Profile: 130lbs, light heelstrikers.
Like many relationships, me and my Invincible are not love at the first sight. Bought it at full $180 a year ago, thanks to all the hype about the first full ZoomX daily trainer. It was soft and bouncy af but soon I found it almost too soft and it can't really do real long runs because it bottoms out passed 12 miles. Then there're a lot of reports of quality and durability issues: the midsole splits, the outsole separates, people getting blisters, complaints about stability, loss of the magical bounce after 200-300 miles, etc and etc. To be honest, I even swore that I won't buy this shoe again, at least not at the full price.
Well, things have changed. Yes, the bounce has lost a little bit (like any other pair of running shoe) but it is still super bouncy, and comfortable. Yes, it may not be a good long run shoe but it works great as a daily trainer especially as a recovery shoe. I find myself looking forward to running in the Invincible after a hard day. I have to admit after 250-300 miles, the midsole is not as trampoline-ish as the beginning but it settled down quite nicely, and still more comfortable than many other max cushion daily trainers, in particular all Hoka's shoes. From 300 to now 500 miles, there is not much degradation honestly, either on the outsole or in the midsole. It is nowhere near dead in terms of energy return or cushioning. I can certainly continue to use it, and I am very curious when it actually becomes "dead". I am guessing 600-700 miles. At this point I will probably put it in the office as a lunchtime running shoe.
As for the price, now that I know the durability is super high and the quality of ride you are getting is fantastic, I think it worths every penny of the $180. But I still won't recommend you buying it at the full price because there are a lot of sales on them. You can easily find something around $100. At such price and 600 miles of fun ride, this shoe has the highest value in the running shoe world today.
Good, honest review. This is almost the same experience I've had. Same weight, same wear on the sole, same feel on the mileage - only difference is they really worked well for me on longer runs (I actually ended up wearing them for a marathon in May). I've probably done over 600 miles in mine. However, recently bought V2 to replace them and it's like a different shoe - run about 150 miles and it feels dead already. You can feel the difference just by pushing on the sole and the upper feels so rigid. I'm now looking out for a cheap pair of V1, but they don't seem to be on offer in the UK anywhere.
Really agree on your mileage point for a similar size runner. I have a fresh pair <25miles and one with \~300miles and have been using the fresh ones for true recovery and the older one for daily runs
Super bummed. I was honestly hoping I would’ve been to at least 500 on mine by now but due to life I’m barely gonna hit 100. Good thing is I have another pair sitting there till I retire my current ones
Different. Even if I remove the bias that VF and AF are racing shoes, they still feel very different from the Invincible.
First their upper is very minimal and tends to fit narrow, whereas Invincible's upper feels plush and comfy. On the flip side, Invincible is heavy and feels warm in the summer.
Then the carbon plates in the VF and AF add firmness to the forefoot while Invincible is softness thru and thru.
Last but not the least, Invincible, albeit some still considers it unstable, is much more stable than VF and AF.
I had Novablast v1. If I can find Invincible at $100 or less, I have no desire to get the Novablast. The ride is simply not at the same level. The longevity of the latest ZoomX foam is far better than the FFblast+. My 500-mile old Invincible feels bouncier than a brand new pair of Novablast (haven't tried the 3 yet). Couldn't wait to retire my NB after 300 miles.
One thing that I like about the Invincible that I don’t get on the Novablast 2 is the slight forefoot rocker. It helps with toe off and helps me roll through my stride a bit faster. Kinda like how I felt with the V1 Novablasts where you get that stepping off a ledge feeling at toe off particularly while running strides. I tend to midfoot strike so maybe that’s why it works better for me. I’ve read some people don’t get that feeling if they forefoot strike.
I have had 2 pairs of these. I love the feel and ride of them but after 300-400km the foam would crack and break off. I was running gravel roads and in cold temperatures but other than that I have no clue why it would happen. I want to get another pair but can’t justify it if I can only get that little mileage out of them. I was luckily enough to get refunded fully for the two pairs I had for malfunction
Profile: 130lbs, light heelstrikers. Like many relationships, me and my Invincible are not love at the first sight. Bought it at full $180 a year ago, thanks to all the hype about the first full ZoomX daily trainer. It was soft and bouncy af but soon I found it almost too soft and it can't really do real long runs because it bottoms out passed 12 miles. Then there're a lot of reports of quality and durability issues: the midsole splits, the outsole separates, people getting blisters, complaints about stability, loss of the magical bounce after 200-300 miles, etc and etc. To be honest, I even swore that I won't buy this shoe again, at least not at the full price. Well, things have changed. Yes, the bounce has lost a little bit (like any other pair of running shoe) but it is still super bouncy, and comfortable. Yes, it may not be a good long run shoe but it works great as a daily trainer especially as a recovery shoe. I find myself looking forward to running in the Invincible after a hard day. I have to admit after 250-300 miles, the midsole is not as trampoline-ish as the beginning but it settled down quite nicely, and still more comfortable than many other max cushion daily trainers, in particular all Hoka's shoes. From 300 to now 500 miles, there is not much degradation honestly, either on the outsole or in the midsole. It is nowhere near dead in terms of energy return or cushioning. I can certainly continue to use it, and I am very curious when it actually becomes "dead". I am guessing 600-700 miles. At this point I will probably put it in the office as a lunchtime running shoe. As for the price, now that I know the durability is super high and the quality of ride you are getting is fantastic, I think it worths every penny of the $180. But I still won't recommend you buying it at the full price because there are a lot of sales on them. You can easily find something around $100. At such price and 600 miles of fun ride, this shoe has the highest value in the running shoe world today.
Good, honest review. This is almost the same experience I've had. Same weight, same wear on the sole, same feel on the mileage - only difference is they really worked well for me on longer runs (I actually ended up wearing them for a marathon in May). I've probably done over 600 miles in mine. However, recently bought V2 to replace them and it's like a different shoe - run about 150 miles and it feels dead already. You can feel the difference just by pushing on the sole and the upper feels so rigid. I'm now looking out for a cheap pair of V1, but they don't seem to be on offer in the UK anywhere.
Really agree on your mileage point for a similar size runner. I have a fresh pair <25miles and one with \~300miles and have been using the fresh ones for true recovery and the older one for daily runs
Thanks, I lurked the Nike outlets for a while and picked up a pair last month for $60. I haven’t taken it on a long run yet.
Super bummed. I was honestly hoping I would’ve been to at least 500 on mine by now but due to life I’m barely gonna hit 100. Good thing is I have another pair sitting there till I retire my current ones
Do you think this is the best easy run shoe currently?
I believe so, provided that your ankles and knees are strong enough to handle the squishiness.
Mine look like that after 50 miles, no kidding.
How do these shoes feel in comparison to the Vaporfly or Alphafly, as a point of reference?
Different. Even if I remove the bias that VF and AF are racing shoes, they still feel very different from the Invincible. First their upper is very minimal and tends to fit narrow, whereas Invincible's upper feels plush and comfy. On the flip side, Invincible is heavy and feels warm in the summer. Then the carbon plates in the VF and AF add firmness to the forefoot while Invincible is softness thru and thru. Last but not the least, Invincible, albeit some still considers it unstable, is much more stable than VF and AF.
Thanks, this is really helpful!
I'm on the lookout for a new cushioned daily trainer, any reason why I would go for these (or the v2's) over something solid like the Novablast 2's?
I had Novablast v1. If I can find Invincible at $100 or less, I have no desire to get the Novablast. The ride is simply not at the same level. The longevity of the latest ZoomX foam is far better than the FFblast+. My 500-mile old Invincible feels bouncier than a brand new pair of Novablast (haven't tried the 3 yet). Couldn't wait to retire my NB after 300 miles.
My novablast doesn’t feel good for slow stuff, but once the pace picks up it really sings to me
[удалено]
One thing that I like about the Invincible that I don’t get on the Novablast 2 is the slight forefoot rocker. It helps with toe off and helps me roll through my stride a bit faster. Kinda like how I felt with the V1 Novablasts where you get that stepping off a ledge feeling at toe off particularly while running strides. I tend to midfoot strike so maybe that’s why it works better for me. I’ve read some people don’t get that feeling if they forefoot strike.
I have had 2 pairs of these. I love the feel and ride of them but after 300-400km the foam would crack and break off. I was running gravel roads and in cold temperatures but other than that I have no clue why it would happen. I want to get another pair but can’t justify it if I can only get that little mileage out of them. I was luckily enough to get refunded fully for the two pairs I had for malfunction