Topo Athletic Fli-Lyte 2

Name: Topo Athletic Fli-Lyte 2
Brand: Topo Athletic

Daily trainer · Neutral · Road · 8.4 oz · 3mm drop

Discontinued — we no longer see this shoe in stock. The Topo Athletic Fli-Lyte 3 replaced it

How it ranks

The Topo Athletic Fli-Lyte 2 ranks among the stronger daily trainers in our data. Value and durability are its strongest sub-ratings. The rating rests on 3 runner reviews and 4 other rated shoes in the Fli-Lyte product line. Another 9 reviews would set the confidence on this shoe's own reviews.

Current estimate: Good

89/100

Overall

Good 89

Value

Good 87

Durability

Good 84

Cushioning

Decent 79

Comfort

Decent 73

Appearance

Decent 72

Confidence

How settled the rating is against every other rated shoe. A shoe can rate high on confidence with relatively few reviews of its own when its product line has a long record and external ratings from retailer sites agree. Confidence will score low when we have few ratings or when runners disagree.

See the product line's history

Confidence

71/100

Moderate 71

Based on product-line history, external ratings, and 3 runner ratings.

What runners say

“I can't run in them without coming home with bloody socks”

3/5 Full review 54 mpw training for a half marathon came from the Saucony Kinvara 7

“The wideness of the toe box allows me to spread my toes such that I don't constantly roll my ankles”

5/5 Full review 55 mpw training for a half marathon came from the Topo Athletic ST-2

“It chafes the top of my toes”

3/5 Full review 54 mpw training for a half marathon came from the Saucony Kinvara 7

“The cushioning is perfect for long runs and recovery days”

5/5 Full review 55 mpw training for a half marathon came from the Topo Athletic ST-2

“Although my old pair is dying, it has amazing resilience”

5/5 Full review 55 mpw training for a half marathon came from the Topo Athletic ST-2

Prefer this shoe over another

20% 1/5

Where to buy

No offers available

Affiliate links included. They never affect our ratings.

Prices updated daily. Last checked Sep 14.

Pros

All three reviewers rate cushioning 5 out of 5, and one calls it perfect for long runs and recovery days.
One reviewer has run about 500 miles in a first pair and ordered a second.
Light at 8.4 oz with a 3mm drop and a wide toe box.

Cons

One reviewer's toes chafe badly enough to bloody their socks, unchanged after 80 miles.
One reviewer calls the colorways ugly.

Fli-Lyte 2 rates 89. This shoe has moderate certainty. See how we rate shoes.

Better Shoes Rating of prior versions of the Topo Athletic Fli-Lyte

Each dot is one version of the Fli-Lyte, placed by its rating and release year. The gold dot is this shoe.

Rating

40 60 80 100

89 2018 82 2019 74 2021 81 2023 79 2025

Release year

We use the reviews of past versions to inform this shoe’s rating. See why.

Fli-Lyte 6

2025 · 0 reviews

79 Decent

7 Confidence
Fli-Lyte 5

2023 · 1 review

81 Good

26 Confidence
Fli-Lyte 4

2021 · 2 reviews

74 Decent

23 Confidence
Fli-Lyte 3

2019 · 4 reviews

82 Good

52 Confidence
Fli-Lyte 2 This shoe

2018 · 3 reviews

89 Good

71 Confidence

Reader Ratings

3 ratings

5/5 2

4/5 0

3/5 1

2/5 0

1/5 0

See written reviews Write a review

Specs & fit

Sizing and ride details at a glance.

Weight: 8.4 oz
Release: 2018 Q3
MSRP: $100
Drop Height: 3mm

Runner reviews

Write a review

Fly-Lite 2

5/5

Overall

When I first got my first pair of this shoe there was a bit of fabric on the tongue that felt like it was going too rub my foot badly, but it turned out to not be a problem at all. I'm now on my second pair and they have been very nice shoes that are great for training for Cross Country.

Anonymous runner · Oct 2, 2018

40 mpw training for a half marathon came from the Newton Motion V

Comfort: 4/5
Cushioning: 5/5
Durability: 5/5
Appearance: 5/5
Value: 5/5

Love the shoe, but for God's sake Topo, get a new designer

5/5

Overall

I absolutely love this shoe. I've run about 500 miles in my first pair and I just ordered my second pair. The wideness of the toe box allows me to spread my toes such that I don't constantly roll my ankles and the cushioning is perfect for long runs and recovery days. Although my old pair is dying, it has amazing resilience. That being said, a common issue across Topo shoes is the color palate. I'm not going to mince words: they're ugly. The flylite 2 is actually a lot better than most, especially in the blue and grey colors (the orange one is kind of bad), but I sincerely hope Topo finds a better design team in the future, because so many of their shoes are just ugly. The functionality is great, but many people are turned off by shoes that don't look good. Either way, I love this shoe and will continue to use it as long as it continues and even if they get uglier, I will use it.

Anonymous runner · Jul 18, 2018

55 mpw training for a half marathon came from the Topo Athletic ST-2

Comfort: 5/5
Cushioning: 5/5
Durability: 5/5
Appearance: 3/5
Value: 5/5

One problem

3/5

Overall

I've run in and loved the Topo MT2 trail shoe, so was looking forward to trying their road shoe. The flylite 2 is similar to the MT2, its low drop, light weight, with generous cushioning. My only issue with this shoe is it chafes the top of my toes. If it wasn't for that I'd love it, but a it is, I can't run in them without coming home with bloody socks. I have 80 toe scrapping miles on them. I was hoping they'd break in over time but they haven't.

irishod · Jul 13, 2018

54 mpw training for a half marathon came from the Saucony Kinvara 7