I Dig the Under Armour x Speedland Infinite Mega, But Is It a Running Shoe?

Is it Under Armour? Speedland? Or something more?

RYAN: I’m all for a funky running shoe — something that’s trying to be a little bit different. It’s why I jumped at the chance to put miles into On’s Cloudboom Strike LS when it didn’t fit Robbe, and why I was immediately drawn in by the likes of Nnormal’s drop-in Kboix and Tracksmith’s Eliot Racer. I could probably go on to list other quirky running shoe designs if I wanted to, and all you’d take away from the whole thing is that I’m a design nerd, which — yeah, fair. By the way, Nike’s reworked Streakfly fits into that same quirky category.

All of this is to say that when Under Armour reached out to see if we wanted to try out its new Infinite Mega — a shoe designed in collaboration with Speedland — I immediately said yes. As a road runner, first and foremost, I’d never had the chance to put anything from Speedland on my feet, so I figured this might be my best chance to see what the BOA-toting, beaded-foam-based designs were all about.

Of course, I also knew this wouldn’t be exactly the same as putting the RX:FPY, which Thomas had just received, on my feet. That shoe, Speedland’s first road-ready creation, is built to pound the pavement from top to bottom. It pairs a single BOA dial with a bit more of a complete upper and swaps Under Armour’s midsole for an uncompressed SCF formula of its own. Nevertheless, I was ready to see what the two brands could do together, so I asked Robbe for the White Quartz and Desert Sand colorway and waited patiently.

When it finally arrived, I could immediately see what the hype behind Speedland is all about — this design is clean. There’s something about the soft beige colorway and slightly chunky elements that work together in a way that just screams comfort. However, unlike Thomas’s run-first RX:FPY, I noticed a few things about the Infinite Mega that reminded me this wasn’t a pure Speedland endeavor.

For starters, that uncompressed SCF base is gone, replaced by a hefty stack of Under Armour’s Hovr Plus. Yes, it looks like the same foam, but Thomas was eager to point out that they’re not the same. There’s also a second BOA dial that locks the heel in place, and that heel itself is, well, wide open. It’s a bold strategy, Cotton. We’ll have to see how it plays out.

Other elements of the two shoes have a bit more in common, with the BOA Fit System connecting to very similar “fingers” that wrap across the top of both uppers and similar patterns to the outsole rubber, though UA’s compound is slightly different from Speedland’s Scratch. Oh, and there’s no optional carbon fiber plate in the Infinite Mega — this BOA beast is all plush all the time. So, with those differences out of the way, let’s dig deeper into this crazy collaboration.

Crank that… BOA Fit System

RYAN: I know I’ve hyped up just how much I like a quirky running shoe — or a quirky shoe in general — but the main thing that interested me about the Under Armour Infinite Mega was none other than its finger-like upper. There’s just no other way to adequately describe the wraps that spread from the medial side of the shoe to the lateral one. Sorry if you get weird about odd descriptions that equate footwear to body parts, but, like, I’m gonna stand by this one.

The reason I’m so determined to call the strips of suede-like fabric that make up the upper fingers is that, well, that’s kind of what they feel like when you tighten them with the forward-most BOA dial. It works bidirectionally, which means you can twist it clockwise for a tighter fit or counterclockwise to let the pressure off, and you just kind of feel all three straps squeeze around the top of your foot.

And, now that I’ve had the Infinite Mega for a while, adjusting the tightness has become second-nature, but I have to admit that it was very, very confusing at first. I couldn’t quite figure out how tight I needed the top dial before I tuned the rear dial, leading me to twist left and right a few times before ultimately striking a comfortable balance — a balance you immediately lose if you pop the BOA dials to let your feet free.

Before I work my way to other parts of the shoe, I should also show Under Armour’s forefoot mesh some love. It’s nice and wide, which allows my feet to breathe nicely, whether I’m sweating on my way to the office or going for a longer walk to grab an afternoon coffee. Notice I haven’t mentioned running just yet — there’s a reason for that, but we aren’t there yet.

Also, I love the way that Under Armour and Speedland have worked bits of suede into the upper of the Infinite Mega. I mentioned that the finger-like flaps were made of suede, but so is the heel collar and the rest of the panel that connects the rear BOA loop to the upper. I don’t really think I’d expect such an extensive use of suede on a shoe ostensibly meant for running, but maybe that’s Under Armour’s way of telling me something.

I gotta say, Under Armour’s Hovr Plus foam surprised me

RYAN: Working my way down even further, I think Under Armour might be onto something with its current iteration of Hovr Plus. It’s not the lightest foam out there (a US M9 sample pair weighs 10.8 oz. / 306 g), but it’s soft, it’s plush, and it’s held up pretty well over the few months that I’ve been rocking the Infinite Mega. We reviewed the original Under Armour Infinite Elite at some point in 2024, during which Lindsay Agro remarked that she quite liked how the shoe felt underfoot. I wasn’t sure I believed her then, but I was probably too hung up on looking at the weight of that shoe, too.

From a stylistic perspective, I also love that the Infinite Mega’s midsole looks like a much more practical, everyday-friendly version of the Under Armour Fat Tire, a shoe that we reviewed in its earliest form nearly a decade ago before it found its place as a lifestyle offering. The Infinite Mega is big and round, and it is almost impossible to lose your balance in. If you find a wider platform on a shoe, I’d love to see it.

Thankfully, I never quite had to risk my balance too much, as I mostly kept the Infinite Mega on the straight and narrow. It was excellent as a dog-walking shoe for the week that I fostered an 11-month-old shepherd-lab mix, and it’s been my ever-reliable pick for both before and after our weekly Believe FC soccer matches. I do perhaps wish it made me a little bit better on the pitch, but that’s not what Under Armour and Speedland designed it to do, so I can’t complain.

If there’s an Achilles’ heel, it’s, well, the heel

RYAN: Alright, so even though I like the Infinite Mega an awful lot overall, there’s one thing that makes me really, really nervous about running in it. As you might have guessed from my lack of comments about the second BOA dial, it’s time to talk about the heel. I’m not entirely sure I can trust a running shoe that relies on a suede flap to keep my foot in place. Yes, I know that the BOA dial means I can tighten that flap until it’s comfortable, but I still can’t wrap my head around leaving that much open space at the back of my foot.

See, with a normal running shoe upper, the heel protects, well, the entire heel. It wraps from one side to the other, ensuring the fabric doesn’t (or shouldn’t) move along the way. You can’t adjust it, you can’t futz around with it, it just either fits or it doesn’t. With the Infinite Mega, futzing is the name of the game. It’s an elite move at the airport when you have to simply pop a dial to get the shoe off, but maybe less enticing when you want to head out for a few miles on the roads.

Also, don’t think for a minute that I haven’t actually run in the Infinite Mega — I have. If you’ve ever housed a puppy, you know just how much running is involved in every single walk and every single play session, and the Infinite Mega was on my foot for almost all of them. You know what I ended up with a lot of in my shoe? Dirt, twigs, and little pebbles. In the same way that sock-like uppers are there to keep stuff away from your feet, Under Armour’s open heel seems to let little inconveniences in.

Is the heel comfortable? Yes, I think it’s pretty good when appropriately tightened. However, it’s pretty easy to mess up or leave it not quite tight enough and allow for a bit too much rubbing when you set out to start running.

If nothing else, the Under Armour x Speedland Infinite Mega is the best recovery shoe I own

RYAN: Honestly, I don’t think I expected the Under Armour x Speedland Infinite Mega to become my go-to running shoe when it arrived for review. I expected it to be fairly heavy, but plenty comfortable, which would be good enough for me. So, the fact that it hasn’t entered my daily training rotation makes me feel like I was pretty much correct. Am I disappointed by that? No. Is it tough to recommend picking this one up for a cool $250? Very much so.

If you’re in the market for a good-looking, comfortable, easy to put on and off shoe, the Infinite Mega is that and then some. You’re certainly not going to feel the road, the grass in the park, or the carpet in the airport with this one on your feet. However, I’m just not sure that you will want to trust the open heel for your weekly mileage, easy or otherwise. If you want something along those lines, though, Speedland’s RX: FPY might be worth a longer look.

You can pick up the Under Armour x Speedland Infinite Mega for $250 at Under Armour by using the buttons below.