The Diadora Gara Carbon was a pleasant surprise when it launched last year, with Diadora’s first carbon racer being a competitive one thanks to the impressive ANIMA PBX midsole foam. The Diadora Gara Carbon 2 sticks mostly to the same design, but have the tweaks made improved the shoe? Mike and Nick have been out for a first run, here are their early impressions of the shoe.
00:00 – Intro
00:15 – Design & Key Stats
01:32 – How’s The Fit?
03:04 – First Run
09:13 – Early Verdict
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Hello welcome to rers my name is Nick And this is our first run review of the Deodor gar Carbon [Music] 2 so the diodora gar carbon was a very Pleasant surprise addition to the carbon Plate racing scene last year I didn't Test that shoe but Mike did and was very Impressed by it as Theodora's first Fay Into the Super Shoe realm the gar Carbon 2 mostly sticks to a pretty similar Design all around and it stick to the Same price which is pretty high for a Carbon plate shoe even it's £250 in the UK $300 in the US it weighs in at 228 G Or 8 oz in a UK size 9 you got a 5 mm Drop with a stack heite of either 39 or 40 mm at the hill the information I've Got from diodora directly has both of Those numbers so let's say 40 mm at the Hill 35 at the 4T you have the Matrix Mesh upper on the gar carbon to with a Little bit of padding around the heel And an internal heel counter at the back Of the shoe as well though it's quite a Flexible one I would say then in the mid Sole you've got Theodora's Ana PBX foam Which is the peber version of their Ana Foam that's used across the range this Is the best foam in the diodora range as You'd expect it's a super critical pack Foam and you got a full length carbon Plate running through that so you know Pretty standard setup for a racing shoe
These days but one thing that is quite Interesting I think about the garbon is How far the foam extends back past the Heel of the shoe and then you've got Durch 500 rubber used in the usual Configuration on a carbon shoe good 4ot Coverage two strips to the back and a Cutout in the middle that shows off the Carbon plate and reduces the weight of The [Music] Shoe so in terms of fits I've got my gar Carbon tuni UK size 8 that's the same Size that I had the original gar carbon In that is my typical running shoe size As well and I actually put the original On just to kind of compare the two shoes In terms of that sizing and fit and I Would say in general a lot of the Features and characteristics are very Similar I have noticed that this shoe The gar k 2 does seem to run a little Bit longer for me it wasn't an issue in Those couple of runs that I did but I'm Just wondering whether I could look to Go half a size down and Sho I don't Think you would lose the kind of roomy Kind of nature of the toe box I think Will lend itself to being a good sh for Longer runs but that something I want to Keep an eye on for you know the rest of My testing I think elsewhere very Similar kind to midfoot I think maybe Structurally it was where I had a little
Bit of criticisms about it but I think Maybe it's been tweaked slightly but I Don't think I've noticed it massively The lacing is the same the tongue you Know that lock Down's been fine for me Very skinny tongue similar level of Padding in the Hill collar as well so Yeah I think the main thing for me is There might be an argument to go half a Size down in this yearo but something I Want to see in further testing but so Far fit has been okay for me in the gar Carbon 2 so when it comes to the fit of The gar Carbon 2 I've got my normal size Here which is uk9 deodora is a brand That converts to a us99.5 rather than us 10 which you know does vary between Brands but I usually like a us99.5 in General and this has fit me really well Got a good hold around the heer midfoot Enough room in the toe box I think this Is a shoe that would have enough room For me to go to very long distances so Overall I would stick to your normal Running shoe [Music] Size good morning from London where Spring has sprung for for a week at Least uh I'm off out to see my first run In the diodora Gara Carbon 2 I've got a Nice little run today it's my first Hardish run since or first hard run Since the Civil Marathon I've had best Part of a couple of weeks off I'm going
To go and do park run this morning but Before that I'm going to join a friend For the first half of a session doing a 5k 1830 so hopefully blow some cobwebs Away and get my legs moving and then run Park run as hard as I can just to Basically check in on the body see where We are after cille see how fast I can Run it see how much kind turn over my Legs have lost so the good chance to Test the shoe I have not used a deodora Shoe ever even casually I don't think so This will be a first for me in many ways And I didn't use the deodor gar carbon Original I think by all accounts this is Quite a similar shoe though M could be Able to say more on that because he did Test the original and is testing this Shoe today as well so yeah looking Forward to running fast again trying to Run fast anyway and having a bit of a Hit out in the [Music] Shoe so I've done the the park in the 5K Now felt pretty rubbish at the start of That 18 35k but grew into it it felt B Good by the end the shoes are feeling Nice then decent amount of Bounce you Know comfort and then in the parkon Itself I don't know exactly what I ran Probably 16 15 something like that like Went off very very fast cuz Jack went Out really quick and I thought oh go This guy would be great we have a bit of
A bit of run together and then yeah he Called P down quite quickly and settled Into his pace so kicked on and I think Third car was quite slow and then I sped Up again the last two shoes are good They're definitely fast responsive they Don't feel very 5K is to me they feel Not heavy but a bit big it feels like Just getting too much almost ground Contact not picking my feet up enough Especially Into The Wind in the last Ages there it just didn't really feel Like they've got very long bottom with That heel and then the for foot and as a Hill strike kind of feels like I'm Getting too much shoe but um they are Still really quick obviously it was a Good good enough time for me there and About where I am Fitness w not like I Don't think I'll be running you know Much quicker in a different shoe they Don't feel that Nimble I think they're Going to be suited more to that kind of Longer race like half marathon marathon And the longer sessions maybe yes they Felt probably a bit better in that first One they're not they're pretty springy They're pretty responsive they're kind Of in between they're quite well Balanced they're not as soft as things Like the Endorphin Elite or as firm or Something like maybe the Hyperion Elite 4 PB from Brooks but yeah nice level Squish bit of response so enjoyed them
Don't think 5K is going to be their best Kind of race but it was their fast to Day obviously like all these races can Do every distance but yeah I just felt a Little bit long at times so I've Actually done a CP of runs in the gar Carbon 2 so far my first run was an Interval session that was indoors on a Treadmill and then I've just come back From my second one which was a 10mile Run the Target Pace was meant to be a Lot slower but I ended up going out a Little bit quicker in this shoe mainly Because I wanted to see how it would Handle the kind of Paces that I do think I really enjoyed using the first shoe For and that was kind of dropping it Down to my marathon pace um during that Run as much as I could wanted to um and Really see how it handled that now in The first run as I said it was an Intervall kind of run going quicker than Marathan Pace you know dropping it down Kind of s minute mile kind of below 7 Minute mile Pace where I think that the Gar carbon could handle and I raced kind Of shorter distances with that shoe did Track sessions and I felt like I got a Really good feeling from that shoe what I would say is I don't think it's still For me the most aggressive of the super Shoes that you'll find particularly at The price that the Gom two six but I Don't think it's out of its remit to be
A shoe to run a little bit shorter in or Race a little bit shorter in but what I Really want to see is how it fell on Those longer runs now you're still Getting the same makeup here it's that Kind of peber based anema PBX um kind of Midell makeup you're getting that curve Con plate there you're getting you know A kind of a drop and a stack heite That's you know the same as the first Shoe very similar to things like the aex Met speed Sky P which you know as I Mentioned the first review that I do Feel that it does have Hallmarks of that Shoe I don't think it's as Snappy as That shoe as responsive but there Definitely qualities there to make it Feel a lot like that shoe and when I Went out and I was coasting in my kind Of you know at my kind of marathon pace I felt like I was getting good Comfort There but particular I think at the Foref foot of the shoe which I think you Know I really liked well I think um the Balance of the kind of cushioning works Really well for me I think the rebound Was pretty good as well I think you know A little bit like my interval session I Do think that I think when I did try to Get a little bit quicker in this shoe I Don't think it has that snappier Aggressive feeling of the metab kpr Maybe some other kind of Super Shoes but I did like it and I do think that it
Does work nicer for me at kind of my Marathon and kind of half marathon paces And I think you know it is built to be a Longdistance racer carbon racer and I Feel like when I have ease into this Shoe it's felt very good to do that it's Felt comfortable it still felt Lively at The end of my run I didn't feel like the Shoe was working against me and I still Felt like I've got a ride out of it that Works really well I think the main thing Is that I don't feel like it right now Those two runs it's massively different From my experience in the two sh I'm Kind of struggling to see how different It really is maybe I'll notice that over Kind of more testing but right now it's Feeling near identical and bit coming From a shoe that's slightly lighter Maybe out whole point of view again you Know not hugely different you know There's there's a good amount of rubber At the for foot of the shoe which is What I'd expect to see and you know it's Pretty dry conditions I was running on The trm and today it was very dry and Hot so not really a good opportunity to Test the kind of durability and the grip Of this shoe but on Pavements and the Roads that I kind of were on they're Absolutely fine and yeah key thing would Be there you know there's quite a good Amount of exposed foam here so we want To see how the durability fares over
Longer testing so I've had a good couple Of runs in the shoe the longer run or Kind of you know the 10 Mile plus run That I did was pretty good I think the Main thing is that I'm not seeing a huge Amount of different from the first shoe Maybe I'll see that more in further [Music] Testing so some ear thoughts on the Dorara carbon 2 after a couple of runs In this shoe now and I would say a lot Of what I said about the first shoe Really kind of applies to the gar Carbon 2 it's feeling like a shoe that's going To be very nice and very comfortable to Run faster in I think it's still going To be a shoe that I would prefer to run Longer in but I do think it can handle Some kind of shorter sharper stuff as Well right now I'm not really seeing a Huge amount of different from the firste Maybe what I wanted to see was maybe Didor maybe amp things up a little bit On the aggressiveness side of things Which would have put it more in keeping With other shoes particularly at where This shoe kind of sits pricing wise I'm Not seeing that just yet Pricing is another thing here now it's £250 kind of $300 it is not cheap for a Super shoe and there's a debate here About whether you would choose this shoe Over other shoes now it is cheaper than The night gly 3 it's cheaper than the
Sak and dfin Elite 2 but it's not as Cheap as asex met speed Sky Paris which I do think it is very similar to but Maybe doesn't feel as aggressive as that Shoe but people might prefer that it has Qualities of that shoe and will probably Feel a little bit more comfortable I Think over longer distances that's kind Of my take comparing those two shoes You've also got things like hell X1 2.0 Which I think is more aggressive it's Definitely less stable than this shoe But sits around that price range and if You like something that has a more of a Propulsive feel to it I think maybe You're going to get that from cx1 2.0 Then you've got things like pum DV8 Nitro Elite 3 which is a lot cheaper the Brooks hyperian Elite 4 PB which really Lik again is sits around the pummer Sho So it's very good options now I think That's a problem for diodora gar carbon Too and I think you know I love the look At the shoe I love how it feels it's Just weather you can really justify Picking over some other shoes I Mentioned just there so yeah early Testing I'm liking it I'm not seeing how Much different it is from the first shoe But I am likely first shoe looking Forward to spending a lot more time in This shoe because I do think Theodor It's really kind of nailing a lot of Things here with its carbon racing shoe
Particularly for one to run a little bit Longer in so that was an enjoyable first Run in the diodora gar Carbon 2 I think It is a carbon plate shoe that competes Well with the rest of the market there Like I said I did feel it felt just a Little bit big for me at that times at That kind of 5K Pace but I'm looking Forward to cruising through longer runs And longer races maybe in it I think That's where it will be suited best You've definitely got a really nice pack Foam in the mids soole here you know It's a really Pleasant one to run in That gives you that little bit of Softness but plenty of responsive bounce As well General the shoe has reminded me A bit of the A6 meta speed Sky Paris Line I right down to this new color and The general colorway of the shoe which Does look very similar to The Meta speed Sky Paris that someone else I was Running with today was running in I Don't think you get quite as Nimble and Light a feel with this shoe not only Because it is a bit heavier than the Met Speed Sky Paris but also like I said the Length of the shoe is something I did Notice with that heel and that long Midsole design but yeah I do think it's An impressive shoe the price is going to Be a problem as it was with the first Version for diodora you're asking a lot Of money as a brand that is completely
Unproven in this carbon plate space and I think you have to be so good that You're blowing your competition away to Be asking for more money than Established Brands like Nike and aex and People like that I do think this is a Very decent shoe but wouldn't say it's My favorite comp R sh after that first Run obviously we'll do plenty more Testing and then the price being so high Makes it hard to justify spending the Money on this over something like the Metp sky Paris which is cheaper even the Nike Alpha fly is cheaper in the USA you Know hocus yellow X1 2.0 is cheaper in The USA so yeah there's lots of good Options out there even stuff that are Around 200 pound Mark in the UK like the Brooks up here in Elite 4 PB and the Puma devet Nitro Elite 3 which are you Know fantastic shoes from more Established Brands so price is Definitely a big hump for the shoe to Get over but the performance is there I Do think this is a competitive carb PL Racing sh I enjoyed running fast in it Today and I look forward to using it Again but with the market at large being So competitive the adios Pro 4 is Another cheaper shoe for example that I Forgot in that little run through there Which I just started testing again from A much more established brand and I Think that is going to make it a bit
Harder for diodora to shift this shoe But we'll talk more about performance And how it compares to other shoes in Our full review that was an enjoyable First run out of it I don't think the 5K Distances where this shoe will really Excel as a carbon racer but it was Certainly very quick today I look Forward to doing some longer stuff in it As well That's our first look at the deodor gar Carbon 2 let us know what you think in The comments below please like And Subscribe ring the little bell and we'll See you next time
