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Created page with "{{DISPLAYTITLE:Topo Fli-Lyte Review}} The original Topo Fli-Lyte was a favorite of mine; though it was not a "best of the best" shoe, it was still a great shoe. Thankfully, To..."
{{DISPLAYTITLE:Topo Fli-Lyte Review}}
The original Topo Fli-Lyte was a favorite of mine; though it was not a "best of the best" shoe, it was still a great shoe. Thankfully, Topo have actually made small improvement with the second version without making any mistakes. The cushioning is a little better, it's a little lighter, and it's just as comfortable. The Fli-Lyte's cushioning is quite natural and with some good spring. A key benefit of the Fli-Lyte over pretty much every other shoe is that it 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. I've rated the Fli-Lyte as "Highly Recommended". {{H:WhatToLookForInShoes}}
<gallery widths=300px heights=300px class="center">
File:Topo Fli-Lyte 2-top.jpg|Topo Fli Lyte 2 top
File:Topo Fli-Lyte 2-outside.jpg|Topo Fli Lyte 2 outside
File:Topo Fli-Lyte 2-bottom.jpg|Topo Fli Lyte 2 bottom
File:Topo Fli-Lyte 2-inside.jpg|Topo Fli Lyte 2 inside
</gallery>
=Characteristics=
* {{H:cushioning}}. The Fli-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 50k distance, and maybe enough cushioning for a 50 miler. It's certainly not a [[Maximalist]] shoe, but it's plenty for most purposes. Even with the second version's improvements, the Fli-Lyte's cushioning-to-weight ratio is rather poor, providing about the same cushioning as the [[New Balance RC5000v2]] but is more than twice as heavy. It also weighs about the same as the [[Hoka Clifton]] which is a massively more cushioned.
* {{H:drop}}. The Fli-Lyte has a 3mm drop when loaded, which is close enough to zero drop for me, in line with many shoes that claim to be zero drop (yes, I'm talking about Altra.)
* {{H:structure}}. The Fli-Lyte does not interfere with your [[Running Form]] with medial posts or the like.
* {{H:flexibility}}. The Fli-Lyte is quite flexible, and unlike the first version, there doesn't seem to be a specific point that the forefoot wants to bend.
* {{H:outsole}}. The Fli-Lyte has rubber outsole most of the contact patches. The outsole seems fairly thick, with no stone traps or other holes in the sole. There is more exposed midsole foam than the first version, which is probably where the improvements in cushioning and the weight reduction has come from, but I don't think this will cause a problem.
* {{H:shape}}. The Fli-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:upper}}. Like virtually all modern running shoes, the Fli-Lyte has a comfortable, largely seamless upper. There are a few overlays, but their placement means they are unobtrusive. The ankle opening is nicely padded and comfortable. The upper is reasonably breathable as you can see from the picture below. <br/>[[File:Topo Fli-Lyte 2 Upper.jpg|none|thumb|200px]]
* {{H:tongue}}. The Fli-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 has flat laces which I think it an improvement over the round laces of the original (even though I didn't find the original's laces came undone on me.)
* {{H:heelcounter}}. The Fli-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-Lyte 2}}
=Changes From The First Version=
The first version of the [[Topo Fli-Lyte 1]] was a great shoe, and the changes to the second iteration are thankfully just slight tweaks.
* Version 2 is slightly lighter, probably due to less outsole material.
* Version 2 is also slightly better cushioned, again probably due to less outsole.
* The overlays have been changed very slightly, but it's not easy to spot the differences
* The laces are now flat (yeah!)
* There's now exposed midsole foam where the first version had outsole over virtually all contact areas.
=A Comparison with other Recommended Shoes=
{{:Shoes-include}}
The original Topo Fli-Lyte was a favorite of mine; though it was not a "best of the best" shoe, it was still a great shoe. Thankfully, Topo have actually made small improvement with the second version without making any mistakes. The cushioning is a little better, it's a little lighter, and it's just as comfortable. The Fli-Lyte's cushioning is quite natural and with some good spring. A key benefit of the Fli-Lyte over pretty much every other shoe is that it 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. I've rated the Fli-Lyte as "Highly Recommended". {{H:WhatToLookForInShoes}}
<gallery widths=300px heights=300px class="center">
File:Topo Fli-Lyte 2-top.jpg|Topo Fli Lyte 2 top
File:Topo Fli-Lyte 2-outside.jpg|Topo Fli Lyte 2 outside
File:Topo Fli-Lyte 2-bottom.jpg|Topo Fli Lyte 2 bottom
File:Topo Fli-Lyte 2-inside.jpg|Topo Fli Lyte 2 inside
</gallery>
=Characteristics=
* {{H:cushioning}}. The Fli-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 50k distance, and maybe enough cushioning for a 50 miler. It's certainly not a [[Maximalist]] shoe, but it's plenty for most purposes. Even with the second version's improvements, the Fli-Lyte's cushioning-to-weight ratio is rather poor, providing about the same cushioning as the [[New Balance RC5000v2]] but is more than twice as heavy. It also weighs about the same as the [[Hoka Clifton]] which is a massively more cushioned.
* {{H:drop}}. The Fli-Lyte has a 3mm drop when loaded, which is close enough to zero drop for me, in line with many shoes that claim to be zero drop (yes, I'm talking about Altra.)
* {{H:structure}}. The Fli-Lyte does not interfere with your [[Running Form]] with medial posts or the like.
* {{H:flexibility}}. The Fli-Lyte is quite flexible, and unlike the first version, there doesn't seem to be a specific point that the forefoot wants to bend.
* {{H:outsole}}. The Fli-Lyte has rubber outsole most of the contact patches. The outsole seems fairly thick, with no stone traps or other holes in the sole. There is more exposed midsole foam than the first version, which is probably where the improvements in cushioning and the weight reduction has come from, but I don't think this will cause a problem.
* {{H:shape}}. The Fli-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:upper}}. Like virtually all modern running shoes, the Fli-Lyte has a comfortable, largely seamless upper. There are a few overlays, but their placement means they are unobtrusive. The ankle opening is nicely padded and comfortable. The upper is reasonably breathable as you can see from the picture below. <br/>[[File:Topo Fli-Lyte 2 Upper.jpg|none|thumb|200px]]
* {{H:tongue}}. The Fli-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 has flat laces which I think it an improvement over the round laces of the original (even though I didn't find the original's laces came undone on me.)
* {{H:heelcounter}}. The Fli-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-Lyte 2}}
=Changes From The First Version=
The first version of the [[Topo Fli-Lyte 1]] was a great shoe, and the changes to the second iteration are thankfully just slight tweaks.
* Version 2 is slightly lighter, probably due to less outsole material.
* Version 2 is also slightly better cushioned, again probably due to less outsole.
* The overlays have been changed very slightly, but it's not easy to spot the differences
* The laces are now flat (yeah!)
* There's now exposed midsole foam where the first version had outsole over virtually all contact areas.
=A Comparison with other Recommended Shoes=
{{:Shoes-include}}
