Chinese Shoe Thread

Any good suggestions for cheap workout shoes?

e.g. Speed trainers or racing shoes that aren't necessarily top tier racers, but are fast enough for workouts with also an added level of comfort (and obviously... cheap)

I have the Feidian 5 Challenger. I don't love it, but I'll put up with it until I've got a few hundred kilometres out of it. I also have the Do-Win PB3 and the Dynafish Danian; both have very low drops, which makes warm ups and cool downs almost intolerable (not a dealbreaker, but it'd be nice on the days when I'm short on time to not have to change shoes). Also, the foam in the Danian is breaking down quite quickly.

I'm tossing up between the 361 Degrees Furious 2.0 ($140 AUD including postage, which is about 73 GBP or 100 USD).

The Anta C202 7.0 ($150 AUD)

Or the BMAI Jingtan 3.0 Turbo ($160 AUD)

Any other suggestions?

What’s the best shoe out there

Lining Feidian 5 ELITE, 120-130 AUD since they have a great discount right now.

The cheapest I can find them on Aliexpress is 220 AUD (with the discount).

Do you have a link?

Good info about the Xtep 2000KM 3.0, I was thinking about trying them as well but you have swayed me.

That's kind of the reason why I'm not crazy about the Red Hare Pro 8, they're a bit too firm and slappy on the pavement for my liking for easy runs. I'm still trying to figure out how to best use them, they're not bad for workouts but they're not particularly great either (compared to the Challenger or Evo SL). I may try them on the treadmill. I don't really understand the love that people have for these.

Now the Feidian Challenger 5 on the other hand are perfection to me. That will be quite the bummer if it turns out the 6 are not as good.

You may need to go to TAOBAO, I think Aliexpress is still the Lining official store. But a lot of personal stores sell them at the price I mentioned.

Was gonna recommend to Dynafish Danian, like them a lot, don't mind the low drop.

BMAI Carbon Turbo 3.0 feel incredibly light, quite a bit firmer than the Challenger 5 but they open up at workout paces. Usually less than 100 USD which is an absolute steal -- but if you don't really like the Danian you might not like them either. They do last quite a while though.

Cant't recommend anything from Xtep, Quiodan or Do-Win, all busts for me so far. Li-Ning, BMAI and Dynafish is where it's at! Haven't tried out Anta yet, C202 G9 2 are on their way though.

Xiaodan Wind 3tr - I wanted a soft, flexible daily trainer, so gave these a try per mostly good reviews. There were HUI daily trainer pick of the year last year.

I echo Run-Are Youtube experience. He felt 1 shoe felt like a manufacturing defect, like his foot was sliding off the shoe medially. For me it was the heel. Same shoe was 10 g lighter than other, & foam didn't feel anything like other shoe. Felt kind of dead, firmer, no bounce.

Bummer because good shoe felt really good. I thought maybe it was the cold weather or they needed the typical 100 mile break in, but I did a speed workout in them when it warmed up, & could tell even more of a difference between shoes since good shoe became softer & bouncier above freezing. Also my knee started to hurt so they're going in the garbage after only 89 miles. Can't even wear them for casual shoes since they have that ugly Jordan logo on them.

*Qiaodan

the Feidian 6 Elite is the best shoe I've ever worn. My word. I've never been able to run so fast and it feel so manageable. Can't wait to race in them.

Any suggestions for a not too heavy easy day shoe? Looking for something on the softer side (like Mizuno Neo Zen).

I've got both. They're very similar shoes. The 9 is less tight feeling in the upper, and has a less chunky tongue. Overall it's lost some weight. I think the midsole may be slightly softer too, but it's hard to tell. The heel was also widened so it feels a bit more stable back there.

Posting an update as I've continued my descent into Chinese shoedom. I'm not a good shoe reviewer (wtf is bouncy?) so here's a simple ranking of shoes I've tried.

Daily/Easy/Recovery:

1. Li-Ning Yueying 5 Pro
2. Qiaodan TG Leili 1.0
3. Li-Ning Red Hare 8 Pro - midfoot shank bothered my foot for the first 50 miles, unremarkable shoe, but totally fine
4. Do-Win Critical 3.0 - heavy

Speed/Race:

1. Li-Ning Feidian 5 Elite
2. Do-Win PB 3.0
3. Do-Win Speedster 3.0 - aggressive geometry, runs long
4. Qiaodan Wind 3 - tight upper, mediocre performance
5. Qiaodan Plaid 2.0 - haven't figured out how to run in it without the sidewall grinding into the outside of one of my ankles

I also have the Dynafish Xiaonian, Qiaodan PB 6.0, Qiaodan TG Plaid 1.0, and BMAI Fly Plus 2 waiting to try out after I retire some of these other ones.

For the brands I've tried the most shoes from:

• Li-Ning: best quality shoes and the price reflects that. I don't understand why the Red Hare 9 Pro/Ultra and the Feidian 6 Elite are so expensive (relatively), even going the Taobao route. Li-Ning is the easiest entry point as they are priced really aggressively on Amazon. It's crazy how much they've been picked up by the shoetubers over the past few months too.
  
• Do-Win: mostly solid. Hopefully they make a modern daily trainer, as the Critical 3.0 doesn't really cut it. I wasn't blown away by the fit of the Speedster, so I'm interested in the new PB Elite that is basically the PB 4.0 with upgraded foam. The PB Pro that everyone talks about has never been available in the size I'd need (43 and 44 both sold out on Taobao). Their lineup is also hard to sort through as they have tons of low stack plated shoes for Chinese PE exams.
• Qiaodan: fancy tech, soft foam, low prices, occasionally confusing lineup (Wind vs LH vs TG). I haven't seen manufacturing defects like others have pointed out, but I do think their execution on various models could be improved. I'm also not sure what their long-term strategy is for some of the newer models, as it seems like they are just letting the Leili 1.0 go out of stock after I think only 6 months.

Side note for anyone considering gear: I took a shot on some BMAI gear and was disappointed. I'm tall and skinny, typically stuck between a S/M in both shirts and shorts in the US. I went with L for the Chinese sizing and everything came out too big. I got some 3.5" shorts - they are longer than my 7" shorts from Rabbit, and also don't have a liner (couldn't tell from the listing). I'm swimming in the shirts, too.

How does the Dynafish Xiaonian compare to Lining Red hare 8 pro in terms of ride? I have used the latter for a variety of paces ranging from easy to threshold and been quite satisfied with it.

Also are the Xiaonians true to size, ie one can measure feet in mm and expect the shoe to match that more or less?

Xiaonian is the best show I've ever owned. I mostly use it for long runs but it's a fantastic allrounder in my book. Ride is hard to describe because the shoe feels wide and stable like a Superblast but the shoe is incredibly light and never gives me the feeling that it's "too much" shoe like the Superblast or Novablast does.

Compared to the Red Hare 8 Pro, it's lighter, softer, much more comfy and propulsive -- think Adios Pro 4 / Prime X vs Boston 12 or something along those lines.

Dynafish is true to size for me, same as Li-Ning.

I asked a few months ago about whether a 45 Xiaonian would fit someone who wears a 46 in the Challenger 5. I ended up convincing a size US11 friend to buy the Xiaonian and I said I would get it for him to save him the trouble of learning to use taobao. They’ve just arrived and I can confirm they are the exact same length as the 5C so I will be purchasing.

Adding my experience to the mix: Bought the Red Hare Pro 8, Feidian 5 Challanger, and Dynafish via Mulebuy. Far from a shoe reviewer but I can say the shoes are basically as advertised.
Red Hare 8 $33 - it's fine, after a half dozen runs or so I'm still getting some hotspots, it's pretty firm. The upper is super thin which I'm worried about, but no issues yet. The main thing is that it does the job for a price that's hard to beat.
Feidian 5 Challanger $50 - Had a pair for $42 in my cart but didn't buy fast enough. Has been solid for my workout days, has some pop to them. Similar to the red hare in that it's pretty firm, with a thin upper and still gives my feet some hot spots. Good price to performance ratio.
Dynafish $110 - I felt ridiculous spending this much for a chinese shoe since the whole point for me was to find some cheaper options but this was has felt so darn good. Again nothing new here, but I can back up what everyone has said about this shoe being a delightful wear. No complaints, worth it.
Ordering and Shipping - Ordered 28 and 29 Dec from Mulebuy using links someone sent on the NSA Strava. All 3 arrived at the mulebuy warehouse and were "quality checked" with pictures sent to me by Jan 3. I used the cheapest shipping option US-Sea-HX. I originally paid $80 but got $28 back. The shoes arrived Feb 10th.

I've dipped my toes into the Chinese shoe universe with mixed results. Bought a pair of Do-Win PB Pros from Mulebuy, which arrived early January. They are absolute weapons and can't wait to race in them again.

Also bought a pair of Red Hare 9 Pros and wore them for a threshold workout today. They felt firm but lacking responsiveness. Might be asking a bit too much of them at faster paces.

Does anyone have a recommendation for Chinese trainers similar to Adidas Bostons? Those are my go-to workout shoes and I would love to have an alternative.

I have the Li Ning Challenger 5 and they are great. Super Shoe quality for 100$. But sizing was a bit off, so check it before buying