The Aero Tempo is Skechers’ all-new speed training shoe. Priced at $160, it features a supercritical TPU midsole and competes with shoes like the Adidas Boston 13 ($160), Puma Deviate Nitro 3 ($160), and Adidas EVO SL ($150). At warm-up and cool-down paces, we didn’t find the Aero Tempo comfortable due to its narrow, low-volume toe box, unforgiving mesh upper, and overly roomy heel—the antithesis of the Altra or Topo design ethos. However, at marathon pace and below, the shoe shined for its fast, firm, and aggressive underfoot feel. In contrast to its speed training competitors, which excel at steady paces—or what we’ve coined “zone 3 champions”—the Aero Tempo is a marathon pace monster. In initial testing, it had no trouble getting down to marathon pace for some fast 800-meter reps. While not quite as quick or responsive as a purpose-built racing shoe, it captures some of the bite we’ve loved in the ASICS Metaspeed Sky Paris and Puma Deviate Nitro Elite 3. It’s by no means a versatile, do-it-all trainer, but if you’re looking for a demon-time speed training shoe—or even a budget 10K to half-marathon racer—the Aero Tempo is a solid pick. If you’re after more comfort, width, or volume (and aesthetics) in a speed trainer, we recommend checking out the Adidas EVO SL.
.png)
