We're so back
Back in New York, finding a groove
What’s up everyone. Thanks for staying with me through numerous false starts with this newsletter. At the behest of my roomie, Gino, I’m committing to a writing rhythm—one letter a week, every Sunday. I’ll be writing about gear I’m testing, clothes I’m into, music I’m relying on, books that are piquing my interest, and maybe even some philosophical learnings. Feel free to subscribe and get a new bit every weekend.
I’m starting today’s letter with a bit of chat about the new Arc’teryx Sylan 2 trail running shoe. The first Sylan was one of my favorite trail shoes over the past year or two—I even wrote a quick bite about it for Outside Magazine last summer. I ran on trails with it, ran on the road with it, and wore it on a backpacking trip near Mammoth.
Given my love for the first iteration, the anticipation for version 2 was killing me. So when I got the chance to snag a pair ahead of their release last week, I was pretty fired up. I’m recently back in New York City, so hitting the trails wasn’t exactly something I could do easily, but the Sylan actually thrives on mixed terrain. It’s not made for that, but I like wearing light trail shoes in NYC because you never know when you’re going to hit some wonky asphalt.
My first run in the Sylan 2 was my first run back here, so I threw ‘em on and ran up to McCarren Park, where I could put them through some multi-terrain testing. There was snow on the ground, some mud, some slushy shit, and broken concrete sidewalks, so it actually worked out (they felt nice on the track at McCarren, too). The lacing took some adjusting, as it does with most shoes. I have high arches and high-volume feet, so it’s always tricky. But once I got that dialed and tucked my knots into the lace garages, I was good to go.
The shoe was peppy—the rocker and supercritical foam midsole propelled me forward—and the bright green, while slightly ostentatious with the massive dead bird logo, looks pretty sick. I am not really in the zone enough to pick up the pace (coming off an injury) but the carbon plate gives a nice bit of propulsion, too. And, while there weren’t a lot of loose rocks or debris to put the knit collar to use, that was one of my favorite features of the OG Sylan, so I’m glad Arc kept it.
Anyway. I’m going to keep these short and sweet for now. I’m stoked to be back in New York and I’m sure there will be a debrief on that coming in the near future.
A sign off tune for ya. See you next week.