Can the Nobull Journey 2 crack our running rotations?

Introduction to the Nobull Journey 2

SAM: I love lifting weights. At times in my life, I’ve described myself as a “meathead.” The problem is that I do not lift weights enough (chronically injured), nor do I look like I lift weights (I put on some pounds while injured). Despite that, I’ve spent enough time in the weight room since high school sports that I understand the lifting lifestyle to some degree.

One thing that has always interested me is the shoes that people wear to lift. From Vans to Alphaflys, the patrons of my local gym will move weight in just about anything. But that does not mean it is optimal to lift in any shoe. For my money, picking a low-volume, low-drop shoe is by far the best approach for lifting weights. Altras? Awesome. Metcons? Marvelous. Bare socks? As long as your gym is ok with it, go ahead. Running shoes? It depends. Finding a shoe that will blur the line between on-the-road effectiveness and in-the-gym versatility is one of my white whales (along with the Orioles making the playoffs and turning public opinion against Canadian Geese).

Nobull is one of the brands seeking to do this. Their Outwork model is the shoe most associated with the brand, and the Drive is a hybrid that falls between running and lifting. For this review, we’ll cover the Nobull Journey 2. The Journey is Nobull’s running-specific model. I have been wanting to get my hands on a pair of Nobull shoes for a while now, so this was one I was excited for. Let’s see if it was worth the wait.

JOHN: My first thought when I ran in the Nobull Journey 2 was “pillowy mounds of mashed potatoes.” If you’re a Fresh Prince of Bel Air fan (or early on in meme culture), you remember Uncle Phil dreaming about mashed potatoes with some extremely disturbing energy, making it all the more memorable/terrifying/amazing. Hold this thought, it’s important.

I’ve never run in Nobull shoes before, so big thanks to Believe in the Run for this opportunity. I’ve definitely been fascinated by the brand, but over the last couple of years (because of an injury), I started really getting into the gym and trying to be like my dude, Brady Burman-Magday, here at Believe in the Run.

As an adult, I’ve always been overweight or crazy skinny. No in between. I love running, though, and want to keep it in my life, so I am going to the gym as much as I can these days to stay strong and injury-free. As a byproduct of this, I am getting bigger in terms of muscles. Nobull really speaks to where I am with training, but the consistent criticism I hear is to keep them in the gym. I’m going to let you know that Nobull lives up to its stereotype. Let’s go.

MELISSA: I’ve been seeing Nobull everywhere lately, mostly on people at the gym. I’ve been curious what the fuss is about. It’s one of those brands that feels more lifestyle than performance at first glance, but clearly, people are wearing it for a reason.

The brand has an interesting background; it was founded in 2015 by a couple of former Reebok employees who were basically over the overbuilt, over-marketed approach to training shoes and wanted something simple and more honest. The whole idea was “no gimmicks, just do the work,” which is literally where the name comes from. And honestly, that tracks with what I’ve seen.

So when Journey 2 showed up, I had an immediate reaction: I cannot get this shoe dirty between now and our Disneyland trip next month. Which probably tells you everything you need to know about first impressions. This is a really good-looking shoe. The vibe is clean, minimal, and honestly more “everyday sneaker you could accidentally work out in.” And I mean that in a good way.

What we like about the Nobull Journey 2

SAM: Man, oh man, am I a sucker for a white running shoe and a gum sole. Nobull has a knack for making simple, good-looking shoes, and this is no exception. I received the white colorway, which had a vanilla soft serve look, and the contrast makes the gum sole stand out. I love the upper of this shoe in general, and the vanilla soft serve look has a vanilla soft serve feel on foot. The Journey 2 is snug and comfortable in all the right ways, and the engineered mesh “bootie” has a frictionless feel, meant to keep your feet comfortable throughout your run. As far as making a good-looking shoe that feels great on your foot, Nobull nailed it here.

Before I continue, I do have to let you in on a little secret. I did not like running in this shoe. What I did enjoy was walking around the house and my neighborhood in Canton, East Baltimore, in this shoe. The feel of this shoe underfoot reminded me of a more supportive version of an Oofos recovery shoe. As a walking shoe, the Journey 2 performed admirably at the dog park, the grocery store, and walking into the gym. It has enough arch support, a slab of foam that provides cushion without being unstable, and a comfy upper.

A friend of mine wore his Journey 2 the entire day after his NYC Half Marathon, and that feels like a perfect use for this shoe. In my expert opinion, the Journey 2 is the perfect shoe to wear to the bar after a race. Outside of that, I cannot say I enjoyed any points where I had to actually run in this shoe. So that may be a problem if you were planning on running.

JOHN: Nobull has a real sweet spot here. I’m just going to say it: The Journey 2 feels like it’s straight-up chocolate cake, a can of Coke, and a slice of pizza. It’s got a pull tab, which makes it easy to get on. The shoe is comfortable like a sock but offers more protection. The midsole feels really nice. I did a lot of different stuff testing this shoe. Easy runs, treadmill, gym, even some faster runs, it’s a really fun shoe. The ride is smooth, and maybe I just happened to get this shoe at the absolute right time, but it made me excited to run the week of C&O when my body didn’t want to do anything except eat and sleep.

About the style of this shoe, it’s not dorky-looking like the standard running shoe. I would wear this shoe out in public once I burn it out as a running shoe. The white is clean-looking and looks like a designer shoe compared to the puke green/violet alphafly I recently got on sale. It definitely has its own personality and looks incredible in social media pictures.

I had a couple of friends hate on it, though, and say it looked like a pair of fishnet stockings a Victoria’s Secret model would be wearing or an old lady’s shawl with a brooch. I will drop them fools on our next trail run, to defend the honor of the Journey 2. I think the shoe looks cool. We always talk trash and look for anything, but I feel this criticism was over the line (and was also the only negative feedback I received on the shoe’s appearance).

MELISSA: What makes the Nobull Journey 2 stand out is the step-in comfort. The insole and midsole feel soft and dreamy right away, and that comfort carries through on shorter runs and gym sessions. It’s one of those shoes that just feels good the moment you put it on.

I also really like the aesthetic. This is a shoe I’d actually want to wear around casually, which is not something I say often about running shoes. It fits right into that ‘gym to everyday life’ space.

And honestly, the price makes this even more appealing. At $120, it feels like a really strong value for what you’re getting, especially if you’re using it as a hybrid gym and running shoe.

Where I think the Journey 2 really lands is for hybrid use. With the rise of Hyrox and more gym-based training that includes running, this feels like a strong option. It handles treadmill miles, easy runs, and general training well, making sense for someone who wants one shoe to do a little bit of everything.

What we don’t like about the Nobull Journey 2

SAM: Sometimes when you wear a shoe that you love, you know immediately. The first step out of the door can tell you right away everything you need to know. Conversely, other shoes will tell you immediately to turn around and change. I am sorry, Nobull, but the Journey 2 told me right out of the door that it was not the running shoe for me.

I took the Journey 2 on a 10-mile run to put it through the recovery run paces in downtown Baltimore. That involves constant turns along the promenade, some shaky surfaces, and an easy cruise pace from start to finish. Walking around the house, I thought the Journey 2 might have a chance, but I finished the 10 miles knowing it would be the last time I would wear it for running.

While supportive, I found the CMEVA midsole extremely bottom-heavy and uncomfortable underfoot. Getting my stride into an efficient rhythm was a chore, and I felt my foot slipping around in the upper every time I went around a turn. The frictionless upper is a great fit for walking; I felt like Scooby-Doo spinning my wheels while running. While meant to be Nobull’s running-first trainer, the Journey 2 feels like a miss.

With my hopes to use this as a daily trainer dashed, I brought it to the gym to see if it would have any merit as a lifting shoe. Sadly, it did not. While it looked and felt great walking into the gym, the stack height was too high for lifting exercises, and the frictionless bootie upper was very unstable. I went into this review expecting a shoe that could be passable for both running and the gym, and was disappointed to find it could not keep up with either.

JOHN: There was visible wear on the outsole foam after just a 5-mile run, so even though this shoe is only $150, I’m not sure that long-term, you’re going to get as much usage as a slightly more expensive shoe or something priced similarly, such as the Topo Magnifly 6 I just reviewed.

I would only use this on the road or the treadmill. Stay off gravel and rough surfaces. I feel like Altra and Topo Athletic have options in the same lane as the Journey 2 and are probably better in terms of durability for comparable gym/road shoes.

The hard truth is that if you stay in the gym and rarely run outside, the Journey is what you need. If you are a runner-first, gym-second type of person, I’d go with Magnifly all day.

MELISSA: The upper looks great, but it doesn’t breathe particularly well. Over longer efforts, that lack of ventilation starts to show up.

I also struggled a bit with lockdown. It’s not bad, but it never quite feels dialed in, especially as you push the pace or extend the distance.

Because of those factors, this is not a shoe I’d reach for on longer runs. For me, I maxed out around five miles before I was ready to take it off.

Final thoughts on the Nobull Journey 2

SAM: They say that form follows function, and as the Nobull Journey 2 sat near my front door, I started to notice how similar it looks to my Oofos Oomy Zen recovery shoe. I wore the Journey 2 to run, and I did not enjoy it. I wore it to the gym, and I felt fear for my ankles. But when I wore it to the grocery store… Success. Goldilocks and Zedd will tell you that the middle is not a bad place to be.

So meet me in the middle and wear the Nobull Journey 2 to the post-race hangout. Or to pick your kids up from school. Or mosey on over to the Running Warehouse and find a daily trainer with a little more credibility. Nobull is moving in the right direction, but it isn’t there yet.

JOHN: This shoe is for the gym bro who can run, which makes it a slightly challenging shoe to review. If you judge it strictly as a gym shoe, it may be the best I’ve ever used. Strictly as a running shoe, I think it’s a B grade. I’m not going to go higher than a B or lower than that because every run felt great, and my only real concern is longevity, which, for $150, is pretty understandable. The only reason I cannot go higher is because of the excessive wear.

With that said, if you are buying this as a gym shoe to get some running in (like at the local club runs or social pub crawls and whatnot) you will be extremely pleased and the shoe looks good to fit in with that crowd. The balance of fit, ride, and comfort triggered me to drop “pillowy mounds of mashed potatoes” on the run. Also, I’m tapering this week for C&O 100, and I’m a mess. My body feels like I’m going through drug withdrawals. I want to sleep, eat, and rant nonstop about crazy stuff, but somehow the Journey 2 made my life feel good this week, leading up to the race and doing race-week miles.

I do a lot of messed-up ultras on the weekend, so putting on the Journey 2 and running an easy run or using them in the gym is an absolute delight. I’m down with Nobull. The Journey 2 is a cool-looking, tough, and fun shoe that you will have fun running in. It may even trigger an awkward TV memory as it did for me! If you find yourself in the realm of a gym/runner, it’s a delight. Treat yourself.

Oh, I also love how Nobull sent us protein packs with this shoe. Y’all are amazing. Sometimes people, gear, etc., make you so comfortable and happy out here that you start gushing about them like Uncle Phil talking about mashed potatoes! Is that totally unhinged? Maybe, but I don’t care.

MELISSA: The Nobull Journey 2 is a bit of a niche shoe, but in the right lane, it works really well. This is for the person whose training lies in doing a little bit of this, a little bit of that. If you’re lifting, mixing in a few miles, or doing something like Hyrox-style training, this shoe makes a lot of sense. It’s comfortable, looks great, and at $150, it feels like a solid value for a do-it-all option.

As a pure running shoe, it has its limits. The breathability and lockdown aren’t quite there for longer efforts, and for me, it topped out around five miles before I was ready to take them off. But that doesn’t feel like a miss, it just feels like the point. If you go into the Journey 2 expecting a hybrid that leans gym first with the ability to run, you’ll probably be really happy. If you want a dedicated distance shoe, you’re better off looking elsewhere.

For the right runner, or maybe more accurately, the right athlete, this one hits.

You can pick up the Nobull Journey 2 for $150 from Nobull by using the buttons below.