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A-FlashFoam 2.0 Performance Review

In 2017, Anta released its own A-Flashfoam midsole material, which was then applied in several of its running shoes. Among them, two  pair of running shoes debuted in the 2017 Kunming and Chongqing Marathon respectively, which were immediately sold out.

So since I am crazy about this kind of sport, I am also full of expectations for A-Flashfoam. Therefore, let’s get acquainted with today’s protagonist — A-Flashfoam 2.0.

Leaving the shoe’s performance aside, its appearance alone is appealing enough for me. The colorway I pick up here is the “midnight blue” which looks more “mature” and “calmer”. There are also other colorways available which are black, cold grey, ivory white and fluorescent dark red.

The vamp is made of ultra-light and elastic fabric. And it is made of double-layer fabric though, there is a large number of air holes designed on it, which makes it more than suitable for running in summer days. In terms of the toe, the popular anti-collision design is adopted there.

You can see from the image that the shoe tongue and the shoe collar is an integral whole. The material used is elastic as well as  extensile so as to increase the wrapping.

The midsole is the a-Flashfoam, the core cushion technology of this brand, which is a mixed material of EVA and TPU. There are also altogether seven gradually enlarged oval hollow designs adopted from the toe to the heel, which reduces the weight of the shoe.

The outsole material used is the lightweight and wear-resisting rubber which the same as that of the first edition. The oval hollow design and scale texture in the outsole can improve the grip of the shoe in the process of running and more importantly, reduce energy loss.

The insole is the 5mm soft EVA with an arch design which can fit runners’ feet nicely.

The initial feeling it gave me was that the shoe is very light. The data given by officials indicates a single shoe weighs only 240 grams while my ultra boost is 285 grams.

Since this is a shoe designed for long distance running,  it is especially important that the shoe has nice cushioning performance. So first of all, I simply tested the performance of a-flashfoam midsole performance by squeezing it with my hand. When I pressed the shoe with moderate strength, it turned out that there was an obvious compression and then immediate feedback. And in order to further confirm that, I carried out a 10 km run. During the whole  process, the midsole was continuously giving me sufficient feedback that I did not feel fatigued after the running. That is to say the shoe is rather reliable in this respect.

The size of the shoe is quite right. With a pair of socks  of moderate thickness, the feet will be firmly locked inside the shoes. So the wrapping is also very nice.

I am used to running at around 7 pm when there are gentle breeds.  And every time I finished running, my feet were still quite dry and I felt rather comfortable, which should be credited to the dense air holes on the vamp.

To be honest, I had thought the outsole would be a fatal drawback of the shoe since it was very thin. But it turned out that I was incredibly wrong. After this period of testing, running over 50 km and daily  wearing, I found, in fact, that the outsole is quite wearable and a short period of intensity training will  do little damage to the sole.

Overall:

In short, the shoe is cost-effective. And since the summer days are here with us, are you in want of such a pair of excellent shoes? If so, you might as well have a try.