Customer Reviews Topo Athletic Phantom

The good things are : 1. Light weigh 2. Its shape looks great for flat feet. Bad things are : 1. Width is still a bit small, preferably 2E, Wide ( not necessarily Extra Wide ) 2.The edges where the EVA midsole and feather peeled off easily ( 5-7 time run , total of app. 30 miles ).

This is my third pair of shoes from the company, in a be honest the cushioning is fantastic but the overall fit feel just a bit smaller than the others in the past. The ultra fly has been my favorite thus far, and the Zephyr was great as well

I own 4 other pairs of Topo's and really wanted to love these, as I was looking for a bit more cushion for the road. The left shoe feels at least a half size too small, and feels smaller than the right shoe as well. I missed the return date by 1 day! I have 2 pairs of ST-2's the Terraventure and the Fli-Lyte 2's... I'll purchase Topo again, but these just did not work for me... and the toe box seems narrower than the shoes mentioned above.

Big Topo fan and this shoe is a winner. Just wish I ordered a half size bigger as the toe box feels a bit narrower compared to other Topo shoes.

I run trails with TOPOs so I knew how they fit and feel. For road shoes I just bought a pair of Hoka Bondi 6 that felt great (cushion wise) but, did not fit my foot correctly. I turned to the Phantom hoping for the same cushion and was sad to find out they were not. They are not bad shoes just not as cushioned as i would expect a maximal type shoe to be.

I really tried to like these but.... My favorite running shoe ever was the original Ultrafly. I am not sure why Topo changed those but I found the Ultrafly 2 very uncomfortable (I will review that under those shoes). I have run about 60 to 80 miles in the Phantoms mainly because I can't find any more Ultrafly (originals) on line and I knew I needed another Topo to replace them with. I wear a 10 but I upsize by 1/2 shoe size to save my toenails. This has worked great with the 10 or more Ultrafly shoes I have owned but not so with the Phantoms. My toes are much closer to the end of the shoe and the shoe keeps pulling the front of my feet laterally. I ran 12 miles in them yesterday and hated it. Today I ran 8 in one of the last two pairs of original Ultrafly shoes I own and it was heaven. Not sure if the Phantoms are actually shorter or narrower at the toebox but I've had my last run in them.

Tried to change via Customer Service but very uncooperative and not at all understanding of issue as I purchased on a closeout.

I bought these after loving my Ultraventrues so much. That was a comfortable shoe and hard wearing. These however are a poor relative. I recognise that they are not the same design as the Ultraventrue but I still feel compelled to give a poor review. The shoe itself does not have a good, firm feel to it. After just 2 months, they feel flimsy and the rubber around the base has separated from the upper shoe. They wore out far too quickly for the price. Topo have been pretty good about it and replaced them but I won't buy these again. Please, please bring back the Ultraventures in a better colour selection!

So I have ordered 3 of these in various sizes. The ones that are my size lengthwise are too narrow where the stitching is. The wider men's ones are PERFECT in the width but are way too long. I would give anything for a men's 7 which they don't make. You have no idea how badly I want to love these shoesthe sock like feel of the upper is awesome. You guys are really close to perfection...but definitely not there yet.

The MT2 is what brought me to Topo, and was my favorite pair of running shoes that I ever had. The MT3 doesn't feel like it has the same quality to it. The soles are a lot more slippery, which was kind of a bust to me. I'd look at other models, especially if you are running dusty and rocky trails in California and New Mexico.

I have a pair of Altras but don't like zero drop so I figured I'd give TOPO a try. These shoes are too narrow in the toe box. My pinky toe is going to rip through like it does on all other tennis shoes except Altras. These feel slightly wider than a new balance 4e but not near as wide as Altras.

I am a 53 year old, 5'8" 160 lb. male. I run in the 40 mile per week range on roads. A cushioned shoe is of supreme importance in my running due to my age, my past athletic life and working on my feet for the past 30 years. After MUCH research on shoes in the "maximum cushioned" category I settled on the Phantoms. I received them today and took them out for their first run. In a nutshell, my legs now feel like they have been run through the ringer. They took a pounding! Each impact felt harder than ever. How could anyone think these are cushioned?? To my legs, they didn't feel cushioned at all much less "maximally" cushioned. I have been running in Nike Joyride Dual Runs which are much, much more cushioned and bouncy than the Phantoms. I also bought them for 70 bucks! I also have a pair of Puma Ultrarides that I bought for 50 bucks that these Phantoms so reminded me of. Cannot run in the Pumas either. I chose these over Altra and Hoka but if this is what passes for cushioned in the "supreme" running shoe world I don't know what to do next! Anyway, these are being returned. Disappointed!

When I put them on, the first thing I noticed was my feet were slightly pronated, I didn't run in them as I could already feel it would make my knees and arches sore. I set the shoes on the table and the shoes clearly slanted medially or rested in pronation. I tried jogging on the carpet and not very comfortable. The toe box was just wide enough and the shoe was smaller than I thought, very light shoe. I probably would have kept them if not for the pronation issue. I do not normally pronate and do not use stability shoes. My fear are not flat. The left shoe was slightly more than the right.

I love this shoe, but unfortunately, its time for me to get another pair but TOPO stopped selling these (in every color) in size 15 !!?

Disappointed! A hard shoes unlike the write up and other reviews. Love the Ultrafly 2 and was expecting this to exceed Ultrafly 2.

I reviewed these previously with 5 stars, but have to add this, can't edit my old review. Fantastic shoe for first 20 miles, but after that, the zip foam has nothing left, the only cushion is the insole, literally. I now prefer my magniflys to this for any distance. They are cushier. This is supposed to be a cushioned shoe and it's not now. Really disappointed as I loved them at first.

The fit is great - I love the TOPO fit with its wide but not too-wide toebox, but so far the cushioning in the Phantom is too firm to the point of being uncomfortable. I had high hopes that the "Zipfoam" in the Phantom would be like the Magnifly but thicker and thereby replace the Hoka Clifton 3's as my go to longer run road shoe. Unfortunately, so far they have been disappointing. The cushion seems way too firm - neither soft nor responsive, just hard. My first run in these (after wearing them around town and at work a few times hoping they would soften up a bit) was about 9 miles on a mix of smooth dirt trails and paved bike trail. The ride was firm to the point of being harsh and uncomfortable. Perhaps they will break in and become softer with time, but so far I'm pretty disappointed.

The fit is great - I love the TOPO fit with its wide but not too-wide toebox, but so far the cushioning in the Phantom is too firm to the point of being uncomfortable. I had high hopes that the "Zipfoam" in the Phantom would be like the Magnifly but thicker and thereby replace the Hoka Clifton 3's as my go to longer run road shoe. Unfortunately, so far they have been disappointing. The cushion seems way too firm - neither soft nor responsive, just hard. My first run in these (after wearing them around town and at work a few times hoping they would soften up a bit) was about 9 miles on a mix of smooth dirt trails and paved bike trail. The ride was firm to the point of being harsh and uncomfortable. Perhaps they will break in and become softer with time, but so far I'm pretty disappointed.

I have owned many Topo Running shoes, Ultrafly, Magnifly and Fli-Lyte. All have been size 11.5. I had zero problems which is why I keep ordering them. I thought I'd try the Phantom. I'd read were it was a little smaller but not enough to warrant a 1/2 size up. I wore them for a week of varied runs. After the longer runs my toes would let me know of their existence. I let this pass. After about a week I tried them again. Same result. I tried them for just walking and found after a while, again the toes. So they are just too small even though after about a dozen others Topos all being OK at that size. I did find them decent cushion-wise. Definitely not overly so as one might expect. Very similar to the Ultrafly. But all that said I forgot about the 30 trial period, I definitely can not wear them for running and they are not the most comfortable for walking so a whiff or me. Still like Topo though.

I have owned many Topo Running shoes, Ultrafly, Magnifly and Fli-Lyte. All have been size 11.5. I had zero problems which is why I keep ordering them. I thought I'd try the Phantom. I'd read were it was a little smaller but not enough to warrant a 1/2 size up. I wore them for a week of varied runs. After the longer runs my toes would let me know of their existence. I let this pass. After about a week I tried them again. Same result. I tried them for just walking and found after a while, again the toes. So they are just too small even though after about a dozen others Topos all being OK at that size. I did find them decent cushion-wise. Definitely not overly so as one might expect. Very similar to the Ultrafly. But all that said I forgot about the 30 trial period, I definitely can not wear them for running and they are not the most comfortable for walking so a whiff or me. Still like Topo though.

Was excited to try out my Phantoms. I've had four pairs of Ultrafly 2s and Hydroventure 2. The extra cushion felt great but within my first mile, I could feel the hot spots on my toes. After seven miles, I was done with them. I never get blisters but did with the Phantoms. I love TOPOs because of the roomy toe box. This shoe does NOT have it. I returned them for another pair of Ultrafly 2s.

Hard to believe that this shoe is a Topo. It is very much unlike my Topo trail running shoes (Ultraventures and Terraventures). I can run ultra distances in my Topo trail shoes in max comfort. My third run in the Phantom's was 6 miles and I couldn't wait to get home and get them off my feet. They are short in length and have no where near the volume in the forefoot/toe box of my other Topo's. The tight fit caused hot spots on both of my feet. I wish Topo could make a road shoe with the comfort and volume of their trail shoes. Not sure who tests your products before they go to market, but you should have had some feedback about the different fit of these shoes compared to other models. Maybe it would be wise to have folks not connected to the company give some feedback.

These shoes lasted no more than 5 weeks before totally delaminating at the sides. I would not have done more than 5 km in these over 5 weeks. Just not acceptable for such an expensive pair of trail shoes. I have had a pair of Mountain Racers which are still going after 500 km but these runventures are just total rubbish I am afraid.

I am a loyal Topo fan, Having gone through at least 10 pairs of their shoes in the last couple years as a high mileage runner. Based upon reviews I had high expectations for the new Cyclone. The good: A relatively light weight hi Christian Shoe with great energy return, feels very snappy, and *could* probably be a great long run shoe if it weren't for the bad: a god-awful, rigid, blister-inducing heel!! My feet are not usually Becky, but I could not tolerate more than 2 to 3 miles in the these. Quite frankly the poor design is evident the minute you put them on, but I really really wanted to like these. My second and last run I have 8 miles left me in significant pain halfway through, angry and gritting my teeth to get home and throw these back in the mail. Topo, you have an otherwise great shoe here if you can fix the awful heel design. Please, do it!!!