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{{DISPLAYTITLE:Topo Fli-Lyte‏‎‏‎‏‎ Lyte Review}}I've been surprised how much I've enjoyed running in the Fli-Lyte. It's not an amazingly light shoe, nor is it an amazingly well cushioned shoe, but I found myself putting on far more miles in the Fli-Lyte than the other shoes I've been testing concurrently. This subtle, subconscious bias is an interesting indication that this is a shoe that is a pleasure to run in. Partly I think this is due to the cushioning that is provided by the Fli-Lyte being quite natural and with some good spring. Another thing I've come to really appreciate is that the shape of the shoe is simply wonderful, being one of the first I've tested this seems to be designed to fit the human foot. It captures some of the natural biomechanics and freedom that you normally only get in something like a Vibram FiveFingers. In fact, I go so far as to say that my toes feel rather more natural in the Fli-Lyte than they do in a FiveFingers. The only problem I found with the Fli-Lyte is that the cushioning provided by the insole seems to where out disturbingly quickly. By the time I'd run a hundred miles, the cushioning under the ball of my foot and compressed by ~4 mm which tilts my feet inwards far more than running on the camber of the road would do. Replacement insoles might alleviate this problem, but my experience in trying to find a good replacement insoles has been a rather poor. Of course, your [[Foot Strike]] pattern might be rather different and so you might find the shoe lasts you longer, but be aware of this issue. I've rated the Fli-Lyte‏‎ Lyte as "Highly Recommended" in spite of the possible longevity problems, and I will test it out a few replacement insoles to see how they work with this shoe. {{H:WhatToLookForInShoes}}

* {{H:cushioning}}. The Fli-Lyte‏‎‏‎‏‎ Lyte is reasonably well cushioned with a nice combination of springiness and responsiveness. Personally, I find that this is about the right level of cushioning for the marathon or 50 K distance, and maybe enough cushioning for a 50 miler. It's certainly not a [[Maximalist]] shoe, but it's plenty for most purposes. The Fli-Lyte's cushioning-to-weight ratio is rather poor however, providing about the same cushioning as the [[New Balance RC5000‏‎v2RC5000v2]] but is more than twice as heavy. It also weighs about the same as the [[Hoka Clifton]] which is a massively more cushioned. One noteworthy problem with the Fli-Lyte is the insole which provides some of the cushioning was rather badly born after only 100 miles. This is rather disappointing, especially as the midsole had only slight signs of compression at this point. I may try some replacement insoles which I normally hate to see if they can work with this shoe and extend its life.* {{H:drop}}. The Fli-Lyte‏‎‏‎ Lyte has a 4mm drop when loaded, which is a tad more than I'd like but it never bothered me.* {{H:structure}}. The Fli-Lyte‏‎ Lyte does not interfere with your [[Running Form]] with medial posts or the like. * {{H:flexibility}}. The Fli-Lyte‏‎‏‎‏‎ Lyte was moderately flexible when I did my initial analysis, but after running in it for a while the flexibility increased quite dramatically. I suspect this is partly due to the degradation of the foam midsole under the ball of my foot. With use, the Fli-Lyte has a specific point that the forefoot wants to bend, which corresponds to the natural movement of my foot. * {{H:outsole}}. The Fli-Lyte‏‎‏‎‏‎ Lyte has rubber outsole under all of the contact patches. The outsole seems fairly thick, and little few signs of wear over the first hundred miles. There are no stone traps or other holes in the sole, so running over gravel is not a problem.* {{H:shape}}. The Fli-Lyte‏ Lyte has the best shape of any shoe I've tested, with a nice roomy toe box that allows my toes to move quite naturally. The founder of the company apparently worked for Vibram and was involved in their FiveFingers range of shoes. The toe box of this shoe allows for the same type of natural toe movement that you get in a FiveFingers shoe, which is a great achievement. The Topo's shoe shape is quite a bit better than Altra, whose toe boxes are overly stylized and exaggerated, as well as not having quite enough headroom.

* {{H:tongue}}. The Fli-Lyte‏‎‏‎‏‎ Lyte has a traditional tongue that is has a tab to attach it to the laces. The tongue is soft and nicely padded and stayed in place well. * {{H:lacing}}. The Fli-Lyte‏‎‏‎‏‎ Lyte has round laces which I often find problematic as round laces come undone far too easily. This never happened to me with the Fli-Lyte, possibly because the laces are slightly rougher than other round laces. * {{H:heelcounter}}. The Fli-Lyte‏‎‏‎‏‎ Lyte has only a modest heel counter, though none would be better. However, the rear of the shoe is a little stiffer than I would like, though this did not cause me any problems even with my skin condition. {{FastBlr|Topo/type-a6-597|597|Topo Fli-Lyte‏‎Lyte}}