Craft Endurance 2 Review: Ready to go Long

What You Need To Know

Introduction to the Craft Endurance 2

KALEB: I recently had a teammate tell me that I “run in the most random, off-brand shoes,” and honestly, I took it as a compliment. I’ve said this before, but being a reviewer for Believe in the Run has given me the chance to run in shoes from brands I didn’t even know existed. Craft is one of those brands (though I wouldn’t go so far as to call it “off-brand” by any means).

For anyone unfamiliar, Craft is a Swedish brand that designs all sorts of athletic gear from ski gloves to cycling jerseys. As far as I can tell, they aren’t actually new to the running shoe scene, but over the past couple of years, they’ve made their presence a little more known, at least in the American market.

Craft’s goal is to make high-performance shoes that can handle a beating — no 100-mile deaths and no upper blowouts before the midsole is even broken in. Heck, ideally, you can take all of Craft’s models to the trails and be no worse for wear. We’ve reviewed a handful of Craft’s offerings on the site, and to keep it real, it’s been a bumpy ride, especially with weight and finding the right fit. However, Craft seems to be trying to change that tune in 2024.

The Craft Endurance 2 is an update to a shoe called the Pro Endur Distance, which is geared towards tempo workouts but is still considered an all-rounder. Evidently, they decided that it only needs one word that relates to running since it’s already a… running shoe, so the second iteration has been trimmed down to just Endurance. Thanks, Craft.

Sporting an identical 36 mm stack of supercritical Px Foam from the Pro Endur Distance, a new upper, and almost full rubber coverage, the Endurance 2 seems to be a fine-tuning update rather than a top-to-bottom transformation.

Let’s see if Craft crafted a masterpiece.

Yeah, yeah, I know that was a lame line. Just read the review, okay?

What we like about the Craft Endurance 2

KALEB: Starting off with the most important factor of anyone or anything — surface-level appearance, of course — this shoe is a stunner. With its crisp white upper and color gradient midsole, I dreaded my first run in the Endurance simply because I knew it was going to get absolutely wrecked. It did, and now my mission is to get the shoe as dirty as possible.

Alright, moving on to the actual important aspects. Besides being sexy and crisp, the upper is nice and roomy without being baggy or insecure. I felt that I was able to get a reasonable — if imperfect — lockdown and my slightly wider-than-average midfoot never felt strangled, even with the internal gusset.

Underfoot, the Px Foam midsole is what really shines. It’s a supercritical, beaded TPU foam, and it’s the perfect blend for the kind of shoe the Endurance 2 tries to be — a durable, versatile trainer. I took the Endurance 2 for ten miles right out of the box, and it felt great throughout. While the midsole softened the more miles I put on it, Px Foam is a fairly firm ride. It’s just right for a tempo shoe — not mushy, but still bouncy and far from brickish.

There’s just enough rocker to keep you tipping forward at easy paces, but when the speed picks up, the Endurance 2 rises to match, and it feels fantastic. I put this shoe through easy days, long workouts, tempos, and even sprints, and the ride adapted itself to suit all of them, which makes it a great workhorse.

Even further underfoot is a layer of the best rubber compound I’ve ever strapped to my feet. Seriously, it’s tacky enough on both wet and dry roads that I feel like I could go from top speed to a full stop in one step if only my body could handle the forces required to do so. On my first run, I was concerned that the good grip meant durability would be lacking, but after 45 miles with minimal wear, I can confirm this is not the case.

What we don’t like about the Craft Endurance 2

KALEB: Craft’s 9 mm drop isn’t bad, but it’s just such a goofy specific number between the typical 8 mm and 10 mm that I wanted to mention it here to make fun of it.

Haha. Nine. Silly number. Alright, moving on.

Honestly, I don’t have anything in this section that’s a major turn-off, mostly just nitpicks and “could be improved” areas.

While the rubber is tacky enough to turn on dimes, the upper is just baggy enough that I don’t have the confidence to do so without fear of shattering every bone in my lower leg. It’s far from unstable, but if I’m using this shoe for high-speed workouts, I’d rather know I have the security to take corners without having to slow to a jog.

The tongue isn’t great, either. It’s plastic-y and bunches up. With enough adjusting, it’ll stay put and sit quietly, but it’s that much more to think about during lace-up.

Final thoughts on the Craft Endurance 2

KALEB: With the rise of potent but delicate superfoams, I feel like we’re facing an industry-wide tradeoff between performance and reliability. A shoe might be fantastic, but only for a short window of its lifespan. Or maybe it’s fantastic all the way through its lifespan, but it only lasts a few hundred miles in the first place. On the other side, durable, long lasting shoes these days are almost always hot garbage on the roads. It seems that gone are the days of casually getting a thousand miles out of a pair of daily trainers that moonlight as your trail shoes, work shoes, and bulletproof shields if necessary.

The Craft Endurance 2 seems to finally nail its original mission: bringing together durability and versatility in a sleek, modern package that’s still fun to run in. With its full rubber outsole, strong laces, and durable TPU-based midsole, I can see myself easily able to get upwards of 600 miles out of the Endurance 2. More importantly, with its fun ride and versatility, I can see myself wanting to.

You can pick up the Craft Endurance 2 for $175 on March 1, 2024, at Running Warehouse (featuring free 2-day shipping and 90-day returns) at the buttons below.