Veloci Ascent Review: Taking Flight… Or Trying To

Introduction to the Veloci Ascent

CHAD: There have been several times in my life when I’ve been thankful I took four years of Latin while in high school. The first is obvious, and that was studying for the SATs. The second was when I went to law school and became a lawyer because of res ipsa loquitur. The third is right now, reviewing shoes for Believe in the Run, specifically the new Veloci Ascent.

Veloci (Vuh-Low-Chee) is the plural version of velox, which means quick or speedy. Ascent is derived from the Latin word ascendere, which means to climb up or go up. So the Veloci Ascent, by definition, is a speedy climb. Okay, enough nerding out, time to get on to the shoe.

Veloci is a new-to-market brand brought to you by a college student who found himself disenchanted with the running shoe market, unable to find something that he felt fit his needs. So what did he do with that frustration? Well, rather than toil in the status quo, he designed his own shoes and started a company to produce them for all runners to enjoy.

The first offering from Veloci, the Ascent, features an anatomical toebox for a better fit to a natural foot shape, a 39 mm / 29 mm stack of foam, and a rocker profile with an enhanced toe spring for smooth transitions. The midsole consists of EVA (ethylene-vinyl acetate), OBC (olefin block copolymer), POE (polyolefin), and TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane), and also has a full coverage rubber outsole.

As we know, though, fancy tech only gets you so far. More importantly, how did the debut Veloci shoe perform on the roads? Let’s find out.

CARYN: Thank you, Chad, for the in-depth Latin lesson above. As a Francophile, I did absolutely zero digging into the name of our latest shoe, but I do appreciate anything created with a little extra intention. Whenever a new brand arrives on my doorstep, I automatically give the founder a few bonus points for bravery.

At this point, the running shoe industry is a veritable rainforest, overflowing with different brands, models, and technologies. Some may say it’s downright saturated (I mean, the rainforest is, in fact, pretty rainy). Anyone taking a risk, thinking they’ve got something that will lead a customer away from their fifteenth consecutive purchase of the Brooks Ghost — well, that takes guts.

As Chad noted, the Veloci Ascent was created by a college student who saw a void in the shoe market based on his own running experience. I could write an entire paragraph about what I was doing in college and how it was very much not creating a running shoe brand, but I digress. The new Veloci Ascent features an anatomical toe box, a largely EVA midsole, and a 10 mm drop. Allons-voir (take that, Chad).

What we like about the Veloci Ascent

CHAD: Anyone who follows me knows that I am an absolute sucker for a natural footshape in a shoe, also called an anatomical toebox. I usually rave about how well Topo Athletic shoes fit me, giving my toes room to splay on the run, but not so wide through the rest of the shoe that I’m swimming in it. Well, the Veloci Ascent fits better than almost any other shoe I’ve worn. Unlike Topo and Altra, which also have the anatomical toebox, the Ascent doesn’t have an aggressive taper in the midfoot, but rather a more gradual one, which provides a more accommodating fit. Also, unlike those brands, there isn’t a super high or rigid arch in the shoe, so it really does allow the foot to do its natural thing.

In addition to the upper fit, the material is very comfortable on foot. I wouldn’t call it especially breathable, but the mesh is soft and holds the foot well. The heel collar is well-padded and provides a nice, sturdy lockdown.

On the run, I could definitely feel the rocker design underfoot, which helps the roll-through transition from heel to toe. The outsole material used also feels really tacky and durable; it’s a decently thick slab of rubber that looks like it would last a considerable amount of time. Oh, and the tongue is gusseted — a classy move by a running shoe rookie, considering established brands can’t even get that right sometimes.

CARYN: I’ve discussed my medium-wide feet quite often in previous reviews, so folks should know I’ll judge a toe box pretty critically. As goofy as they can look, the superior fit of an anatomical toe box just can’t be ignored. The Veloci’s toe box is fantastic, along with the fit of the rest of the shoe on step-in. It hugged my foot nicely, gave plenty of space for my toes, and locked down easily. The materials are all simple, but functional.

I also appreciated the fact that the shoe felt structured due to the firmer feel of the foam and the wide base. I wouldn’t call it a stability shoe, but certainly would add it to the stable neutral category. I really enjoyed walking in this shoe but didn’t find quite as much success on the run — more on that below.

What we don’t like about the Veloci Ascent

CHAD: The tech sheet claims this foam is soft, supportive, bouncy, and responsive. My first qualm with that is I don’t think any foam can be all four of those adjectives at the same time. I could see being soft and bouncy or supportive and responsive; however, it’s impossible to be all four things. In my opinion, the foam is firm and responsive. Squeezing the foam in your hand, it feels like it should be a bit softer underfoot, and I’ll acknowledge that it softened up a bit once I hit around 12 miles in it. However, I would not classify this foam as soft or bouncy. I’ll give it supportive, because of the firmness and decent stability.

The other noticeable thing is the high drop, which the brand says is designed to alleviate lower leg stressors for runners. I definitely felt this shoe in my knees and hips after all of my runs, as the rocker loses some of its effectiveness when the drop increases. Most shoes that successfully utilize a rocker are in the 4-6 mm drop range. As a bigger runner, I definitely prefer to stay in the lower drop zone to alleviate the impact on my knees, as my ankles and calves tend to handle the load better.

Normally, I would harp on this more, but I’ll give a bit of a pass because it’s Veloci’s first shoe. I like the feather logo, and I think they’ll be able to do cool things with it down the road, but the design was just okay. It is hard to make an anatomical toebox shoe look cool; just ask Topo and Altra. Also, small thing, but I hate the way the laces were done out of the box, going in down over the top of the upper instead of underneath; it makes the laces so hard to tighten properly. I had to relace mine.

CARYN: Even in the context of this shoe being the brand’s first attempt, I struggled with the aesthetics. I’m trying to give them a bit of a pass, but I cannot wrap my brain around the baby blue mesh and screen-printed feather. I used to shop at Stride-Rite for my tennis shoes as a kid (anyone else?), and that is quite literally all I could think about when I put this on.

More importantly, I was excited that the Veloci’s tech sheet noted that the shoe had a rocker, but it felt like it was lackluster underfoot. I’m not sure if it was the fact that the foam is extremely firm and lacks the dynamic feel of others I’ve tried (probably), or if the 10 mm drop prevented me from accessing the rocker due to my mechanics (likely). Most more responsive shoes I enjoy have an early-phase rocker and a lower drop, allowing a natural transition on the run. I think perhaps the Veloci is trying to be a bit too versatile with its approach, as it felt slappy and hard to me on the run (reminiscent of the On speedboard, RIP).

Finally, I struggle with any shoe brand that touts the potential of injury reduction through the use of their product. It’s giving Nike’s 2019 press tour for the React Infinity (also RIP). This isn’t a medical product and hasn’t been formally studied or reviewed in that capacity. A 10mm drop has also not been shown to decrease injury in every runner. While increasing drop can take some load off the Achilles and calves, those forces don’t evaporate — they’re shifted to a different part of the posterior chain, often, the hips and knees. This may cause additional issues for a runner depending on gait and mechanics.

TLDR: it’s very hard to control for a runner’s mechanics, therefore it’s tough to generalize around what will or won’t prevent injury among runners, collectively (*steps off soapbox*).

Final thoughts on the Veloci Ascent

CHAD: Look, for a debut in the running shoe market, Veloci did a commendable job here. The fit of this shoe is incredible, and on the run, the Ascent performed relatively well. It’s firmer than advertised, but if you prefer a firmer feel underfoot, this one would suit you well. It was definitely easy to set a pace and just churn out those easy miles. It also likely would be a solid option for someone with foot/ankle mobility issues, as the higher drop and rocker can alleviate some of those offending forces on the run. Unless another new brand comes along and drops a banger, this very well could be the rookie of the year in the running shoe market. Veloci is definitely a brand I’m going to keep my eye on.

CARYN: Like I said, I give Veloci a lot of credit for trying to crack into a pretty intense market. No one hits it out of the park on the first pitch (except maybe my man Gunnar Henderson). I think they’ve created a solid starting point for a shoe on which they can iterate, and I’m looking forward to seeing where they go next.

You can pick up the Veloci Ascent for $170 by using the buttons below.