Craft Pacer 2 Review | The Daily Trainer That Gets Noticed for All the Right Reasons

Here is our review of the Craft Pacer 2, the second generation of a shoe designed to meet both your daily training and your speed workout needs.

The Craft Pacer 2 is a comfortable, attractive, and well-balanced shoe. My first thoughts upon putting them on were that they were lightweight, fit extremely well, and were cushioned nicely. Logging miles in them solidified these first impressions.

Runners looking for a shoe that can do it all and training for a 10K will be pleasantly surprised with the Pacer 2.

Craft Pacer 2 Overview

The Pacer 2 is a really lightweight, moderately cushioned shoe that can handle your easy miles or pick up the pace. It’s not plated, which we appreciate as an option to give the shoe more daily usage.

It’s nice to find a lightweight shoe which will work well on a variety of training days, but I did feel like it was missing a few things to make it something I would reach for when heading outside to run over 10 miles.

That being said, if you don’t need a ton of cushion or arch support, you may find them just fine for longer mileage.

I used these shoes during several short, mid distance, and long distance runs. Road running and paved trail running are my typical training grounds, and these shoes got a good workout there.

I discovered that some of my running friends were just as interested in learning about my new shoes as I was. Several of them pointed to my feet (without me saying anything about trying new shoes) and said, “Are those Craft shoes? What do you think about them?”

Well, here’s what I learned about the Craft Pacer 2 shoes after putting them to the test.

Craft advertises their Px Foam midsole technology as exceptional in energy return and shock absorption, also affirming it to be 20% lighter than traditional EVA.

This was my first time running in Px Foam, and I did feel like the shoe felt snappy and bouncy. Perhaps less of a dense feel than a TPU foam, and it was honestly more fun to wear. I enjoyed the quick, responsive feel to the cushioning.

Training in Craft Pacer 2 shoes provided me with a very comfortable fit, cushioned heel support, and fairly fast foot turnaround. They were lightweight and breathable, and I often forgot I was wearing them.

Their appearance was appealing, and the overall design and brand turned a few heads. I will continue to enjoy using them for shorter and mid-distance training runs.

Running in the White/Flourange colored option earned me more than a few compliments on the look of my shoes. The colors are fresh and vibrant, and I felt fast simply standing still. The palette and appealing design fed me energy from the aesthetics alone. Craft also offers some classic black or white based shoes for a more adaptable color theme.

Of note: while I was outside and literally putting my shoes on for the very first time, a runner passed by me and blurted out, “Cool shoes!”

Their first impression of the Pacer 2’s appearance essentially mirrored my own… These are indeed cool-looking shoes. Special shoutout to the fun, sometimes hidden, hexagonal patterns on the soles.

Quick Take

Craft Pacer Fit

When I initially slipped my feet into these shoes, I assumed they must’ve been designed just for me. I truly loved the overall fit of the Pacer 2.

I found the toebox to be roomy, the mid-section perfectly hugged the middle of my foot, and the heel area was just the right shape to keep everything securely in place without chaffing.

A touch of extra foam is also added to the collar of the shoe, which helps with overall comfort.

This shoe uses 2-layer engineered upper mesh. What this means is that Craft is able to map out which areas of a foot need extra support or more ventilation – and then they design (or “map”) zones for optimal performance and fit. Plus, Craft gets bonus points from me for making the mesh upper with 50% recycled materials.

I had a bit of a Cinderella moment when I went to tie them, because the mesh upper fit my foot perfectly and the laces pulled together just right without being too loose or too tight. It was magical!

I’m also typically a bit of a ‘princess’ when it comes to the tongue of a running shoe… I can’t stand it when the structure of the tongue is too soggy and slips around, or too rigid and digs into my foot. These shoes did neither of those things—the tongue kept its shape and position perfectly, and I never noticed it was there (which, to me, means it’s perfect).

Craft Pacer 2 Feel

The overall feel to these shoes was lightweight, yet generally supportive. The mesh upper structure of the shoe was light and breathable, but not overly flimsy.

The base of the shoe was solid, and I never felt like I was rocking side to side in them while walking or running. Cushioning under the heels was ever-present and lightly springy.

While running, I found that the 6mm heel drop promoted a mid foot or fore front foot strike.

But I didn’t feel like the mid-section of the shoe had enough overall support and structure to keep my arch from somewhat fatiguing after longer runs. I’m not someone who has ever needed to run in a stability shoe, I’m a neutral fit.

The Pacer 2 felt wonderful on my feet, but I would classify the arch support as moderate to light. They had enough support for me to thoroughly enjoy my shorter and mid-distance runs while wearing them, but perhaps not quite enough for me to prefer them for my extra long run training days.

My heels were never uncomfortable, my ankles were never uncomfortable, my toes were never uncomfortable, and the tops of my feet were never uncomfortable.

The overall feel of the Pacer 2 was outstanding. I would usually forget I had them on a couple of miles into my run.

But at the end of a run over 8-10 miles, I was able to tell that the arches in my feet and general mid-foot area needed “a bit more something” from underneath… my legs lectured me about it afterward.

I did genuinely enjoy that I never felt like these shoes were heavy at all, even when I felt like they needed more mid-foot support on longer runs. They always felt light and easy to lift.

Who Tried It?

I’m Beth, a happy runner from the beautiful Pacific Northwest. I love how running allows me to explore new places, meet positive people, and challenge myself. The half marathon is probably my favorite distance, but I’ve absolutely loved every marathon I’ve run as well. Right now, I average around 35-45 miles per week as I’m currently training for my 4th World Major Marathon in November, as well as my 5th runDisney Dopey Challenge in January.

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