r/runningshoes

I was skeptical about whether to buy it or not and took a gamble , I did watch the reviews on runrepeat. Com and also the price seems like a good deal let’s see how they perform till now felt good when I wore them

Why there is so much difference on same shoe but on different e commerce platform. Can anyone telll the reason or one of them is fake

Took the new NB6 out for 7.7 miles this morning. 70 degrees. Undulating and hilly road and sidewalk running. 694 feet of elevation gain. 7:48 pace.

🏃 5’4” and 125 pounds. Mid-foot striker, slight over-pronation.

I love the NB5 and have four pairs of them (including the TR version). Use them for daily runs, mostly for the easier and more leisurely daily run variety. I also have a couple pairs of SB2, which I generally use to run 10K and 15K races (and the occasional up tempo daily miles). Have never run in the Megablasts, and tried the SB3 multiple times, because I really wanted to like them, but they were just too soft for me. Felt like I was falling backwards in them. 🤷 Anyway, enough about me, here’s my NB5 vs. NB6 comparison:

Fit:
NB5: Cushy, soft, forgiving, slightly unstable, not too snug
NB6: Less cushy but more comfortable, more structured feeling, great stability, more snug and padded

Ride:
NB5: Bouncy, soft, easy, great for slower recovery all the way up to “not too aggressive” quicker paces, not very stable on corners
NB6: Springy, firmer up front and still soft on the mid-foot and heel, which is a real joy for a mid-foot striker, much more stable, true daily trainer feel

Best Use:
NB5: Better for moderate paces and recovery than a “full range, across the board” daily trainer, though it can function just fine across the board
NB6: A true daily trainer. Comfortable and fun, and is stable enough for longer runs, but is truly capable of faster paces. I assume over time it’ll be less recovery aiding than NB5 is, but time will tell on that.

Verdict:
NB5 is a true 8/10 for me. Great shoe that is deserving of the hype and adoration. They die early and feel a bit sloppy on occasion, but overall they are splendid.

If the NB6 lasts as long as the NB5 and can retain these first run qualities for even most of its lifecycle, this is a 9/10 for me. Feels like a true upgrade and is entirely worth grabbing a pair. The only shoe I’ve enjoyed more in 2026 is the Saucony Triumph 24, but those are going to be my shoe of the year, so living up to those is going to be a real challenge for any other shoe.

It pains me that this shoe is not more talked about. I believe it can compete with rotation killers like the Hyperboost Edge and Megablast, the showstopping EVO SL, and more stable alternatives. This is an older shoe but Craft reused the midsole tooling in the Pacer 2, as well as in 3 iterations of the gravel version, the Xplor, like what Adidas is doing with the EVO SL. Craft seems to do this with its Nordlite and Endurance series as well, preferring iteration over innovation. This is great news for those who don't like it when brands mess up what was perfect just for the sake of change.

Craft is a global apparel brand, but it hasn't broken into the reviewer hivemind like Kiprun has. I first learned about the Craft Pacer shopping for a replacement to my 4yo New Balances. They had a couple of glowing reviews online, but no hype. The mention of a overly wide and baggy upper attracted this fat-footer. They sounded like a good replacement for my 4-year-old New Balances. I ultimately settled on its older sibling from Craft, the Pro Endur(ance v1). 5 months later, I picked this pair of Pacers up from another runner for $45 CAD shipped. The catch: it was a full size down from my usual size.

Original Retail Price: $150 USD/$180 CAD

Total distance ran: 70 miles (110 km)

Type of runs:

Range of pace with this shoe: Walking pace (12:00min/km) to 5:10-6:00km easy pace to 3:25min/km (5:30min/mi) 400m intervals and hill sprints on gravel

10k fartlek with 3minutes intervals at 4:20min/km

My profile

Height: 5'6" (168cm)

Weight: 130 lbs (59kg)

Strike Type: I'm naturally a heel striker, but I mostly midfoot strike at faster-than-recovery speeds (5:10/km). My left foot tells tends to strike on the outside edge, so I avoid laterally biased shoes.

Average mileage a week: 45km.

Run middle distances, with the average run being 8k and long runs from 12 to 18k.

Positives:

• The cushioning is luxurious: if you land in the right place, you get an deeply protective squish, and very energetic rebound. It's soft enough to coddle you at very slow paces without being a drag at tempo paces. I set a 5k PB in this shoe.
• The wide platform and thick outsole rubber create a stable and grounded ride. The Pacer won't throw you around like the EVO SL if you didn't like that.
• The 6mm drop does not stress my hips or lower back. Though the drop height is noticeable compared to softer shoes, and the wide platform somewhat gets in the way of landing further forwards.
• Laces are great. Durable, the right width and thickness, slightly stretchy, and not too coarse or long. Not the best hold but they are easy to handle. Makes lacing the Pacers up satisfying.
• On that note, the perforated tongue is perfect. Plush but thin for a daily trainer.

Negatives:

• There is excess material at the bottom of the eyelet chain. The fit may have too much volume and be too wide for normal feet, especially in the midfoot. To make matters worse, the left and right eyelets are already close together, so you can't really cinch down the shoe any further.
• The firm, thick outsole may feel awkward if you land on a rockered part of it.
• Instead of having a squared edge on the sides of midsole, the outsole is rounded all the way through. i.e. there is a side-to-side rocker as well, which may make you roll your ankle on a bad landing. The platform width does mitigate this.
• Instead of being a nicely sculpted ramp on the lateral side of the heel, the heel bevel has the same roundedness all the way through. More extreme heel strikers might find it mechanical-feeling.
• Wide-footers may prefer a wider toebox. No knock on Craft here as I made do with a full size down from my lower size, but note that Craft doesn't set out to make their toeboxes anatomic.

Midsole/Outsole:

Here's why I'm combining these two sections: Craft likes to brand its road-to-trail shoes as the running version of a fat bike. It's uncanny how closely they were able to recreate the sensation of riding one in a running shoe. Rarely does a product live up to the marketing this well. The ride brings back good memories of hoping curbs in a cheap mountain bike as a kid. I also remember Under Armour's goofy fat tire shoe from c.2015.

The bounce of the Px foam is not subtle. There is a brief 'jiggle' before it softly rebounds. The bounce is so nice in the heel that I want to slow myself to a shuffle and exaggerate a heel strike to enjoy it. Running that slow is possible because of the (90mm) wide and flat midfoot platform.

The pop is controlled and quick enough at tempo paces, though you do notice it less. The forefoot rocker rolls you forward without feeling aggressive at all. It's not a fast feeling shoe. As a lighter runner I personally prefer more ground feel in the forefoot, but you can still get an explosive bounce off the toes.

The firm, thick rubber outsole produces a 'clinking' sound similar to mountain bike tires or an outdoor basketball. The firmness and thickness contains the compression and forces the foam to rebound fairly quickly, like a overinflated tire. The tread also sticks to asphalt like a tire. I would recommend choosing the Pacer over the Xplor for gravel paths because the full coverage Vittoria rubber in the later will mute the ride.

Fit/Upper:

This will be a weird one to evaluate. The engineered mesh is high volume and unstructured in the first version of the Pacer. The Pacer 2 has a more form-fitting fit.

I rolled the dice on buying a full-size down because I heard of how roomy the upper is. Get this: I have blocky, 2E wide feet, and this almost fit perfectly. There was no pinching, but it was a little tight in the toebox for my longer right foot. I relaced that shoe and heel-locked, and I haven't gotten any discomfort since. Any pressure disappears 5 minutes into a run due to the generous amount of volume in the toebox.

What does this means for normal/or slender feet? There might be too much volume and width, especially in the midfoot. To make matters worse, the left and right eyelets strangely are close together, so you can't really bring the upper closer much further. It's more like a ski-glove than a cycling glove.

The heel collar is really tall. It never caused any issues, besides feeling strange when I'm lacing up.

Competitors:

Craft Xplor 2/Pro, Adidas EVO SL ATR, EVO SL, Salomon Aero Glide 3/4 GRVL, NB 8 1080, 880 and 860, Saucony Endorphn Azura, Puma Velocity Nitro 4/5 and Deviate Pure, and likely some higher stack shoes!

Worth buying?:

Absolutely. With how shameless brands are at raising prices on their flagship daily trainers, the $150 Pacer is a good deal because it is a jack-of-all trades. I love how it doesn't pretend to be a revolutionary speed trainer, supertrainer, or overbuilt road-to-trail weapon. It's just a superb shoe.

If you didn't like the EVO SL's cheap upper, found the EVO SL too unstable, found yourself sliding in the EVO SL in rain, or wanted more room in the heel and midfoot of the EVO SL, try the Pacer. It makes up for being 12g heavier in a US sz9 with its versatility. Because few people know about Craft's shoes, the Pacer will likely be on discount.

Reviews seem to be mixed from spectacular to completely over hyped. I only trust random reddit users, lol, so if you could please provide feedback that would be awesome! I'm sure we've all been burned on over-hyped shoes that didn't work for us.

Just want to share .. This is my 2nd pair of my ride 18 which give me a complete untrust with saucony now after 100km after 3 weeks of use the foam explode .. i m gettin it from distributer and still struggling with saucony for replacement even customer service not helping as expected .. now i will go back to hoka which have long km with all shoes and never have issue with them .. sorry saucony this is complete failure in terms of quality and even after selling customer service ...

I kept running into the same problem as a tennis player and runner, because I kept leaning towards unsupportive nike or hanes socks rather than actual supportive socks because tbh they didn't match my outfits and stuck out a lot. I have flat feet and plantar fasciitis and socks do help manage me pain a lot, but I often choose aesthetics over support. Curious how many people run into that tradeoff too.

Hi people:

H37, 177cm, 74kg training for marathon this november and probably back down to 10k/HM next year (work reasons)

Is the Adidas Adizero sl2 good for speed sessions/intervalls on track/road, at pace 3min/km to 4min/km ??

Would it also be OK for under 1h easy run at pace 6:30min/km

Would you recommand something else in this price range (80-100€)

Hi,

I have these amazing running shoes, i bought them around 10 years ago. Nike lunarlon flyknit, the sole and the way you feet is gripped inside the shoe is amazing.

Model doesn't exist anymore. Is there any model that is equivalent? Especially the sole

Thanks in advance

Saw the shoe on amazon discounted at 14K rupees sold by Cocoblu Retail. Usually Retails around 22-25K so i couldn’t resist to get myself a Raceday Shoe pair. Not the best of the colours but then it’s 10K saved at the end of the day. What do you think of this deal?