Introduction
Atreyu is a relatively young brand in the performance footwear market. Started in 2020 by Michael Krajicek, it has since grown from the Base Model to now a set of 4 products in its line-up. The latest addition to Atreyu’s product line-up is their Daily Trainer. As the name suggests, Atreyu has made a product that is more equipped than the Base Model and targeted to take on various types of workouts. The Daily Trainer filled up Atreyu’s gap, between the Base Model and the Artist, in terms of product offering for runners interested in the brand.
Does My Five Key Pointers Still Hold After 100 KM?
Here are my five key pointers from my first impression review of the Atreyu Daily Trainer.
- Pointer 1: Roomy Upper w/ Good Breathability
- Pointer 2: Snug & Lockdown not something associated with Atreyu Daily Trainer
- Pointer 3: Simple Midsole, Surprising Comfort & Rebound
- Pointer 4: Geometry Design Provides a Stable Ride
- Pointer 5: Single Piece Outsole equipped with ~1 mm Lugs.
Pointer 1, 3, 4, 5 stayed true over the course of the 100KM. The upper of the Atreyu Daily Trainer remained roomy while providing good level of breathability. It could potential be among the most breathable upper I had tried in many different running shoes. The midsole has not changed much in terms of its performance, during each run the midsole continues to provide the cushion and rebound which I had on first run. Has it softened even more? I will say not really, the resiliency of the midsole is pretty good.
The geometry design has etched deeper compared to my first run which further enhance the stability of the ride. This comes without any medial post or structure to provide the stability. The contours of the midsole have molded towards my foot strides as well which contribute to the overall stable ride.
What Has Changed Then?
Pointer 2 has changed slightly. After playing around with the lacing system of the Atreyu Daily Trainer, I managed to obtain a good lockdown for my foot. However, I believe for runners with slimmer foot profile might find the generous space an issue. This can translate into difficult obtaining a good lockdown for these runners. I believe the upper construction could be one area where Atreyu would like to try and resolve to make it even better.
Durability of this Pair of Running Shoes?
After 100KM, how has the Daily Trainer held up? Overall, the shoe has held up well without any key concerns for its durability. I do not see the midsole or upper breaking down over the course of the 100KM. However, it is necessary to point out the degradation of the outsole over the course of 100KM. On both shoes, the lateral heel area has registered visible degradation of the outsole. This is a common spot for me as such not a cause for huge concern. But due to the limited depth of the outsole, I can see a small part of exposed midsole. The degradation of the outsole might start to taper off from here, but it is something which I need to point out.
Does this create issues for my runs? No, it doesn’t at least for now. To see if there are larger impact from the outsole degradation, I will want to put the shoes over even longer mileage to assess.
What the Alternative Choices?
In terms of alternatives to the Atreyu Daily Trainer, we will start first from the price point perspective and compare them in USD in Diagram 1. The Atreyu Daily Trainer retails for USD110 or approximately SGD150. We compared the Daily Trainer with three other brands – Nike, Adidas, and ASICS.
The Daily Trainer stands at a unique price point of USD 110 while the three major brands have products +/- 10 USD to the Daily Trainer. In terms of ride, the Winflo 10, Dynablast 3, and GT-1000 12 (for those needing a hint of stability) are probably closest in comparison to the Daily Trainer. In comparison to Pegasus 39 and Adizero SL, the Daily Trainer might be slightly less versatile than the two in terms of speedier runs and workouts.
If you have the Daily Trainer, I feel the ASICS Hyperspeed 3 will make a good complement for tougher speed workouts. I personally feel that when it comes to pushing the time and driving higher turnover, the Daily Trainer could not perform to the desired level. Afterall, it is a Daily Trainer.
I hope you found the review of the Atreyu Daily Trainer useful and do share it with anyone who might benefit from reading this. Till next time, just keep running.
