Craft Kype Pro Review | Carbon Speed Without the Marshmallow Feel

The Craft Kype Pro is a shoe that doesn’t wait around to make a statement. From the first stride, it felt fast, aggressive, and built for business — like it was daring me to hit marathon pace and hold it.

This is clearly a shoe meant for race day, not just weekend workouts. And absolutely designed for the fastest among us.

Craft isn’t playing it safe with the Kype Pro. It’s featherlight, aggressive, and built to maximize energy return at high speeds. It’s not here to coddle your feet or give you plush cushion for easy miles. It’s here to make you feel like a machine at race pace — and in the right conditions, it succeeds.

If you like your race shoes firm, focused, and finely tuned for speed, the Kype Pro might be your next go-to. The big question: in a super shoe market full of soft, bouncy options — does this firmer, more stable racer hold its own? Let’s dig in.

The Kype Pro features Craft’s CR foam midsole — their lightest and most responsive yet — paired with a full-length carbon plate. The result? A propulsive, snappy ride that shines during marathon pace efforts and faster. It’s not the softest super shoe out there, but that’s what sets it apart.

Craft Kype Pro Overview

The Kype Pro is a road racing shoe through and through — think specifically half marathon and marathon. It was meticulously designed to be light, streamlined and most importantly – speedy.

I tested it during several sessions: marathon-pace long runs, 1K repeats,  road hills, and a fast progression run. It’s aggressive but rewarding. The ride is firm and snappy, with no extra bulk to slow you down.

Craft collaborated with designers and manufacturers across different industries to deliver a truly unique experience. they worked with Arris, a manufacturer of high performance innovative products from bikes to aerospace to shoes, to create a carbon plate that offers 30% weight savings with a split heel design and extra stiffness to provide stability and energy return.

This “skeletal additive molded carbon plate” is reported to give that stability we sometimes find lacking in really bouncy race shoes. The splitting of the plate at the heel is also a really thoughtful choice around helping those who heel strike not to lose some energy in to the plate.

The firmness of this shoe is really more beneficial to the front of the pack. You can feel that the faster you’re running, the more you’re working with the shoe.

The foam is where the Kype Pro really shows its DNA. The Xx Foam with Arkema’s Pebax is light and firm, with a sharp responsiveness that rewards faster efforts. The carbon plate adds a noticeable snap, especially during toe-off, and feels most alive at marathon pace or faster. This is not a soft shoe — it’s built for efficiency.

If you’re used to max-stack marshmallow racers, this will feel firmer and more direct.

I personally loved that — it felt stable, locked-in, and focused. There’s less rocker than some other super shoes, but the smooth transition makes for a natural, powerful stride.For the outsole, they worked with cycling tire designer Vittoria to create the Craft Lightsole to create a tread that is durable and can perform with speed and control in all weather conditions.

Compared to other plated racers, it’s closer to something like the Saucony Endorphin Elite than the ASICS Metaspeed Tokyo that Amanda just raved about. It’s not as plush or springy — you won’t get that trampoline bounce — but you will get a sense of forward propulsion that’s efficient and controllable. The Kype Pro gives back exactly what you put in, no fluff.

Craft Kype Pro Fit

Craft has traditionally run small in their sizing, but we feel like that length issue may be getting resolved. Our recent testing for all Craft shoes has finally be in our standard size across other brands.

That being said, this is a snug, race-oriented fit. It’s going to have a more narrow feel and not accommodate wider feet.

The engineered AeroMesh upper wraps the foot securely without excess pressure, though runners with wider feet might find the forefoot tight. The heel is locked in with just enough padding to keep it comfortable but stripped down to save weight.The tongue is lightly padded and stays in place — no sliding around mid-run. The fit overall felt true to size for me, but I wouldn’t go sockless unless you’ve broken them in. It’s not uncomfortable, and I did get a blister on the heal on day one while wearing long socks.

Who Tried it?

Lauren Daniels – I’m a Boulder-based trail and road runner logging 50–60 miles per week. I’ve competed in two marathon Olympic trials and have recently transitioned to loving the trails in Boulder. I live for early morning long runs, gear geeking, and finding the perfect shoe for every pace. When I’m not running, I’m selling homes as a local Realtor and chasing around my two dogs – Cadence and Dash. Follow along: @lauren.in.colorado

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