Under Armour HOVR Phantom 2 review

Under Armour HOVR Phantom 2 review

In all honesty, the Under Armor HOVR Phantom 2 was a miss for me. It looked promising and cool from the outside but in terms of actual running performance there was nothing I loved at all, nonetheless liked. I think the HOVR Phantom 2 looked good and would be a fine casual or even gym workout shoe, but for running, it just was not good.

Who should buy it

The Under Armour HOVR Phantom 2 is a good running shoe option for casual runners who are running under 6 miles.

Who should NOT buy it

Consider other running shoes if you are:

• a runner who is training for a half or full marathon, or who even runs longer than 6 miles (the Under Armour Flow Velociti Wind is a comfortable and responsive shoe)
• someone wanting a lightweight, highly efficient running shoe (in this case, consider the light and stable HOVR Machina 2)
• looking for a more budget-friendly option (the Charged Assert 9 is very cheap and flexible)

A true-to-size fit

I had found that the shoe ran pretty true to size in terms of both length and width. I think the heel and toe box area had a lot of space to work with, which is good for those with wide feet. 

Not very much overall comfort  

In terms of the comfort of the upper, I would say it was pretty comfortable for the most part. The upper also just really conform to the foot in a really nice way. 

In terms of the midsole, I actually found it uncomfortable once my run started getting over 5 miles. 

In terms of walking or just working out at the gym, it's comfortable; but for the hard impact of running, it just is not. 

An unpleasant ride in the HOVR Phantom 2

This section is going to be a heartbreaker for some, but the ride was just not good. There are a lot of moments while running where I truly wanted to stop and just switch shoes but for testing purposes, I didn't. 

Don't get me wrong this is a nice-looking shoe, and it works great for casual wear or even working out at the gym but for running it's just not it. It's way too firm and there's barely cushioning underneath your foot except for the super-soft insole bed but while running the feeling of that quickly goes away. 

The UA HOVR Phantom 2 is super heavy

The weight of the HOVR Phantom 2 is one of the things that also cause the shoe to be very underwhelming. It weighs 11.5oz/327g., which is very heavy for a running shoe (average weight for road running shoes is 9.7oz/274g. It definitely just feels heavy and dead underfoot, so this is not a very responsive or fast shoe.

Just fine durability

In terms of durability, it's hard for me to take an adequate guess. Just for the fact that the outsole has a lot of coverage and it seems like the rubber material would actually have a lot of durabilities, but I just have little experience with Under Armor's HOVR midsole and I'm not sure how long it would last. That being said, to just play it safe I would put the shoe in about the 300-mile range which is pretty standard across the board for shoes.

The HOVR Phantom 2 offers fantastic grip

The grip of the HOVR Phantom 2 is very good. It is full-length and has a knobbed texture for ensured grip, which to me has a rocky feel to it. It was superb regardless of whether it was dry or wet pavement, as well as it worked fine on dirt or light paved trails. 

Good for casual easy runs (under 6 miles)

As I said before, the HOVR Phantom 2 just didn't do it for me for running in general. But if I had to recommend something, it would just be casual easy runs under 6 miles. I just had no enthusiasm or eagerness to run in the shoes. It had no responsiveness and was just not comfortable underfoot. 

Good breathability

The breathability of the shoe was pretty good. The knit material provides good breathability and lets airflow through the shoe at a pretty standard rate.

Pretty moderate lockdown 

I thought the lockdown of the shoe was okay. There weren't really any problems with it, but I will say at times on turns I did feel that the shoe was slightly loosening. Overall though it was pretty good and no complaints 

Not a justifiable price

The price of the HOVR Phantom 2 is $140, and it's just not a good price. There are so many better shoes at that price of $120 or cheaper (road shoes have an average price of $85). There’s nothing that screams out to me that makes it worth more than $120. 

Conclusion 

In all, the HOVR Phantom 2 just did not give me a good experience. I can see runners who run 2-3 times a week, 3-4 miles, being fine for the HOVR Phantom 2. For dedicated runners though, I think many would find the HOVR Phantom 2 not very pleasant. I don't think it’s a terrible shoe, just compared to the rest of the market, it doesn't compare in the slightest.