Lightweight Shoe Comparison

liberate: pretty old school ride and feel, foam is not too soft (puma are usually available at a discount)

sinister: foam is softer, feels like a cushioned, bouncy slipper

FCSSC pacer: i really enjoy this shoe. yes, it has a plate, but the lower ride feels more traditional. and not too soft

kilkenny: minimal, old school, narrow fit

Liberate nitro has kind of high stack - like 26 mm. It will feel like the nb 1400 or streak 6-7.

base model and active 88 are kind of weird shoes - they won't feel like traditional flats despite having similar profiles

pacer - is plated

the other 2 have a spike like feel

sinister - of course is a traditional racing flat, but its hyper minimal for a fast 5-10k

You need to try any of these shoes on and do some short runs before jumping into whatever training or racing you plan to do in them.

The only recent models I have tried out of these are the NB FC SuperComp Pacer and the Saucony Kilkenny spikeless. As someone else noted, the Pacer is a plated shoe. It feels relatively low to the ground, but I really noticed the plate. Not a bad shoe overall, but I don't know if I would call it a traditional racing flat by any means (but there have been some good deals on it lately, so it could be worth a shot).

The Saucony Kilkenny was quite minimal, and while it performed fine, I really wish I could find a shoe like the really early models. The spikeless Saucony Kilkenny II (I think I got it in 2006 or 2007) ended up as my highest mileage shoe ever, with well over 1000 miles on a single pair. For reference, the most I've gotten out of any other pair of shoes is less than 700 miles, with most lasting me 350-600.

What is the stack on the Liberates? PUMA lists them as 6mm drop, but no stack heights. Running Warehouse says 26/18 for an 8mm drop. Regardless, isn't that similar to the Sinister?

Do the Atreyu and Active88 have a softer feel? Or what makes them weird lol

What does the 8mm drop on the Pacers feel like? I'm used to low drop, but on some shoes (Vaporfly specifically) the drop feels lower than it actually is

Good to hear that the Liberates are not too soft, that might be a good option actually

I'd go with running warehouse's data. They actually measure the shoe.

25/19 for the sinister, but its a 4.9 oz shoe. Whereas the liberate is a 6.5 ounce shoe. The difference is all cushioning. You can really feel the lack of it in the sinister. The sinister also fits much tighter than the liberate. The liberate feels like it has a bit of extra room in the forefoot. I tried them on and didn't get them. The sinister in my size fits with no extra room. I've raced up to 10k in them and used them for runs of up to 20.

base model seems to be lacking much rubber on the sole: I've heard of this shoe wearing out really quickly, but I haven't tried them myself.

Image:atreyu.com/cdn/shop/products/Voyager_s...

the forefoot pattern of the active 88 boulder hurt my foot . Like it would be a great shoe for me if there was just rubber instead of that open foot, even at the cost of another 1-1.5 oz. If you've been running in the type a, it may feel similar, idk, I didn't like type a either - it would hurt my feet bc it was too stiff and I actually like a shoe with low 20s stack, that works best for whatever weird footstrike I have, so take my opinions with a grain of salt.

Image:www.activeimprintsco.com/cdn/shop/prod...

I quite like the Sinisters, although I liked the A9s more. I'm in early days of trying the Kilkennys, but, as others have noted, they are pretty minimal.

It feels like a fairly low drop, but the main thing I notice is the stiffness of the plate. If you are happy with a stiff shoe, I wouldn't guess the drop will be an issue.

On the australian and brazilian markets, fila has a couple flats - the kr5 and kr6 (and older models) and something called the spider racer or something like that. These appear to be true racing flats. They were sold in the eu until recently too, but appear to be discontinued there. I contacted Fila australia and Fila US about getting a pair shipped to the us and basically got told f no. Worth considering if you really need a flat, like to hit a road pr or something - there are a few very expensive services which will act as an intermediary to receive a product and then ship it most anywhere in the world from brazil and australia.

There are also japanese flats by asics and mizuno - they cost 150-250 from sellers on ebay. The wave cruise is and feels lower than the streak lt, but kind of a similar feel around the foot, but is a bit stiffer. The asics flats look they'd be great (sortiemagic) but don't come in my size (no 10.5 shoes are made for japan).