Nike Flyknit Lunar 2

Color: Volt/White-Blue glow-Night factor

Intended use: All runs except trail and in rains/snow.

Surfaces tested on: Road, synthetic track 21° C/70° F

Upper:  Knit upper made of synthetic threads.

Midsole: Lunarlon foam, injection molded EVA (Phylon in Nikespeak). 11 mm heel to toe drop.

Outsole:  Carbon rubber (BRS 1000), injection molded EVA, blown rubber in forefoot (Duralon)

Weight: 272 gms/9.59 Oz for a half pair of US11.

US Retail: $ 150                                 

It has been more than a year since the 2013 Flyknit Lunar’s release, and most of the initial glitz and glamor has worn off. What really matters now is the state of evolution – how is the newest version better than the last. One major update on the 2014 Flyknit Lunar 2 is the new tongue. It is knitted into the upper, which results in a sock like feel – and puts an end to the tongue slide which was so irritating in the 2013 Flyknit One. It is also stretchy and perforated, which reminds us of theNike Free Flyknit upper. Besides fixing the tongue slide, fit level around mid foot is vastly improved; the elastic component spans across the top taut, keeping the foot locked down. Laces change to traditional ones from the ribbon type, giving the tongue top a raised profile. An extra eyelet is added just before the collar area, giving runners an option of adjusting lacing pressure.

Ventilation has been cranked up by way of integrated Flyknit panels featuring larger pores on the sides, a much helpful addition to help the shoe see through warmer climes of late spring and summer. The upper sidewalls also firm up, by use of hard triangular inserts inside the funnel shapes – an addition not there in the original Flyknit One. Reminds us of collar stays used in dress shirts – hard but pliable.

The toe box area stays more or less untouched, save for the Flywire cord going right unto the front, in an effort to create a snugger forefoot fit.

The firm collar area is an exact fitment from last year’s Lunar One. The heel counter is hard, with internal stiffener sandwiched between the lining and Flyknit mesh. While padded with foam, the collar walls are high with a noticeable inward lean towards the Achilles – the effects of which we’ll cover in our ride experience breakout later in the review. In an unexpected move, the 2014 Flyknit Lunar 2 gets a completely new sole design. Not that anything was wrong with the 2013 outsole, which did decent underfoot duties on Flyknit One, and later the Lunar Flash. It was perhaps the urgency to get all fresh 2014 introductions on to the new ‘pressure mapped’ outsole design – a distinct pattern featuring concentric loops of rubber under the forefoot. Look past that, and the basic set-up has a lot in common with the Flyknit One – the softer Lunarlon foam sitting interlocked with a firmer midsole base.

While on topic, the flanks look finely sculpted with angular sinews molded into lower sidewalls. This is a digression from accordion ridges look on the Flyknit one, and the new design lends the Flyknit Lunar 2 midsole a more muscular look, for lack of a better analogy. The contrasting speckles, which we so liked in the 2013 version, returns on the new midsole. The Ortholite Sockliner is the same as the one before. Memory foam like compression and a friction-free top cloth gets the job done nicely.

The heel area rubber is split into more pieces, increasing the number units from three to four. There are also spread apart further from one another and with realigned positioning. A bigger rubber chunk sits right at the edge of  heel center, and flanked by two smaller pieces. The fourth rubber piece extends alongside outer midsole, stopping just short underneath the arch area.

Despite all the new bits, Nike hasn’t rocked the boat with Flyknit Lunar 2. The upper is more or less made of same materials, so first entry into the shoe feels familiar. But as soon as you start running in them, the differences make their presence felt. The integrated Flyknit tongue doesn’t slide sideways anymore and works together with the upper to result in a snugger fit than the 2013 Flyknit One. Forefoot space feels much tighter than last year, caused by: a) Flywire cords extending right unto the last eyelet and wrapping around the sides, b) A slight change in Flyknit weave which is tightly packed around the forefoot area and c) hard triangular inserts in the medial mid-foot panels.