Sometimes running shoes have unique names that define them, as if they were names of people. However, when a shoe is called “Mega 2 Clone,” you can’t help but stop for a moment and observe it, mentally repeat it, wonder what it means.
I don’t think it means anything, maybe it’s just a name and that’s it. It is capable of conjuring up fantasies, exalting you and leaving you in doubt: what will it ever mean?
When you wear them and go running in them you stop thinking about the origin and meaning of its name-something will mean, and anyway they are definitely more interesting on the feet, all right. By now you are distracted by their behavior on the road and the feeling they give you, of a solidity that has few comparisons.
Thinking about what to write about these Under Armours as I ran several dozen miles on them, I couldn’t think of anything very original except “I like them.” It’s not like it’s much of a judgment, and it’s definitely subjective, even a little too much. A categorical “I like them,” though, can mean many things: I like them aesthetically, I like how they behave on the road, I like their balance, I like how they let me push them and how they are always there. The Mega 2 Clones have a bit of all these features, so let’s analyze them in detail.
Aesthetics
There are many components of the Mega 2 Clones that even just aesthetically make them very original shoes. Under Armours have a unique and recognizable design in themselves, and this model is no different. Except that it has a detail that, even within the Under Armour range, makes them unique: the mesh of the upper is pleated in a zigzag pattern. It is a detail that does not go unnoticed and, at least in my memory, is also unique in running shoes. And this is not just an aesthetic detail: in fact, the pleating gives these shoes an ability to adapt to the foot that is rare: in fact, it is not a stretch upper that fits the foot but constricts it. It is something gentler and yet just as effective. With very few shoes I have had the wrapping sensation that I felt with the Mega 2 Clones. And this is not an unpleasant sensation, on the contrary: the foot is firm and somewhat “squashed” toward the midsole, but in a way that gives the runner a more stable feeling, as if the shoe and foot were fused.
I have always appreciated about Under Armour the breathability of their uppers: despite being seemingly very “closed” they manage to let the foot breathe like few other shoes. In the case of the mesh of the Mega 2 Clones, breathability is somewhat less present, yet they remain very comfortable shoes that can be worn for many hours without excessive sweating (and I wore them in the summer).
Finally, the only support applied is the heel support: these are two semi-transparent red plastic plates that start from behind the midfoot and are joined toward the neck of the shoe by an elastic tab. The purpose is to contain the heel, but the result is also to achieve a design detail that characterizes the upper, which is in the rest of the shoe left free of buttresses and panels (containment is in fact absolved by the pleating of the mesh).
The midsole is made entirely of UA HOVR™, Under Armour’s compound defined by the U.S. company as capable of making you feel weightlessness. Beyond the images put forth by marketing jargon, the road behavior of this compound is unique and special, but I will discuss this later. One last note: on the sides and containing the UA HOVR™ material is the Energy Web, which is applied in a way to contain the midsole’s compression so that it doesn’t dissipate laterally and so that it only concentrates it toward the road, to unload all the energy you can transmit to it and return it in the breakout phase.
On road
Lift up the Mega 2 Clone and look at the tread: the UA HOVR™ compound encased in Energy Web mesh is highlighted in the heel. The carvings are obvious and massive. It’s time for her to eat some road.
The Mega 2 Clones are presented as neutral shoes, that is, without correction for pronation or supination. In the specific case, the attribute “neutral” also has another connotation and is by no means “negligible.” The fact that they are neutral does not mean that they are indifferent or without personality; on the contrary. “Neutral,” in the case of the Mega 2 Clones, means that their mechanical behavior is the same for both heel and forefoot runners. The significant presence of material at both the back and front gives it a very smooth response regardless of ride setting. It may seem like a detail but it is not: there are shoes that are more unbalanced toward the heel, in the sense that maximum protection is concentrated in that area (and they are most shoes, except for a few brands); forefoot or toe runners may therefore find them a bit “unloaded.” This is not the case with these Under Armour ones, which really can be used by anyone and in any running setting.
Although they are major shoes in terms of midsole material and thickness, they are not heavy at all. As we often repeat, the balance or otherwise of running shoes is not a number but is given by the balance between weight, responsiveness and cushioning. There are nominally heavy shoes that are very light on the foot and vice versa. The case of the Mega 2 Clones is the former, so much so that the weight is not even stated because it would not say much and perhaps give a distorted idea (weighing them in the hand is not particularly high anyway).
One more thing
Like other Under Armour models, this model also features Bluetooth connectivity for the connection with UA MAPMYRUN™ to monitor one’s running data with extremely high accuracy (the closer the sensor is to the source to be monitored, the more precise the detection, so what better than the foot itself?).
How much do they cost. The list price is 150€ and you can buy them in UNDER ARMOUR BRAND HOUSES, specialty stores or on the Under Armour website.