Topo Athletic's Fli-Lyte 2: an alternate to Altra
I already shared some thoughts a while back about the Fli-Lyte 2 here. I haven't changed my mind that much. The shoe has held up very well, and is one of my favorites for everything from training to racing half marathons on down. I'm not positive it would be enough shoe for me for a marathon, but it isn't totally out of the question.
The shoe is light and doesn't have a ton of energy return - but is nicely cushioned, not overdone. And it is very roomy, breathable - all around comfy. The mesh doesn't get your feet overheated, yet it seems to be a tougher, more durable mesh than what Topo uses on the Ultraflys which doesn't hold up very well (I have gotten holes in the Ultrafly upper fairly quickly in the shoe's life cycle).
The only complaint is a little premature wear in the rubber near the outside of my left heel. There's a small area where there is a break in the rubber and I see wear around that spot. The rest of the rubber pods seem very durable. I'd expect to see these shoes wear well for the remaining 200 miles or so I usually put on shoes for a total of around 300+.
You can see the durability of the upper and outsole in these photos:
you can see the extra wear spot on the top left of the photo |