my house after I finished my sets of intervals and they were fine for that. Nothing bad.
I will train in the 4 pairs of shoes through November and buy another pair as my race gets closer to race in. My first pair of AF1s have 350 miles on them and are starting to fall apart. I use them to run on the dirt path and they work well for that. I have a shoe problem.