I had been meaning to write a review of them.
A couple of weeks ago I went into my local Fleet Feet to order a new pair of Saucony Triumphs, my usual running shoe. As typical, they did not have size 14 in stock, and I planned on just ordering some. The sales guy asked if I wanted to try on any other shoes, and I’ll always try whatever they have, even if only to know the Saucony’s are best for me. He brought out an Asics and the Nike Lunar Trainer. The Asics did not fit me right. I wanted to hate the Nikes. I have never worn Nike before, and have always kind of resented the large popular companies. Especially since I think Nike mass markets a lot of mediocre shoes then sells them to kids who want to be cool. But enough ranting. I tried the Nikes on, wanting to hate them. Boy were they comfy. I ran around the block with them, and was sold. Goodbye Saucony.
The sole is the amazing part. Besides being a color-not-found-in-nature glowing green, it is really lightweight, but really well padded. But the weird thing is I can feel the padding pushing my foot back up off of the ground after the strike. It’s like they are transferring energy back into my foot.
The footbed is pretty much flat. I have sensitive arches, so I do not like arch support of any kind. If you need arch support, then this is not the right shoe for you. Or get custom insoles.
The toebox is wide. Really wide. Actually too wide. It’s wider than a D. More like an E or EE.
The tread looks like the original Nike waffle press. And I’ve noticed it does not have good traction on trails. On pavement and tracks, no problem.
The uppers are lightweight mesh. No extra padding. No fancy graphics, pumps, bells, whistles or anything else (OK, there is a black swoosh on the side, but that’s it). This also meens no extra padding around the opening or on the tongue. It takes me a little longer to put them on because the tongue can fold over easily, but that’s not such a big deal. I am, shall we say, more than a few seconds off of the podium, and 30 extra seconds in transition really doesn’t make any difference in the grand scheme of things.
As for running… well, I’ve cut two minutes off of my 6.5 mile loop. Maybe it’s the energy in the shoes, or the light weight of them. Or maybe it’s because I’m getting closer to my A race. Or maybe it’s a freakin’ placebo. I don’t really care. It’s 2 minutes any way. I now dread the days when I have to rotate my Sauconys into the training.
So in short: Well padded, lightweight, wide and roomy, not for trails, and no support whatsoever. Would be good for a neutral runner on pavement or flat surfaces who is looking for a lightweight but padded trainer or racer.