Nike Flyknit Lunar 2 Review
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Through time, Nike has always been a company that innovates, whether it’s a chip you can put in your running shoe to track your distance, designing cycling uniforms modeled after the outside of a golf ball to be more aerodynamic, and more recent, making a running shoe upper that produces hardly any excess waste and provides plenty of support using only a polyester yarn. While new technology is good and I don’t mind being a guinea pig, product performance is still of utmost importance to me and the Nike Flyknit Lunar 2 running shoe does not disappoint.
Nike Flynit Lunar2 Upper
As mentioned above, the upper of the Nike Flyknit Lunar 2 running shoe uses only polyester yarn for it’s construction which might have you asking, how can I get enough support in a running shoe upper with only yarn? That’s a great question and I have an answer for you. To allow for varying levels of support and shape, the upper of the Nike Flyknit Lunar 2 is single stitched, double stitched, single layered, double layered, etc. This creates different levels of fabric density which allows the shoe to provide different levels of durability and support in different areas of the shoe. As shown in the pictures in this review, take a look at the blue sections of this shoe. These sections are much denser than the bright green sections and are the areas in a running shoe where support is most needed.
Through testing these shoes on shorter runs of 3-5 miles and longer runs of 12-15 miles, I found the Nike Flyknit Lunar 2 to provide just enough support without overdoing it. For the runners that demand a lot of upper support, often people who are on the larger side, this shoe might not hold up as well. I am 6’0 and weigh 175lbs and found the Nike Flyknit Lunar 2 to hold up just fine, hopefully this provides a baseline for you.
As for actual fit of the Nike Flyknit Lunar 2, I found the shoe to fit a little snug the first few times I ran in them and after about 20-30 miles logged, I found the shoes to fit me great. Given one foot is more of a normal width and one foot is a little wider, it is good to see a shoe that can adapt to different shaped feet. Another unique feature in the Nike Flyknit Lunar 2 running shoe is the tongue of the shoe. Instead of using an overstuffed tongue to keep the laces from digging in and providing support, Nike uses a very small tongue which for all intensive purposes helps you put the shoe on. There are other running shoes in the past that don’t have tongues, but they often cut into your foot. Not in the case of the Nike Flyknit Lunar 2.
Midsole and Outsole
The midsole in the Nike Flyknit Lunar 2 running shoe is made of Nike’s proprietary foam called Lunarlon. This foam does a nice job of not breaking down too fast allowing you to get the typical 400-500 miles out of the shoe. After about 100 miles on the shoe, I noticed the foam to feel a little softer on my runs which is not a problem, but if you like a stiff midsole, this could be an issue. For the majority of runners, the Lunarlon foam will work great.
The outsole of the Nike Flyknit Lunar 2 is primarily meant for road running. There are not deep aggressive lugs, but rather a smooth like surface that helps provide a smooth ride. Like any road shoe, this outsole will work on mild trails like crushed gravel, but I wouldn’t make it a point to repetitively run on technical trails.
Final Thoughts
The Nike Flyknit Lunar 2 is an excellent choice for runners looking for a neutral to light stability running shoe. The shoe is a great option for shorter distance speed workouts and longer distance training runs. A good all around training shoe. For the fashion conscious, you can completely customize the color combinations of this shoe on the Nike website which is pretty sweet for a little extra.
For more info on the Flyknit Lunar 2 and other Nike products, visit www.amazon.com/nike.
MSRP $150
Customized MSRP $185