361 Hurricane Review (2022)

361 Hurricane: This limited release super shoe offers a glimpse into the future of 361 Degrees.

Written by David Salas

The 361 Hurricane is a progression of the performance footwear line from the Chinese-based company. The Hurricane is the most recent iteration of the "super shoe" and features a high-stack shoe with a sharp rocker throughout. The foam is softer than prior 361 models and provides some bounce at toe-off. This will be their top-shelf offering for the upcoming season.

361 Hurricane

Price: ~$145 (available only in Malaysia to our knowledge)
Weight: Unknown
Stack Height: Not Provided
Drop: Not Provided
Classification: Super Shoe, Performance Running Shoe

RUNNING SHOE SUMMARY

The 361 Hurricane is a performance running shoe that tailors to those who like a bouncy ride and a sharp rolling sensation through the forefoot. The shoe does not lean itself as well to slower efforts or off-road conditions but does like to pick up the pace on road situations. The DNA of the 361 Hurricane provides some optimism for the future of their performance branch.

SIMILAR SHOES: Craft Race Rebel, Saucony Endorphin Pro 1/2, XTEP 160x Pro 3.0

FIT

The fit of the 361 Hurricane is in line with a performance shoe. The upper provides a fit snug throughout. The width in the heel and midfoot is narrow with the forefoot being normal width. The material is similar to Vapor Weave and is made of a synthetic plastic-like mesh. The laces are extremely thin and the tongue is continuous with the rest of the upper. The lack of cushioning in the tongue and the hardness of the upper material did create some creasing at the top of my foot/toes when running longer distances but otherwise locked in pretty well. There is no heel counter present and the heel collar is supported by its own intrinsic materials. The fit will most likely be too narrow for a decent chunk of people but for those who like tight lockdowns and a narrower fit this will be a nice upper for you. 

PERFORMANCE

The 361 Hurricane is an interesting shoe. There is a lot of promise here but I still feel like it is missing some pieces. The shoe definitely performs better when the pace picks up as it should. The ride feels a little disjointed at times. The heel and forefoot are not fully connected, though this is not why it feels disjointed. The heel platform is really narrow for a shoe that has a midsole this soft and provides a wobbly landing when loading the heel. The transition then crashes you into the forefoot where it is wider, more stable, and rigid with a sharp toe spring. The transition in the forefoot is lively but feels "off" due to of the other things listed. I felt like I could not push the shoe as hard as I wanted because of some of the upper irritation at the top of the foot and toes as well. The midsole does have some lift to it though and I do think they can work off of this. The foam feels similar to PEBAX midsoles on the market and has a decent amount of compression and rebound with a touch of softness. The outsole and plate definitely firm up the ride, but the foam gives some bounce to the toe-off. At warm-up and cool-down paces the shoe feels pretty funky, but when the heel transition is sped up at faster paces things seem to smoothen out a little better. With that said I still do not like cornering in this shoe or running off of road conditions. I think there is some promise to this shoe, though I feel like some work needs to be done to clean up the transitions.

STABILITY

The Hurricane is not the most stable shoe. The forefoot is stable by having a wide and rigid platform to lever from, but the rest of the shoe struggles. The heel platform is really narrow and you do feel like you wobble a little in that region when landing. The midsole is disjointed but stabilized by the plate. The foam itself is pretty compliant and though bouncy, struggles in that heel and midfoot region. Because of some of the sloppiness in transitions early I can't fully appreciate how well the forefoot transitions. I find myself having to work my calves a little bit harder because of some of the heel and midfoot components. The upper lockdown is pretty good throughout and did not seem to negatively impact stability. 

Thoughts as a DPT: Be a Log

Today I want to focus on geometry and sole shaping for this section. There are a couple of things I want you to imagine. Think of yourself balancing on a plank, ledge, or log. You are using one of these platforms to traverse a crossing. If you have multiple choices you begin to look at your options. Normally you would go for the widest beam to stand on and walk across. This is because there is more cross-sectional area for you to stand on. Though this is a static object, the same reasoning can translate to shoes (to a degree). The 361 Hurricane has a narrow heel that is very noticeable. Even standing in it I can feel myself wobbling around. Now picture a balance pad. If you have been in a PT clinic you have probably been on one of these. The surface is compliant and soft. This makes your foot and ankle work a little bit harder because the foam has more give in the places you put pressure on it. Most people are heel strikers and I find that this heel design might be too soft and compliant to successfully transfer smoothly to the forefoot for most people. I do not heel strike very hard and I still notice this abruptly in the Hurricane. The forefoot mechanics are great, but I do feel widening the heel a little bit could really change the experience in the shoe.

RECOMMENDATIONS

The 361 Hurricane has a lot of promise to it, but could improve with the heel and midfoot transitions. I think the platform under the heel could be a little wider to make you feel a little less wobbly. I also think the upper could be fine-tuned a little. The material itself isn't too bad but perhaps increasing the forefoot volume a tad or padding the tongue a little bit more to help that creasing point I get. Because of some of things above I could not fully appreciate the positive features I liked about this shoe as much. 

WHO THIS SHOE IS FOR

The 361 Hurricane is a performance shoe for someone who like to run in forefoot-dominant shoes. If they don't require much stability in the heel and like rolling forward off the front of the foot this shoe can be quite fun. I would like a little more width to the heel platform so I don't feel like I have to be on the forefoot the whole time. The foam has some promise and does provide a race-like bounce and a fast transitioning forefoot thanks to the toe spring. 

GRADING

David
Fit: C+/B- (Narrow throughout with some creasing and irritation to the top of my foot and toes distally)
Performance: C+ (The midsole is promising with good weight and bounce, though heel and midfoot transitions are wobbly and take away from the fast forefoot)
Stability: C- (The forefoot is quite good, outside of that the heel and midfoot don't feel very stable unless you are in good form and moving uptempo. Upper integration isn't too bad.)
DPT/Footwear Science: C+ (Positive movement with materials, though geometrical integration could be improved with heel and midfoot)
Personal: C (I think there is some promise here and I do like the forefoot mechanics, but otherwise struggle with the rest of the design)
Overall: C (A shoe that will perform well for some, but most will most probably struggle with the rearfoot mechanics. Promising materials and forefoot transition.)

SHOP | SUPPORT DOR

361 Hurricane

Price: ~$145 (available only in Malaysia to our knowledge)

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FURTHER READING

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Mizuno Wave Rebellion Pro - Mizuno's new super shoe is here
The Best Max Cushion Shoes of 2022
Brooks Levitate 6 - A daily trainer for those who like a firmer, rolling ride
Brooks Levitate 6 GTS - The stability cousin with guiderails

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***Disclaimer: These shoes were purchased from eBay for review.  This in no way affected the honesty of this review. We systematically put each type of shoe through certain runs prior to review. For trainers and performance trainers, we take them on daily runs, workouts, recovery runs and a long run prior to review (often accumulating anywhere from 20-50 miles in the process). For racing flats we ensure that we have completed intervals, a tempo or steady state run as well as a warm-up and cool down in each pair prior to review. This systematic process is to ensure that we have experience with each shoe in a large variety of conditions to provide expansive and thorough reviews for the public and for companies. Our views are based on our extensive history in the footwear industry and years testing and developing footwear. If you are a footwear rep looking for footwear reviews or consultations on development, we are currently looking to partner with companies to assist, discuss and promote footwear models. Partnership will not affect the honesty of our reviews.

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