New Year, New Kicks: 361° Spire 5

I’ve been a runner most of my adult life and typically stay true to my shoe type, but when Run Oregon asks you try out some new kicks from 361°, you go for it! I’m a casual 2-3x a week runner, typically staying in single digit miles. I ordered my typical size up for running shoes, (that’s 7.5 for me,) and gave the 361 Spire 5 a try over track & road runs.

All the juicy details are below but to summarize – I’m keeping these and will be using them for many more runs!

Read all our Reviews of 361 here!

Design

The Spire 5 in Cherry/Black have some interesting design features that surprised and impressed me. It’s pretty obvious that a lot of thought and care was put into making this shoe different. Some initial thoughts:

• They’re incredibly light and lacking a lot of the heavy sole – which makes me think I’ll run only on the track or pavement for these
• Flat laces
• Sleek thin tongue that’s kind of stiff so it doesn’t wrinkle up
• Cool color! (Isn’t it true that great shoes are often ugly? These aren’t and miraculously, my pants match 😊)

Fit

My feet are medium width and fairly flat. These have high arch support, which I noticed immediately. Long term, I may need to prep my feet to prevent arch blisters, but that’s my feet and they do that with lots of shoes. After a few runs, they ended up being pretty great. No funny ankle stuff, no squished toes – just goodness.

More thoughts on the fit:

• Very supportive
• Heel support that basically feels like a hug
• Roomy toe box

My run on the track and road were successful. I’ll be wearing these again!

For Consideration:

Positives:

• Lightweight
• True to size – plus they come in wide!
• Sleek design

Possible drawbacks to consider:

• If you’re looking for a shoe only for road/track – this is good. If you are looking for a mult-terrain option, these don’t seem to have traction for that (but that’s expected).
• Flat footed folks – the high arch support may give you blisters.