Our doorbell rings most days; sometimes it’s flyers for a new fried chicken shop, sometimes it’s 6 pairs of beautiful running shoes and sometimes it’s both. This article is about one of those special days when both land at our door. I decided to lace up, burn a few calories, put on a few calories, burn a few more, nap, then write this.
When our friends over at Hylo Athletics offered to send us a few pairs of their latest trainer, the Hylo Impact, we eagerly nodded and sent our sizes over in a heartbeat. Released in March 2024 and still Hylo’s latest drop, the Hylo Impact is a testament to the brand’s commitment to R&D and needle focus on performance and sustainability. In an age with faster and faster seasons and collection drops, it’s refreshing to see a brand dedicate their work to one silhouette, putting all they can into it.
Prior to the Impact, Hylo offered the Hylo Run, designed as an all-round performance shoe, and the Hylo Light, tailored for everyday activities. Both great shoes but it’s the Impact which we feel has really stepped the brand up not just from a performance view but in terms of its sustainability credentials.
The Hylo Impact distinguishes itself through its lightweight knitted upper made from 100% bio-based nylon derived from castor beans, a midsole built with HyperBolt™ technology, and an outsole inspired by Formula 1 tyres for enhanced traction. We could go into the science behind some of this stuff but in the universally known layman tongue, this all just means these shoes are well good. I’ve run a fair number of miles in these now and they’re snug, breathable, highly responsive and beyond having a cloud-like midsole, they can pick up too.
The Hylo Impact is a serious running shoe that happens to be good for the planet. It’s definitely helping push eco-friendly discourse in the running sphere and proof that being sustainable doesn’t have to mean we must compromise on performance. As you can tell, I’m quite a fan of these trainers and I’ll be placing them firmly in my everyday rotation. The same can’t be said for the chicken shop…
