Topo - Fli-Lyte 6

I've had similar complaints about the normal shoes all turning into moon boots. I'm currently using a pair of Topo Flilyte 5s and a pair of Magnifly 5s. The Flilytes are really nice but already showing some early separation of the upper. The Magniflys don't have as many miles on them but seem to be very comfortable.

That's so far what I'm noticing, but my legs are also super dead right now so it's one of those "is it me or the shoe" questions. Not the plasticky feeling but the uppers don't feel the same, and definitely something about footfall doesn't feel right. I guess I'll go back to the Topo Fli-Lytes. I wore Topo road shoes for years (still use them for trails) and only switched to Kinvaras when they were significantly lighter. I hope that one day bespoke manufacturing allows us to create a perfect shoe and just have it manufactured on the fly.

Everybody's feet are different, so that's a tough answer. I have collapsed arches and over-pronate, fairly severely with my left foot, and have had varying success with wildly different shoes. The key for me is a stable heel matched to a non-intrusive arch. I had to trial and error quite a bit with different shoes. I like running in the Saucony Hurricane 24 because it has a lot of good cushion, a lot of different stability elements going on, without having a traditional medial post. There's enough cushion that I feel protected, matched with enough guidance that I'm not moving/wobbling excessively anywhere. The New Balance 860v14 is similar for me, though it's less exciting and the arch-support is slightly more intrusive. I tried the Saucony Hurricane 25 on in store and they seem lighter and a touch more sporty feeling. The Saucony Triumph 20 oddly enough works great for me as well because the lockdown is flawless for me in addition to a stable feeling heel. I think a good, stable heel keeps my inner-ankle from rotating inward and is just enough that I'm not beating up my foot/arch. These next two are really oddballs for me and it took me years to even consider giving them a shot.  On a whim I tried a Saucony Kinvara 15 and Altra Escalante 4 recently and love them both.  I always figured this type of shoe would never ever work for me, but they do.  The light, low, firm setup is inherently stable and the ground-feel allows me to really focus on my form: not slamming my feet or heels down, running quietly is what I tell myself.  I think many shoes just have too much height and squish that allows too much movement for me and lower stack, firmer shoes leave less room for error.  The Kinvara feels both light and minimal but just protective enough at the same time. They also have minimal arch-humps so I never feel uncomfortable pressure there. I keep runs in these shoes less than 5 miles since they're on the more minimal side. Here are some that did not work for me: Saucony Guide 16: horrible, painful stiff medial post, slappy shoe New Balance 860v12: too firm, invasive arch New Balance 1080v12: insane instability Adidas Adizero SL2: I occasionally use these but they are very soft with minimal structure Topo Fly-lite 5: rock-hard, invasive arch support, wildly uncomfortable Brooks Adrenaline GTS 19: like running in a wooden clog 

Every company saw Hoka’s success and are copying to try get a piece of the action, much to many people’s chagrin. Some current models that are lower stack than the rest: Brooks Adrenaline, Brooks Ghost, Brooks Launch, Altra Escalante & Experience line, Topo Fli-Lyte, Nike Pegasus, ASICS GT-2000. If you’re okay running in trail shoes, you actually might have some more lower-stack options, like the Hoka Torrent, Nike Terra Kiger, Saucony Peregrine, and some of the Salomon or LaSportiva models. Lower profile, firmer midsole are preferred by more trail runners than road runners, IME. But generally, it’s getting harder and harder to find running shoes that aren’t approaching moon shoes.

I've been all Altra for years now (road and trail) but also have been fighting some long-term Achilles issues. Not blaming the shoes, but alongside a PT program I've decided to mix in some shoes that are not zero drop. Altra has a line of shoes now that are not zero drop, they are 4mm: [https://www.altrarunning.com/en-us/product-families/experience-family](https://www.altrarunning.com/en-us/product-families/experience-family) If you like Altras for their wide toe box (as I do) then do look at Topo. I've long ignored them as I found the arch support much to high but I did just purchase a pair of Topo Flylite 5 for short road runs and my general workouts. I'll likely get a pair of the Altra Experience Flows for longer road runs as I think the rocker shape will help a little as well. I'm sticking with zero drop for trails though as I have three very new pairs of shoes for training and racing.

Topos over Altras. They aren't zero drop and have better cushion so more like normal run shoes. But much wider toebox.

Did you ever find an answer? I don't like zero drop, but love a wide toe box, topo are my go to.

You might try Topo Athletic. Same foot shape/wide toe box, but better arch support and not zero drop (protect those Achilles tendons).

Topo Athletic, mountain racer, ultra venture and the phantom are my favorites. They easily last me 800 miles of comfort. The laces never come undone and the uppers have never gotten holes.

Just want to second Topo for a wide toe box, they are great! They also come in a variety of support levels, with the more cushiony ones providing me the arch support I need for running on harder surfaces.