Arc’teryx Sylan 2 Review: A Shoe Not to Be Sylan-ced

When a $350 trail shoe lands on your desk, there’s a split second where you wonder if you’re meant to run in it, or frame it.

The Sylan 2 by Arc’teryx, in the absolutely gorgeous Shincha/Shincha I was sent, leans hard into the latter instinct. I mean, it’s a beautiful shoe, but I did have to christen them and take them out on the trails, because that’s the job, right?

And I’m glad I did, because this is one of those shoes that earns its price tag the second you stop staring at it and start running in it.
At 231g, the Sylan 2 feels almost suspiciously light when you pick it up. The woven upper is superlight and surprisingly tough, with an integrated flat-knit tongue and collar that wraps the foot in a way that feels more like a sock than a traditional shoe. It was an absolute dream putting them on, it felt like I was putting on a pair of socks. I didn’t expect to notice the seamless collar as much as I did during testing, but there’s something satisfying about a shoe that doesn’t shift, slip or bunch no matter how technical the terrain gets underfoot – and with the right sock, whoa.

And technical terrain is very much this shoe’s home turf.

I took the Sylan 2 out on a mix of rocky single-track and root-heavy forest trail, and the carbon-fibre plate paired with the rockered midsole does what it promises – it rolls you from heel strike through to toe-off with a kind of propulsive efficiency that makes you feel faster than you probably are.

I mean, I was flying. And I’m a back-of-the-packer.

On a long, undulating run with a fair bit of vert, my legs felt noticeably less cooked than they usually do by the final few kilometres, which I can only put down to either my fitness getting ten times better in the space of a few days, or the combination of that superficial foam and the carbon plate doing the heavy lifting I’d normally be asking my calves to do.

Traction-wise, the Vibram Megagrip Litebase outsole with its 4.5mm/3.5mm stepped lugs handled everything I threw at it – dry rock, loose gravel, a muddy creek crossing that I definitely should have planned my route around better because for some unknown reason, Perth decided to have a downpour across an entire week in September (like, since when?!). Mud shed off the lugs cleanly rather than caking up and turning my feet into two bricks.

Now, the honest bit. The toe box, although feeling wide at the start of testing, left me feeling some pressure near the pinky towards the end of a long run. It was nothing overly concerning, but if you’re someone who gets very swollen in the feet, I’d recommend trying these on in person before committing.

When it comes to the heel, the Sylan 2 sits higher than your average trail shoe, which is because of the super soft heel collar. As mentioned previously, it already feels like a sock wrapped around heel and ankle, so my advice would be to not wear extra short socks. Instead, get in on the crew sock trend, it made the whole trail running experience in these shoes even better.

Breathability was a pleasant surprise, given how dense the woven upper looks. When the weather cleared up for a bit, I didn’t get that overheated feeling some technical uppers are known to give you. It also handled an unexpected downpour better than expected (which I was not prepared for), draining quickly rather than turning into sloppy sponges for the rest of the run.

I’m going to be honest here. The Arc’teryx Sylan 2 is an absolutely dream, and they’re an investment in shoe-territory. Let’s not pretend it’s an everyday trainer, because this is a precise, purpose-built tool for runners who want speed and stability on proper technical terrain.

If that’s you, the Sylan 2 will have you running terrain you’d normally think twice about.

THE LOW DOWN

WOMEN’S COLOURS: Shincha/Shincha, Graphite/Graphite
MEN’S COLOURS: Mantis/Mantis, Graphite/Graphite, Carotene/Carotene
GREAT FOR: Mountain runners who want a fast, precise shoe for technical terrain
NOT SO GREAT FOR: Road, pavement, concrete
IDEAL FOOT TYPE: Narrow to standard width, midfoot to forefoot strikers
TEST TERRAIN: Rocky single-track, root-heavy trail, loose gravel, wet areas
STACK HEIGHT: 31.5mm heel / 25.5mm forefoot
DROP: 6mm
LUGS: 4.5mm / 3.5mm
WEIGHT: 231g

VITALS

RRP: $350.00 AUD / $390.00 NZD
WEBSITE: arcteryx.com.au / arcteryx.co.nz
CONDITIONS: Shoes provided for testing by Arc’teryx