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Li Ning Superlight 23 Review

Name: Men's Other Li Ning Superlight 23
Brand: Other
Rating: 5.0 (1 reviews)

Scott Hilton

Posted Apr 26, 2026

A 5K/10K runner by Li Ning. Wanted to have some variation in the type of running shoes within the series on shoes from brands from the East. The design also caught my eye with the segmented midsole. Let's see how this turned out!

Total

Form

Performance

Value

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Li Ning Superlight 23

5.0/5

(1)

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Pros

Truly is "superlight"
Versatile within a limited distance range
Breathable upper
Great traction
Unique design
Top notch quality workmanship and materials
Under 100 dollars

Cons

Tongue design just a little tricky

Lin Ning Yueying 5 Pro Review

Key Aspects of Li-Ning Company:

Market Position: It is a premier Chinese sports brand, often ranking just behind international competitors like Nike and Adidas in the Chinese market.
Core Categories: The company focuses heavily on footwear, apparel, and equipment for basketball, running, fitness, and badminton, with, for example, a strong "China Li-Ning" fashion line.
Growth Strategy: The company is aggressively expanding internationally, with a target of 30% revenue from non-Mainland markets by 2025, supported by specialized overseas, including a new Hong Kong headquarters.
Partnerships: Notable for partnerships like the 2012 deal with NBA player Dwyane Wade and securing the Chinese sports delegation's apparel contract (2025–2028).
Technological Focus: Significant R&D investment drives innovations like the 'BOOM' midsole technology.
Operational Structure: Operates a mix of directly operated, retail, and "China Li-Ning" flagship stores, with a growing e-commerce presence

Review Goal

My original intent was to use this shoe for speed work, track work and shorter runs. I ended up doing some walking at the office in the shoe as well as I ended up liking how it felt walking, which I was not expecting for the type of shoe it is.

Deets and Usage notes

So, my first lesson in running shoes from the East is that they mostly don't provide the specification details that we are used to in the West. So, some of this is my best guess on compiled information from reviews and ChatGPT.

Weight: My size 12's came in weighing: Left 8.2 Ounces, Right 8.2 Ounces
Extrapolated sample size 9: Around 7 ounces or slightly under
Heel Stack: There is almost no information on this shoe, not even other reviews. Doing some measurements and guess work, I think the heel stack is between 34mm and 36mm (with insole and outsole included)
Drop: Again doing some measurements and guess work, I think it is between 5mm and 8mm. Underfoot it felt like a 6mm drop
Upper: Boom Fiber (lightweight elastomer) for breathability, durability, and comfort.
Outsole: Tempo Bounce for high elasticity, wear resistance, and low density. (Soft/tacky rubber)

Midsole: An iteration of Li Ning's Boom foam. I believe this is a beaded Pebax. It is surely beaded, but to the touch if seems more Peba than TPU.
Plate: Extended midfoot TPU plate

MSRP: I picked this shoe up for under $88 out the door (tax and shipping included). Amazon has them for $99. The current pricing on Aliexpress keeps jumping up and down. Under 100 is a great price for this shoe.

Use cases:
36 miles of:I ran steady pace to up tempo on track, concrete, tarmac and some light trail in dry conditions. I also ran on parking lot tarmac in wet conditions. I had to travel for work and my only running option was late evening on a treadmill or around the parking lot (around .3 mile loopish)........I chose the parking lot in rain. Just not a fan of treadmills.

6-8 miles of:In addition I wore the shoe to work several times and walked the office and parking lot at lunch time.

Upper

Laces: The laces are a high quality strong lace with a silky type of finish. They might be "slightly" long, but it didn't cause me any issues. They stayed tied during runs.
Tongue: The tongue is lightly padded with a full gusset. The tongue also has a lace loop and some laser cut holes for breathability. The tongue is not gussetted, which only caused a problem when putting the shoes on. There were a few times I had to put my finger in and straighten out the tongue, but once on foot and situated the tongue did great and stayed in place.
Upper material: The upper is a nice and light type of material that is breathable.
Heel: The heel is lightly structured with a bit of a heel inset to "seat" your heel. It was great lock down for me. The collar is lightly padded, which is perfect for me.
Toe Room: I had no hot spots from the toe room and felt good on width, but maybe a little lower volume north to south. This is probably on purpose as it is a bit of a "speed" fit.
Fit: The shoe fit perfectly true to size in my size 12's, but is overall more of a snug fit as it's intention is for a workout type of shoe.

I have heard other reviewers say Li Ning can run small, but this shoe came in true to size for me with the right amount of toe room. It is my third Li Ning shoe and I have 18 miles in the fourth and they have been consistent true to size for me

Outsole

The outsole performed excellent in all scenarios. I had full confidence running the parking lot in the rain in New Jersey on my work trip. The design of the outsole is meant to beef up durability as it is a softer rubber and does wear a little quicker when running on friction type of surfaces (Concrete/tarmac).

With the beefier layer of rubber, I enjoyed a bit of light trail running as well. However, the outsole on the track and the shoe in general on the track is just a joy. If this is a shoe you mainly run on the track with, I expect no issues with durability. The concrete does seem to beat it up a little bit, but it is such a thick layer that I still don't expect quick wear out.

The softness of the rubber also works well in conjunction with the midsole as it doesn't deaden the foot senses while running.

Midsole

I would call the sensation nicely snappy underfoot. At a steady pace it is a pleasant underfoot feel and then when you pick up the pace, everything just sprints you along. It is a very organic feel underfoot. It's not spring boarding you like a plated shoe, but with the geometry, lightness and very nice foam it is very easy to pick up and maintain an up tempo run.

The shoe is really at home on the track doing speed work. I think I might have my second fastest mile after my track workout in this shoe. It really is a nice work out shoe, not overly complicated even with the unique design. I think the segmented foam pods are providing a similar feedback as the Brooks Flex midsole design. Meaning, that because the foam is segmented it is allowing more compression and decompression in smaller areas, which improves the underfoot feedback. Its a sensation I like.

I would not take this shoe over 10 miles and if I was inserting it into a true rotation, I would probably cap it at 10K's or 7 miles. It did fine going up to 9 miles on some of my runs, but I think you will get more out of the shoe both in performance and enjoyment if you keep it to 7 miles or below on the runs.

Final thoughts / how I would use

This shoe was not originally planned at all for my reviews and I had very little information on it as it doesn't have a lot of online presence of reviews. However, I am very happy I picked this up. It is truly a joy to run in for those workout sessions, track sessions and surprisingly nice for around the office. I dig the design quite a bit as well, which helps for those office days.

This probably competes against shoes like the Hoka Cielo Road, Topo Cyclone, Adidas Adios models. It is coming in at a lower price, just as high as quality and provides a value proposition for those willing to give them a shot!

Enjoy the trails!

This is an incentivized review

This is not brand sponsored, but it is part of a series of reviews that WeeViews has sponsored along with some chip in purchased by me because I am now addicted to AliExpress

Comments

David Moore That cover photo is awesome! Good looking shoe, and that tread pattern is unlike anything I’ve seen — definitely worth a try at $99.

Apr 28 10:33 am

Scott Hilton The shoe really caught me off guard for how much I liked it, great track day shoe for sure and has versatility outside of that. Thanks for the comment on the photo! Its an area in the Houston Arboretum which is about a half a mile from the track =)

May 01 11:57 am