Skechers GoRun Razor 5 Review: Double-Edged Razor

What You Need To Know

Introduction to the Skechers GoRun Razor 5

KALEB: OH MY GOSH, I’M SO EXCITED TO ROAST THE CRAP OUT OF HOW THIS SHOE LOOKS, but first, I need to take my time, be a good boy, introduce this shoe, tell y’all things about it like it’s the new kid in third grade. You know, the usual Believe in the Run stuff… But then you best believe I’m gonna go ham on this thing.

Where to start? Skechers is really just one of the funniest brands to me. They’ve consistently created awesome shoes, have been on the cutting edge of supercritical midsole foams from the start, and have really been keeping up with the rest of the brands for as long as they’ve tried to, and just about no one seems to care. Why? Because it’s Skechers. And the shame of wearing that goofy little S will outweigh just about every merit of Skechers footwear. I honestly thought the Skechers performance division was going bankrupt until I was sent this shoe.

I’ll admit I was skeptical myself. I mean, Skechers does it to themselves with designs like this (oh please, oh please tell me that the photo sample was the same colorway as the shoe I was sent). Could a shoe this goofy really be good?

Yes. To cut this whole review down to a sentence: This shoe is awesome. Strap on your favorite pair of light-up sneakers from elementary school, grab your juice box, and don’t forget a pocket protector because, ladies and gentlemen, the S stands for sexy now.

RENALDO: A big part of my journey with running in 2024 has been looking back at my past performances, taking those experiences, and seeing what I may be capable of in the future. I’ve been digging into what worked and what didn’t work — what changes I made brought improvements and which ones held me back.

The Skechers GoRun Razor 5 feels like a positive omen for this type of practice. Skechers has consistently impressed me with each of their shoes that I’ve been lucky enough to review, literally converting me from a regular hobby runner who would have never been caught dead in a Skechers shoe to an enthusiast who admires and respects the brand for what it offers runners like me.

Without giving too much away, Skechers’ newest addition to the GoRun family promises a lightweight and reliable running shoe that’s good enough for race day and durable enough for daily training. And while I got this shoe in between marathons, it certainly has been delivering on many of those promises.

If you couldn’t tell, I’m ready to gush, so let’s get right down to it.

CARYN: Kaleb and Reno brought the thunder with their intros, so I’ll keep things a little more subdued over here. As a child of the 90s, Skechers will forever be tied to debatably its greatest and most controversial contribution to the fitness industry, the Shape-Up. For those of you too young to appreciate, I’ll explain. The shape-up was a heavily rockered platform walking shoe that came with the promise of instantaneously toned glutes and near-immediate weight loss, leading to its rapid adoption by suburban moms hoping to secure the ever-elusive bikini body (the 90s really were something).

Apparently, promising weight loss without the data to back it up doesn’t quite fly with the Federal Trade Commission, so the shape-up sadly no longer graces our neighborhood sidewalks the way it once did. With a hard pivot, Skechers has swiftly attempted a move to the road running space, with some wild (putting it mildly) designs and a variety of models. I personally have never put a Skechers on my foot, so why not now? Let’s see how the GoRun Razor 5 stacks up against the rest of my closet.

What we like about the Skechers GoRun Razor 5

KALEB: As far as performance goes, I absolutely loved the Razor 5. I’ve always heard great things about Hyperburst Pro, which is one of the OG supercritical midsoles in the game. Skechers did not disappoint: the Razor has this awesome blend of density, protectiveness, and bouncy energy return that I look for in an uptempo shoe. The foam isn’t soft per se, but has enough give to feel cushioned before popping you energetically back into your stride.

Skechers also nailed the rocker on this shoe, which is a surprisingly hard thing to do. Plenty of shoes are rockered, and it always helps to some extent, but pairing the right shape with the cushion and response levels of a specific foam compound can be one of those “can’t put a finger on it” x-factors that brings a shoe from good to great.

The HyperArc rocker geometry of the Razor 5 runs from heel to toe and absolutely brings the shoe to life when brought up to speed. It seems that Skechers’ HyperArc most heavily rewards midfoot strikers, but the bevel in the heel should bring heel strikers through the stride smoothly as well. I tend to strike somewhere between fore- and midfoot so I suppose I can only speak for myself, but the HyperArc hit me right where it was supposed to and felt buttery through the gate cycle.

I did a long tempo session in the Razor 5 on dead legs, and as soon as I had worked down to pace, every step felt smooth and effortless. The carbon-infused forefoot place adds some nice snap through the toe-off for speed without being overly stiff during those easy miles. Even on shorter, 30-second pick-ups, the Razor noticeably responds and wants to pep up the pace.

I personally think arch support is a biomechanical scam, but the ArchFit insole didn’t cause any issues for me. In fact, it was quite cushy underfoot as long as I ignored the small mountain under my arch.

Up top is a perfectly dialed upper and lacing system that I have no comments on simply because they do their job so well that I didn’t notice anything about them at all. Underfoot is Skechers’ Goodyear rubber, which never fails me in any conditions, from roads to gravel to damp grass.

RENALDO: First off, the fit of the Razor 5 is top notch. There’s a certain feel I like when it comes to my lightweight daily trainer that’s a little difficult to explain, but the feel of the Razor seems to capture the right balance between a relaxed feel with the support to really hammer out a hard effort. The upper is extremely light and breathable while also giving your foot a good lockdown with how the lacing system works along with the upper. In short, it feels like you actually have something on your foot as opposed to just something under it.

Underfoot, in this circumstance, we have Skechers ArchFit insole, a removable insole for additional podiatrist-certified arch support. On the outside, we have Skechers Hyper Burst Pro foam, which is made of a supercritical TPU. Also, the HyperArc technology (rockered midsole) promotes efficiency in running, along with a carbon-infused H-shaped plate in the forefoot for incredible support and energy return. This shoe’s really got it all going on.

I haven’t even mentioned the additional Goodyear rubber on the sole of the shoe for great traction and stability. Running in it is a dream. With a 4 mm drop, Skechers HyperArc technology to promote stride efficiency, and a carbon plate in the forefoot, you have more than you could ask for on the road. I’ll be the first to say that this shoe has a sort of “addictive” quality to it when it comes to getting my daily miles.

And yes, there is a big elephant in the room. The colorway of this one is a little much. But I have to admit, it’s grown on me! The neon green really pops off the white of the upper and black of the laces. The SKX branding also brings a sleek and sophisticated look to the shoe before the real party begins. The foam is a lot to take in, but after a while, you begin to realize that these bad boys can almost go with anything through the eyes of the more fashion-forward runner. Kudos to the design team. There are other, more generic, colorways down the pipeline for this shoe as well. For runners that just want a great shoe and are not trying to make a statement.

CARYN: Out of the box, the colorway did provide quite the jump scare. I love a bright color, don’t get me wrong, but I felt like Nerds Clusters were the inspo behind the sole of this shoe (whether this is a positive or negative, I’ll let you decide).

Moving on, I personally prefer a more natural feel to a daily trainer, so the 31 mm stack height felt perfect. On step-in, the Skechers Hyper Burst Pro foam offers a nice balance of soft and responsive. With a simple lacing system and unobtrusive upper, I had high hopes for this shoe. On the run, I continued to enjoy the overall feel of the foam, but the fit just didn’t work with my foot shape (more on that to come). I ultimately didn’t put quite as many miles on this shoe as I normally would because of the snug fit, but as Taylor says, I certainly could be the problem here.

What we don’t like about the Skechers GoRun Razor 5

KALEB: This shoe looks like a sweater your grandma would knit you for Christmas. You know — the grandma who doesn’t knit. This shoe looks like it was made via some dark ritual in which a unicorn was bled out in the middle of a Build-a-Bear Workshop. This shoe looks like all the dumbest visual cues of a boat and a color-blindness test were combined. When I stomp, I can’t decide whether I expect this shoe to light up or crumble into pieces because it’s secretly cake. When I told my roommate I was reviewing this shoe, one of his first reactions was simply “don’t.”

If “look good, feel good” is a real phenomenon, wearing this shoe will give me some combination of seasonal allergies and syphilis. This shoe looks like something someone would wear to the Met Gala (ok, wait, maybe not that bad). Perhaps the meanest thing I can say about this shoe is that it looks like a Skechers shoe.

Alright, fine: if you like it, you like it. To each their own. I’ll admit, the Crucified CareBear colorway definitely grew on me; it’s fun wearing a shoe that makes people ask, “What on earth is on your feet?” But Skechers isn’t really cool enough to start making wild fashion statements with their performance footwear. For those who prefer a more standard running shoe look, there are currently two alternative, less seizure-inducing colorways for sale. If this were just one of the crazy, later-release colorways available, I’d probably love it. But the fact that this leprechaun-vomit colorway is the default? Yeah, I’m gonna poke some fun.

The toebox tapers out kind of strangely, and my toes feel a bit wanting for space. Skechers claims the shape is “podiatrist-designed… based on 20 years of data and 120,000 unweighted foot scans,” but it kind of feels like 119,900 of those scans were people with mild bunions. It’s not enough to cause significant discomfort or take away from the run — just a mild annoyance for someone who prefers a little bit of toe splay.

RENALDO: Not a lot! I really couldn’t find anything too bad about this shoe. If anything, the toe box is a little on the narrow side, so I’d proceed with caution when recommending this to Wide-Footed Folks. But other than that, the Razor 5 is a very solid shoe.

CARYN: Oof, where to start. While the foam underfoot felt lovely, the actual shape of this shoe narrowed right after the end of the laces, which cramped and squished my midfoot even just walking. I have a wider foot, but nothing like Wide-Foot Jarrett, so I feel like I shouldn’t have had such issues here. The toebox itself was also not very spacious (though long enough), so I had a feeling this was gonna be a rough set of test runs. The shoe rubbed the edges of my foot pretty significantly throughout the run, and I ultimately stopped running in it because of the solid blister that formed from that hot spot. You win some, you lose some.

Separately, I cannot understand Skechers’ description of its insole as “podiatrist-certified arch support.” So… which podiatrist is certifying it? What does it even mean to podiatrist-certify an insole? What type of arch is it designed for? Clearly, my podiatrist PTSD is showing, but this felt gimmicky to me, and the language ultimately tells you absolutely nothing as far as the shoe design.

Finally, the design is just silly. It didn’t offend me as much as it did Kaleb, but Skechers did themselves no favors in trying to make anyone take their brand seriously with this design — and that’s coming from someone who’s a huge fan of Nerds Clusters.

Final thoughts on the Skechers GoRun Razor 5

KALEB: Everyone loves a shoe that can do it all, but as companies continue to branch out and market more and more specificity in their performance line, workhorse trainers that can last the test of time and mileage are few and far between. If you’re willing to brave the ridicule of wearing Skechers, the Razor 5 is a fantastic — if apparently polarizing — offering for nimble, efficient runners looking for some snappy turnover on any run. I’d happily use this shoe as a one-shoe rotation: trainer, tempo shoe, and even budget racer for shorter-end road races.

And yet, as evidenced by Caryn’s review, the Razor 5 ain’t the shoe for everyone. If you can try it on in a shoe store or purchase from a site with a good return policy, it’s worth trying out because if it works for you, boy, howdy will it work.

RENALDO: If it wasn’t clear, I’m a fan of this shoe and becoming more of a fan of Skechers. They’ve consistently hit it out of the park for me and I’m excited to see what they do next. I’ve got one more race left for me this year (CIM), but I’m super excited to see what these can do come race day in 2025!

CARYN: Maybe Skechers should have stuck with the shape-up? I’m not sure, but this shoe just didn’t work for me. I enjoyed the actual feel of the foam, but the toebox size and shape left my feet quite sad at the end of each run (not to mention with a gnarly blister). The GoRun Razor 5 was, in fact, available for $91 on a Black Friday special when I wrote this, but I still think at this point, your $91 might be better spent on, well, pretty much anything else.

You can pick up the Skechers GoRun Razor 5 for $130 from Running Warehouse (featuring free shipping and 90-day returns) by using the buttons below.