Topo Athletic Fli-Lyte 4 Review

The Fli-Lyte 4 is a neutral, cushioned road trainer from Topo. Like other Topo shoes, it boasts a wide toe box with plenty of room for your foot to sit in. This is especially great for those with a wider foot. It has a very low 3mm drop in the shoe. With such a low drop, it felt minimalist and didn’t have a ton of cushioning. For that reason, I didn’t experience a ton of responsiveness from the shoe and felt like I lost a lot of energy in the foot strike to the ground. 

The upper is relatively breathable and you can see that with some of the holes on the outside. There is some additional padding around the collar of the shoe to help avoid irritation and rubbing. There is an update to the lacing system from Fli-Lyte 3. One of the things I like on the tongue is that it has these two holes that the laces run through to make sure there is no slippage of the tongue. This seems like a pretty easy option for other companies to start using. The midsole felt really firm and bordered with feeling stiff during the run. I would use this shoe for easy, low mileage days and that’s about it. It doesn’t feel like something I would have a ton of confidence in on a long run day. Additionally, with low energy return, this isn’t the best shoe for a workout day.