“Oh these look really interesting, what brand is that?” is something we get asked almost every single day here at the Runlimited Shoe Room. “Are they running shoes?”

And these are very fair questions from our customers. The shoes in question take on a decidedly minimalist aesthetic - almost entirely monochromatic - and aren’t marked with huge logos of the global footwear giants, but instead a small horizontal lightning-bolt adorns the side. In fact, they look more like a casual trainer than a performance shoe.

“These are the hylo Impact,” we respond.

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Hylo Athletics is a London-based brand founded in 2020 on the principle of creating sustainable performance running footwear and to “Run Like The World Depends On It”. Founder Michael Doughty (check out our interview with him here!) is a former pro-footballer who turned his hand to building an eco-friendly shoe label in an industry notorious for waste and unethical practice. The Impact is their first true foray into the running space, with the promise that not only will it be sustainable and ethical, but perform under the demands of any runner.

The Impact is the one shoe that each member of the Runlimited team owns and uses regularly. Come in on any given day, and 90% of the time, one of us will have them on foot. 

At 33mm of stack height and 8mm of drop, this neutral shoe falls into the moderate category for both cushioning and offset. What we have under foot is a bioEVA midsole foam derived from Castor Beans that hylo refer to as Hyperbolt. It has been built as a daily mileage shoe that can do a little of everything, but is most at home during those comfortable easy miles.

Stepping in, the feel is nicely plush, definitely more on the soft-side compared to other shoes on offer in the same category. We’d liken the feel to that of New Balance’s FreshFoam or Asics’ FF Blast+ for that soft bounce. There is no form of support shank or rods built into the midsole, keeping material usage down and aiding hylo’s ability to recycle them when you’ve put them through their paces.

The Impact is more modest in the amount of cushion when compared to other offerings on the daily-shoe market currently, but we find this works to its advantage. Given the lower density foam, the cushioning risks becoming too soft and mushy with little responsiveness. But that is not the case here. By sticking to a medium amount of cushioning, the Impact maintains a responsiveness that is enough to keep the miles ticking over throughout the training week, but without the aggressive hyper-bounce of a speed shoe. 

Further, this makes the shoe feel lively and agile under-foot, striking a balance between cushioning and ground feel that maximalist shoes tend to lose in favour of protection. What this does mean, though, is that the flexibility of the Impact is higher than its peers. For us, most of the Runlimited team appreciated the smooth transition through our respective gaits, and the ‘natural’ feel that this brought to a run. 

It is worth noting, however, that an anonymous tester would prefer a little more stiffness for runs over 1-hour, but we’d put that down to his penchant for forefoot striking and history of plantar-tendon injuries…! [Editor’s note: for what it’s worth, he still wears them in-store most days before taking them out for his evening run-commute!]

A wider toe box and supple, soft upper, further enhances this natural sensation, giving the toes room to spread out despite prolonged wear.  The Tencel upper is again made from castor-beans that have been transformed into a nylon-like polymer and weaved into a soft mesh. The resulting fit is nicely comfortable without being over-engineered. 

One note we have found however is those with a wider mid-foot may feel the Impact to be on the narrower side. Additionally, the slightly high shoe collar could pose a risk of irritation to those with more prominent ankle bones, but this has only occurred in a small portion of gait analysis appointments and the majority of people have experienced no discomfort with fit.

The lacing system is very simple, providing a comfortable and secure fit from the box. The soft upper wraps nicely to the foot. Thicker laces do mean that we did experience a couple of times when, despite how tightly we double-knotted them, our shoes coming untied.

Size wise, we find them to be very true, with very few people sizing up or down from their regular running-shoe size.

Other cool details include the Hyloop chip that sits within the tongue. The NFC tag is a feature found in all of hylo’s products, allowing you to scan the product with your smartphone and bring up all of the information required to recycle it with hylo or give it more life yourself. The brand aims to make footwear more circular, moving to reduce the number of shoes going to landfill, currently where 90% of shoes end up. 

Hylo also ensure 3rd-party audits are carried out on all of their production facilities in Vietnam, making sure that not only are the materials sustainable, but the conditions for workers are also sustainable and highly ethical.

Great for:

Neutral runners looking for a smooth ride; shorter runs; easy to moderate paces; a running shoe that you can rock casually!

Verdict:

A simple but fun and durable option that combines performance with style and sustainability. The future for hylo is exciting!

£150

Available in: Triple black; sand; undyed

Weight: 280g*

Drop: 8mm

Support: Neutral

Available in-store and online at runlimited.co/

*Weight based on a UK size 8.