Review: UA Flow Velociti 3
Released a couple weeks ago, it’s been a fun fortnight putting these latest kicks from Under Armour to the test!
Reviewing shoes on a regular basis can sometimes get a little bit tedious. The standards across all the major brands are pretty high and they are consistently making tweaks and changes that are often hard to really notice when you’re out there pounding the pavement. It’s only when you have significant leaps in technology or a new approach to design that you get a noticeable evolution. In the case of Under Armour, the last couple of years has seen them improve in leaps and bounds. From what we once considered to be a brand just for the gym junkies, today they’re a bona fide running brand with world-class athletes proving the quality of their footwear in races across the planet.
The latest release, the UA Flow Velociti 3 brings improvements to what we already felt was a fantastic offering that steered away from the maximal shoes that are all the rage. You can read our review of the Velociti Wind 2 here. First thing to note is that the market for these isn’t just the hardcore runner. They’re also good for those who use a bit of running as part of their fitness regime, but want something that isn’t too aggressive or chunky and is also at home at the gym. However, don’t let the purist runners out there go thinking that these aren’t for them. Personally, I find it refreshing that there’s someone making ultra-light and fast feeling shoes that don’t have a massive stack height and so much cushioning that you lose proprioception and foot feel.
The Velociti 3 has an 8mm drop, which is enough to offload the achilles but not overly high in the heel. The knitted upper is snug and breathable, with stretch in all the right places. It makes them really comfortable on those long Sunday runs where the feet can heat up and spread or swell a little. The heel cup offers great stability on foot strike and the Flow midsole provides nice cushioning and bounce. The grip is good in most weather conditions and the build quality makes me feel I’ll be able to get 500km+ out of them. Aesthetically they’re quite appealing, with a few colour variations to suit most people’s tastes.
Overall, these are an ideal everyday runner that are equally at home in tempo sessions as they are on long runs. You can consider them an all-rounder, which makes them great for the budget conscious runner.