Cushioned shoes are big nowadays – and we’re not just talking about the stack height. Almost every brand has a selection of chunky options designed to deliver comfort, improve energy return and, in some cases, provide versatility for harder sessions.
In this podcast video, we talk about the world of cushioned shoes in preparation for our soon-to-drop best cushioned shoes video. We discuss what’s out there, what makes a good cushioned shoe and run through some of our favourites.
Big thanks to Fear of Tigers for the killer intro music. You can listen to more of his stuff over at
Hey Tom me from the Run testers and Welcome back to the Run testers podcast In this episode we're going to be Talking about cushion shoes we've got Our best cushion Shoes video coming out In a few weeks so we are going to be Using this podcast to discuss the Different categories there are what Shoes are on the short list and defining What exactly is a cushion shoe right Let's dive in and do the podcast Evening gentlemen how are we doing right Yeah too bad yeah not too bad yourself Fine thanks for Asking no uh no Nick this episode Because he's uh I where exactly is He gr gr canara gr Canaria I know one of One of those no in in Spain in Spain I Haven't been checking his um his stra Let's see if he's running I'm assuming He's running out there I think he was Going to go and try and basically Outside it was basically all up Mountain So I think he was debating whether or Not he'd be able to handle get it up There the Heights spere and stuff oh Yeah he was debating which Trail she Used to take with him wasn't he before He went yeah yeah well look at straing a Bit see if he's actually doing anything Not seen him popping up so maybe he's Given maybe he's not bothered that Doesn't sound like Nick does it doing a Run break yeah I don't think Nick's ever
Had a run Break true so how uh what's going on With you guys at the moment running Wise I mean for me uh I am not training For anything at the moment I think I Have I've made the decision I think now That I'm not going to do a a marathon Before the end of the year I think um I'm going to look at doing some maybe Some shorter races but I think I'm going To focus on picking a spring Marathon I Got a lot of life things going on at the Moment so I think I'm going to focus on Those things and uh yeah just kind of Maybe start bit earlier in my marath Training for next year um going to build Up for that so which will be different It was similar to last year I mean I Didn't do one last year at all so yeah That's decided which Marathon you're Gonna do next year not yet I'm looking At my options I'm assessing my options At the moment so yeah I I think that's You know I I was taking a while to think About it but I think I've have decided I Probably won't do one this year um Should be fine it's fine you know so uh And then um yeah then look to next year I think uh I've got some ideas of which Ones I potentially want to do and I can See if I can get into and then yeah just Really have a good go because I didn't Quite do what I wanted to do this year Marathon wise it was mainly just getting
Through kind of without any issues and Now I feel a bit better so I feel I can Get back try and get back to what my Original targets were before fun yeah Exctly that you know got a few months Where you can just go and run and run Easy run slow run for enjoyment Smiles Not Miles yeah but I've yeah it's definitely Been a weird it's been a weird time Weird time to kind of think what what I Want to do and but I think I will try And do some try to find a nice half to Do before the end of the year that I'll Have a good go out um and then just kind Of do some shorter stuff I think I'll Still do some racing just not the big Blocks of uh training how about you Tom How about me uh I'm on it now fully on It I've had four months off of Renovating a house drinking quite a lot And basically just becoming ridiculously Unfit and now I've got coach I've got a PT and I'm sights are set on Valencia Now all in yeah and I'm struggling I'm The the runs that I'm doing now with my Coach are like the easiest with my Previous um coaching block these would Be like the easiest ones of the week and Now I'm finding them hard just the like A few intervals thrown into a run and Already that's that's destroying me Afterwards hope I'm hoping it's partly The heat but I don't think it is I think
It's just my fitness it's going to take A while to come back yeah we got big big Half in four weeks so that's going to be An eye opening experience I imagine for My half marathon times but um yeah Should shock me into training a bit Harder for three months after that until Valencia you got that's December isn't It yeah so got four four months got Plenty of time yeah I'd be fine be fine And then I'm just deciding I think I've Doing Manchester next year so are you Doing Manchester again Ken I don't know I I I actually it depends I've got good I should have a good frage for London This time oh oh Nice so I may do that but I did it I Like Manchester actually I would go back If that doesn't if London for whatever Reason doesn't come off if I'm not fast Enough for my age then I surely that Time would hope so but it didn't happen Last time did it So you were faster you a lot faster this Time though weren't you from you yeah Yeah yeah I should and I've gone up in Age category so I should I should be Well within it now it's all it's all in Your favor yeah should be stacked but Well you've got you're doing Uh well it's not long now is it until The big one the next big one Saturday Week I go back to Berlin and um yeah I Don't know like it's last year I think I
Went into it I was feeling I wasn't as Up for it I've got that sometimes you go To a race you got you feel a bit excited About it sometimes I've been into races Where I'm a little bit more daunted this Time I actually feel quite hungry for it Which I think is a good sign we'll see How how long that lasts kind of into the Midday Berlin I'm so I'm terrified it's Going to be like 32° so I just I spent was out on holiday In Italy for a couple of weeks and I Spent quite a lot of time going out Deliberately in the midday Sun running In 33 34 35 to try and Bank some some Experience in that and try and ward off The worst of it because that's we start At 6:00 in the morning but if it gets Hot by 11: and then it's hot sometimes In these you'll be hot in you're till Like 700 p.m. and it's like being cooked In an oven by the end of it there's no It's not it's very exposed this course So you don't really get that opportunity There's probably a few days in England Where you you it's hot but when I was in Croatia it was about 35° some days that I was running and you do get used to it Surp surprisingly quickly but um I won't Be able to do it now I found like after Five miles always after five like The Thirst would kick in in a big way and That's the big thing I think that's for Me when I'm doing trying to do these
Kind of big long 100 miles 100 C it's Nutrition in the stomach and the Heat Plays havoc with hydration I can never Quite work out whether or not I've had Too many electrolytes not enough Electrolytes I'm drinking too much water I'm eating too much watermelon or I've Had too many of the RIT cheesy crackers Off the aid stations or what it is but That's that's and when I get nause then It becomes very very hard but yeah yeah Fingers crossed fingers cross got to get Beyond 69 miles that's the first goal Well I I might be I forgot I might I Might be doing Dubai marathon in January Wow you've done half of you Mike I did The Russell kmar which is just a bit Further out um from Dubai but um it Starts pretty early it did get very hot At the end so and that's a pretty quick One but yeah I don't know what the I Don't know what the it looks like one of Those boring marathons in the world it's Basically just a stretch of road Goes 26 miles I think um so yeah should Be should be an interesting not sure how Many people do it either so doesn't it's Not one that crops up in the in the Favorites list is it but we'll see They're going to have A well we were going to have a trip out To Dubai Dubai and then um I realized There was there Marathon there so I Thought oh car inside it with that which
May be a ridiculous idea a month after Val could be terrible it could be Terrible yeah yeah so any listeners you Know anything about Divi Marathon please Message us because yeah give me some Advice it'll tell me not to do it cool All right well let's talk about Kit We've been testing Okay so what uh Karen you can kick this Off what you you've been on holiday Recently have you what have you been Testing that uh is new yeah I mean I've I've actually just to step outside of The um shoes for a while I've been Testing the showing it but it's I've got The Samsung Galaxy watch Ultra on which I've been testing up alongside the Apple Watch Ultra I think Mike's got that as Well which has been interesting for me I've not it's first first time in a long Time I've used used a Galaxy watch Um can't say I'm in love with it um Things that I like there's some things That I don't I mean the one thing I'm Really noticing out above all is just The battery life on it seems it seems to Die of a much much faster rate than the Apple watch almost sometimes it feels Like a day and a half quicker than the Apple watch Ultra which is and you know Me I'd like I'm the Enduro I charge it Once a month it's bugging Me um but there's you know there's Obviously lots of capability to it but
Those tests kind of Ono know you you've Been having a little play as well Mike Yeah I've got it in um obviously this is Clearly Samsung's answer to the Apple Watch Ultra in many ways I mean it's got Like a dedicated button like the Apple Watch Ultra too obviously should mention Obviously it is only for Android so it's Kind of probably going up against things Like the Gin epics I guess really in Terms of you know the feature set um I've I've raced with it we I used it for S 10K to kind of test the new dual band GPS it didn't perform fantastically for Me I found like the the quick button Which is kind of Samsung's equivalent to The action button is probably not as Fully fledged not doesn't have as much Going on with it and again I think I Just Echo your experience with the Battery has been very inconsistent for GPS tracking but also just dayto day and I've used a mixture of the scenarios of Using the battery and it's an odd one I Think it's it's good that they've made Something I just clearly inspired by the Apple watch Ultra is it like Android's Answer to that watch not convinced just Yet and there's a lot of things around The navigation and mapping I don't think It's quite as impressive as the other Options that I think are there for Android users so but we'll we'll be Doing a review we'll be doing a full
Review Once um kin has finished having His testing as well so they they very Very strict to taking my watch back so That's a squeeze in my testing so yeah If is there anything else on the list I Lots of lots and lots of shoes lots of Shoes exciting Ones I've got the I mean I know this one Actually I've got the the tekan X3 which No Mike's done a first run in I've also The two new brook shoes so the Hyperion Max 2 and the ghost Max 2 have both been In for testing which I've kind of been Enjoying as well done a lot in the well Adidas Ultra boost five as well been on The feet interesting to see if that's Actually now back to being a genuine Running shoe if it's for swanning around Trendy Urban haunts but yeah so I've Done a first run in that that's yeah and I think it's yeah long and short of that With the Adidas boosters it's kind of Okay it's not great it's it's not a bad Shoe it's not you know when you put it Up in terms of the rivals that are out There now and the the competition it now Goes up against it's kind of is it a Boost pH yeah they've TW they've Basically tweaked the formula to try and Make it a bit lighter and a bit a bit More um springy and it's you know it's Okay I didn't mind running in it but It's not going to set the world on fire And I think it sort of lands in a in a
Much more competitive space now I think People who like the old boost might Invest in it for feel and I think people Maybe looking for something that they Can wear casually and then do a bit of Running bit of gym all that kind of Stuff it'll work for but it's it's quite Highly priced and it's going up against Even Adidas's own shoes in this space I Think are probably much better the Supernova range probably tops it so yeah It's an interesting one I think they're Probably trying to appeal to you know a Bit of sort of Heritage that kind of Thing but early views on the uh tekon X3 Then well mine is still in the box But yeah yeah nice Box yeah well I mean this is obviously a Very radically different looking um Tek To the previous one um it's actually the Kind of Stack exactly the same but Obviously the design is very different You've got that kind of big design kind Of dominating Gator on there you've got Peber instead of the kind of dual Density Eva midell that we had on the Tekon X2 and I think we all kind of you Know like the Tek X to I think this is Just a very different beast in terms of How it feels you know soon as I put it On you can feel how much more lively it Is and there is a little bit you know There's more of that balce and obviously You're losing I think a little bit of
That kind of more contact with the Ground but I think you know I think it's Going to be interesting how this one Kind of translates to people who maybe Like the Texon range and this for me Just does feel like a different shoe I Think potentially a good shoe a Different shoe but a good shoe uh the Outside was great um you know it's been Slightly um adjusted in terms of the lug Depth on there but I I was out in sham Before the launch um for H's kind of Athlete camp and this is kind of the Shoe they were launching out there a lot Of their athletes will be wearing and I Can see out there I can see you know you Know it's a shoe definitely you have You're G to have to kind of really grow To get used to and adapt to but I can See that it's a it's a shoe to run nice And fast and it's just on that kind of More technical challenging terrain can You maintain that um I think some Runners might be able to more kind of Agile more experienced Runners will it Will it kind of trans you know Translate All Runners I think that's the Interesting for me and also just seeing How it it works on my you know Trails Back here in the UK which I'm I know I'm Going to be running in that's really What I want to see how it performs yeah It's funny strange when a running brand Radically changes a shoe in the lineup
Because they could have just called it The tecton elite or something so that You knew that it was a different shoe Because the tecton is a very specific Shoe and everyone we I think we all like The tekon range for for what it's Designed for so definitely sounds like The new ones not designed for or we Won't use it for the same things that we We Ed that Sho those shoes for I think It's still Built For Speed it's still Still absolutely Built For Speed I think It's just going to be a very different Experience I think and if you're used And very much liked that feeling of the Tekan X2 I think this is going to be I Still think you're going to get that Faster feeling from it it's just going To be a different experience I think and It still feels pretty controlled so yeah Plenty more testing to do that as a Video up on the channel and but yeah I Think and it's expensive it's expensive You know it's not a cheap Trail shoe to Pick up either And the other the other thing I I think They actually felt like some of the Feedback that came out when we were kind Of placing the speed goat versus the Tans have been that they were quite Similar and was there a real reason to Go tekan for the money and maybe they Felt like they had to make a wider gap Between those shoes some big design
Differences like they're quite actually Interestingly the booty fit even makes It it's quite a visual design difference Between those two shoes now whereas Before you they sort of sat quite Clos Together looks serious doesn't it it Looks like you know it's designed for For your Elite Runners going over Mountains and and stuff like that all Right well I think that'll do is for um Updates uh in this episode shall we dive Into this month's Discussion so Christian shoes Gentlemen it's a tricky area these I Think if you looked at cushion shoes Maybe five 10 years ago it was very Clear which ones were the cushion shoes From a from a from a brand you could Walk into a running shoe shop and you Could see the Cushing shoes there and go I know they're cushion I know what They're for Comfort basically but over Time as Stacks have increased as shoes Have just tried to be more versatile It's become a little bit of a more Confusing type of shoe uh so in this uh Podcast video we're going to talk Through What we classify as cushion shoes when We're doing our roundups and how we Choose the best cushion shoes uh we're Going to be doing our best cushion shoes Roundup in the next month so this acts As a bit of a discussion precursor to
That to work out to explain why we Choose those shoes and what the options That we've got in there okay so let's Start start this off with what would we Classify as a cushion shoes these days Yeah I mean I I for me it's there's a Range here so you know we the obvious One we're looking at you know there's That trend for Max cushion shoes where You're looking at Big Stacks I think you Can we're seeing more of the latter and As you said Tom just a second ago the Shoes that we probably would have Considered to be sort of more maximalist Max cushion now look like they're like The mid cushion shoes so things like cak Ride 17 and maybe [ __ ] those kind of Shoes they've still got sort of pretty Big Stacks there still a lot of cushion There um and they probably fall at the Bottom end of that category for me um But we've now got the whole bunch of new Shoes that come in with much higher Stacks and you could argue that you Could Define it sort of by Stack and We're talking mids ranging from sort of 35 Ms right up to 50 Ms in the hill um From you know sort of 20 or late 20 Ms To sort of 30 and Beyond in the forer so You know they got a big hulking great Stack of foam on there but I think it's Also comes down to more than the foam It's the type of foam how soft it's Tuned often these tend to be tuned soft
To provide more cushioning on impact Bigg that can obviously mean that you're Going to get shoes that might be heavier But I guess part of where this confusion Lies is that because the phones are Coming in now softer and more cushioned And lighter you can have bigger Stacks I Think for me I think about this also in Terms of purpose so I would have a Cushion shoe in our category which is Something that I would tend to be using For more of my everyday miles it's for My bigger mileage for my low and for my Slow you know if you're thinking about 80% of your mileage coming in at a Certain sort of lower end of pace just To build base these are the shoes that You're going to want to put on for for Those miles to soak up the ground and Also your recovery miles those kind of Things I think where it might get Complicated is you can have some shoes That have a lot of cushioning but They're very strip back lightweight and You think about the kind of race shoes You can think about like an Adas Prime X Too strong I wouldn't that's a massively Cushion shoe but I wouldn't put it in Our cushion shoes bracket I think that's A a shoe for faster but kind of how I Would that's how in my head that's how I Define cushion so I I I think that if You if you trying to drill it down to a Very simple couple of statements I think
Cushing shoes in the way that we Define Them is shoes that are designed for Comfort and protection over uh any Distance basically so you know cushion Shoes for a lot of people are used for Long runs so they keep your legs nice And fresh and uh with the consistent Hitting of the ground so I I would I Would classify cushion shoes as those Purely focused on the comfortable side Of training as opposed to basically not Performance shoes so I don't think we'd Have any performance shoes in best Cushion shoes what do you think yeah I Yeah I think I think a little kind of What Kier was saying I think the Characteristics of these cushion shoes Are very varied now but I think the Essence for me when I think of a cushion Shoe I think of this is a this is a type Of shoe that is can be an entry point For a lot of Runners and I think so There's a lot of thing key things I Think need to be ticked off you talked About some of them there Tom I think Also maybe you make some compromises in Terms of weight in terms of the level of Padding that you're going to get in an Upper where you know you might are more Racing focused shoe you're going to get Obviously you know minimal material you Know a lot lighter durability those kind Of things you're going to are going to Lessen but I think for me the way I look
At a cushion shoe is one that you a lot Of people are going to be able to pick Up as Kieran said do use it for a l of Their kind of daily miles and you're not Necessar thinking this is going to be a Shoe although it might be able to race In it that's ultimately going be a shoe That's really going to just cover up a Mixture of your running it might just be The one shoe as well that you use and You buy because not everyone's going to Have a rotation and a you know of shoes It could be one that's going to cover All of your running up to a point yeah So if if you were you know running Marathons trying to get sub three Marathon we probably wouldn't put a Traditional cushion shoe in that list Would we no I no no but I think if You're the flip is true it's also if You're coming in for a five and a half Which I think is sort of the average Marathon finish time globally you may Well look for something that's going to Have a bit more protection towards the End um I probably lean towards the more Kind of medium cushion so at the bottom End of that cushion shoes rather than The big sort of heavier really you know Recovery style cushion shoes but yeah I Think for some people they may go for a Cushion shoe if they're running a much Slower Marathon yeah and I suppose as Well with the enhancement and uh
Development of Foams what we what we Have been seeing in some shoes is that Even though the the stack isn't Increasing the foam is actually feeling Softer with with with less of that stack Height so not doesn't necessarily mean The stack height it's just historically More stack height generally means more Cushioning but if you can find a way to Um have less cushioning less Midol in But it still provides the same Cushioning then that might be a way that That was going to confuse our our um Classifications as everything else does Um all right well let's let's try and uh Cuz I'm going to be editing the best Cushion Shoes video what categories Would we have do you think for best Cushion shoe if we were going to try and Compartmentalize it into categories I Think I mean I think the obvious one is That yeah I was going to say I think the Obvious one is that the rise of Max Stack cushion shoes I think that in Itself has to have a just because pretty Much every brand has a shoe in that Space now and I think that's become a Category that wasn't there you know I Think there were some brands that were Doing those shoes I think with HW were Probably quite early there there going To Max cushion shoes and now pretty much Every brand has that shoe and I think There's a strong enough selection of
Shoes there to build a category around And actually good good options that's The main thing you know it's not just a Lot of options a lot of very strong Performing options that you know we've Collectively all kind of tested and Used so how about if you classified it So you've got your purely easy day Cushion shoes CU there's quite a few of Those that I know of that I wouldn't use For anything else just they've got no no Real enjoyment over long distance They've got no performance elements Something like the maybe something like The um New Balance more range um i' love Using those for easy days and comfort And cushioning but I would never even Dream of uh going for a faster run in Them um so that would that be a category You think that that firm easy day shoe I Think so because I think so because I Think a lot of people are using their Cushion shoes for that for that reason Right that it is you know you save your Your carbon shoes or your kind of faster Non-plated shoes for those kind of Focused training sessions those harder Training sessions and those these are The shoes where you may be struggling to Want to go out and it's like well this Is a shoe I know it's going to give me That comfort that level of comfort That's going to make doing that that Extra amount of running you probably
Don't want to do um a lot easier to do All right give him some more categories Then I think there definitely got to be One I mean this is not one necessarily As Runners we need a lot of I don't Think in our group but stability has to Be in there I think yeah um all of those You know that's one thing they tend to Have sort of Cushing I'm finding Stability cushion very very difficult These days if you looked at shoes three Four years ago with like the keano 28 Things like that there was a very very Clear difference between what a cushion Shoe did a neutral cushion shoe and what The gel Koo was doing you you could Instantly tell you had a stability shoe On but now what I'm finding is that a Lot of these stability shoes out and I've been Runing in loads of stability Shoes recently they're basically you Know comparable with some of the best Cushion shoes out there you don't even Notice the stability of them so it's Haded another element of confusion to How to choose the best if you look at Something like the um uh the hurricane 24 that's a stability shoe I if you Hadn't told me that had stability in it I would put it up there with some of the Best Max Cushing shoes out there and Like the more V4 or something like that So yeah you're right is really that you Definitely need to have that stability
Cushioning in um but it is a tricky one To sort of work out what it actually Means at the moment it's it's made me Wonder as well like i' I've I've I don't I'm not a big gate analysis I'm always a Bit dubious about how well those tests Are done but I've been on and people Have said you need stability I've never Run really in stability shoes but I do Wonder you know there's that this whole Thing that we're on a spectrum of how Much stability we need and the shoes are Getting better at being a little more Subtle or a bit more accommodating so People who might need M stability Now Find those shoes better and I wonder if It's actually that we might need a Little bit of more stability and we Benefit from that now because the shoes Are able to cater better rather than Being really kind of sort of forceful in The stability but yeah well I always Think that stability stability isues is Is not really a category in in the way That people think of it because you I Keep talking about like old the old days But if you went into a Running Shop they Would have very clear sets of stability Shoes in there each brand would have his Stability shoes and they'd be comparable They'd all have medial posts in they'd All be bit junkier and quite clunky now On the Channel people say can we have a Versus with the hurricane 24 and you
Know the the the Tempest The Tempest but For me that's it's they're completely Different shoes one's a cushion shoe One's a daily shoe so stability shoes is Becoming a bit confusing um so yeah I Wouldn't if if you if we had a category In best cushion shoes which was best Stability cushion shoes I wouldn't put The Tempest in there because it's I Don't think it's cushioned enough to be Classed as a um a cushion shoe but I Think that's I think there's there's a CH there's a change of the nature of Stability I think ultim you talked about It is that before previously it would be One Focus thing that would be delivering That stability and the way stability Shoes or guid you know these kind of Supportive shoes have evolved is that They're delivering that from various Bits of the other of the the design of The shoe so if it's the sidewalls if It's that broader base and I think That's where the you know the blurring The lines between a kind of a neutral And a kind of a moderate stability issue I think that's maybe the more of the Thing we're maybe not seeing that very Kind of strict stability shoe we're Seeing a growth of the kind of mild Stability shoes where where where we're Finding where we don't need that Stability as neutral Runners most of you Know us we are able to get on with those
Shoes because they are so close in terms Of that but I think it's because that Stabilities coming from from different Places where I think generally it's Going to work for most Runners yeah and I think if you look at something like The hurricane um I like you Kieran I'm Told that I need a bit of stability Every time I've had my gate analysis Done I don't do it but if you look at Something like the hurricane if you try And run and pronate in it you you can Feel it you can feel that support Kicking in which' be interesting to find An actual somebody really majorly over Pronates to see how those shoes work for Them but I think they're very they're Very interesting design these days where You don't notice the stability shoes Until you actually need it which um yeah Yeah we moving on to stability shoes Here um yeah that's a different so yeah Another category would be best cushion Stability shoe and I think we've got a Load of those now that we can we can put In and we you know traditionally we Didn't really test stability shoes on The channel because none of us really Need it but now they're just accessible To anyone okay any other categories this This it's like a not performance one a Versatile one like suppose you're daily Pushing shoe yeah that was where I was Going to go I wouldn't know know what to
Call it really but it's and I think some Of these will come in as what I was sort Of saying earlier they're kind of now Would be considered almost like the in Terms of Stack off and like the medium Stack and I know that's not the only Sort of thing that will get something Into this category but it's choose for Me like a supernova Prima socy ride 17 Triumph those kind of shoes where They've got a big old sort of stack of Cushioning but they're they're able to Do more they can run in good Comfort When you want to go slow but when you're Pushing up to maybe 70% of your pace or Whatever you want to go a little bit Faster they can also do some of that if You really want to I think that's Something we're seeing a lot more of as Well so what we've got easy day shoe Stability cushion shoe daily cushion Shoe is there anything else have I Missed one spe I guess the speed I guess We want some kind of speed focused I for Me maybe there's there's an argument for That right that maybe they're not the Same level of well yeah that's a tricky One isn't it because you could have Super blast in there you could have you Could have the prime x2 in there but Then you know where you going with that CU then you got C plate ratios that are Probably some the most cushion shoes out There but it's those shoes that where
You know that it's going to give you an Aspect of those Racing shoes that you May already have but it's going to give You that durability and level of Protection that you're maybe not going To get in the same way and I feel like That is a an area that's that's growing I mean yeah it's all right Okay well let's move on to uh nice Simple one what makes a good cushion Shoe what makes a good cushion shoe I Mean I've yeah for me like I there's GNA Be things that you know there's things That are nice in specific shoes but in General if if say you're a beginner Runner you're going into a shop what do You think that cushion shoe needs to Have for that beginner that's above all Else important to to to that Runner I Think it needs to feel balanced it's my I I use the word balanced a lot in our Videos and I sometimes check myself Saying it too much but I for me I and This will be different for different Runners but the the amount of cushioning Has to feel right on the foot for the Weight that you're carrying on the in The whole shoe as well and for me my Personal preferences for a shoe where There's good cushioning it takes the Edge off the road but it isn't too soft And sinky I like to feel some of the Road still I know other Runners really Want just to be you know to have almost
No road coming up through and just feel Like they're having all of that impact Taken away and they can just run in kind Of supreme kind of pill Comfort I still like to feel like I'm Doing a bit of the work so I think it Does depend I don't like my cushioning To take too long to respond like Sometimes I feel some shoes when I when I'm in them they'll sink too much and it Takes too long for it to come back and I Feel like they're a bit sludgy um yeah And even if even if some of those still Have the punch I don't like that kind of Feeling like I'm waiting so um yeah Balance for me is key so I want I want It to hit like just about the right Amount of cushioning with the right Weight and this is why I tend to favor Those kind of mid stack cushion shoes Over the the really big bulky kind of Heavier shoes just because they tend to Do that yeah yeah I would say Comfort is Really Important in any cushion shoe that I Looked at because Al you can get Cushing Shoes that are quite lean and have quite Minimal uppers but I think for me the Cushion shoes that I would associate With being cushion shoes generally have Quite quite plush and they're just nice To run in for a long period of time or For for slowly if you went into a shot Some sh said I want a really nice
Cushion shoe and you came out with a Shoe that had a really tight thin little Upper you wouldn't be happy with that I Think you want that sort of big padding On it because cushioning doesn't Necessarily just ass is just associated With the midsole is it it's the whole Thing is big is cushioned and comfy I'm Not I'm not a fan of big fat laces like I think there there you Know some shoes go too far and you got Tongues that are like they're Giant and There's like so much heel collor and There's you know the laces are you know As fat as my fingers and it's I think That's a bit overdone that's where I Think as well you start to get into big Heavy weighted shoes I want that Mido to Do the work for me but I don't NE and I Don't want to feel exposed in some Uncomfortable upper I totally agree to You want to feel like the shoe has Completely got your back on all fronts But also I don't want to feel like it's Like it's I get too Comfy yes yeah yeah anything from you Mike on yeah I mean I think I mean I Think I think just a really obvious one Is fit options I think some brands do This better than others but I think just Having you know extra width fit because As we've seen you know when we've tested Shoes there are some you know some of us Have got very narrow feet and it's
That's going to be a great fit for some Of us but not for all of us and I think Having those options I think as I said I Think some brands do that better than Others than having that scope to to be Have something a little bit broader or Have something a little bit more narrow I think is really important I think we Talked about Foams and obviously the the Evolution of how those Foams kind of Really and we're seeing more plush of The Foams um I think also it's what's Happening around those Foams and around That cushioning I think for me I think Is a really important feature that I've Really of appreciated more in cushion Shoes is the kind of The Rocker element Of it and it doesn't have to be this Super aggressive rocker that you're Going to get on a on a more expensive Shoe but something that's going to just Help you roll through really nicely when You are doing this kind of comfortable I Think it just makes it it makes a world Of difference in a in a cushion shoe and Not every cushion shoe has that but I Think having that as a as an added Ingredient in terms of that performance In that ride I think makes a massive Difference of you wanting to go out in That shoe and wanting to spend like a Lot of your running time in it as well Agree okay well let's finish off with we Haven't actually been through the short
List of Um begin um but what are give a give a Couple of examples that would be on your List so we're all going to pick our our Own top two um cushion shoes out at the Moment um Mike what what's on your list What you what give me two shoes that are On your short list for best cushion shoe Can I say can I say super blast is that Is that including the category you can Have whatever you want but you might get A bit de baate on it you just messed up The Categories no I mean in terms in terms Of ones that I've spend um a lot of time I feel like I go back to um in this kind Of space I think the new boun 10 atv1 13 Which is not new but I think in terms of Uh kind of Max Christian style shoe That's a very good weight you know a Shoe that I just know I can go out and It can be very comfortable to run in and Again I talked about that kind of rocker Feel there's just enough in there to to Make it kind of a nice sh to cruise in I Think things like the hawk skyex I've Really liked and I've been out a lot in Post kind of testing and that's just a Just a fun shoe to run in a bigger stack Of cushioning but I think there's a lot Going on there in terms of what Hawker Done with that hawker's done with that Shoe it's going to make it a very Enjoyable shoe to run in and really
Handle the the extra weight you do get In that shoe and I've also got I can't Talk too much about but the the Puma mag Max is in at the moment I'm testing and That is another of those kind of Max Stack shoes but I think you know as well As much it's being pitched as an easy Kind of recovery day shoot I think There's a little bit more about it that It feels a little bit super blast I Think to me um I think that's Potentially another good option so I Think this is a category there's a lot Of good cushion shoe option which is Great for us you know great variety but There's some well I tell I'm glad we hav Got Nick on this this podcast we'd still Be on question two now debating it um All right Ken what have you got yeah I Mean I as I sort of said earlier I think M what my favorites within this category Are possibly slightly different to some Other people I tend to go for the ones That have a slightly lower stack and Probably have a bit more range bit more Versatility I can happily run easy and Slow in shoes that probably aren't quite So big and pillowy and soft so you know For me I I actually really like the Adidas Supernova primer as a shoe I Think that's got again it's got a nice Rocker ring it's got quite a kind of Stiff out soole which rolls you through Quite nicely the the the phone responds
I think in a really sort of timely Fashion They've got good overall Comfort I can Clip along in those really nicely I'm I Always Ratt on about the socky ride That's another shoe that I I really like One that I might I'm weighing up still On the list and it's a bit of a curve Boys the oncloud Monster hyper just for Me that's one the shoe I ran the Comrades in and it did such a good job Over that long distance moving at a Really sort of steady to lower pace for Me um it just had all of that comfort That we've sort of talked about in some Of the shoes I wasn't really expecting It to I know it's been criticized Because it's not got the liveliness that You might be looking for in a super Trainer but I would if you put that in The cushion shoes which I I would I Think it sort of has that long haul Capability as well so there's a few There I mean as Mike there's there's so Many good shoes in this space I really Like the 1080 v13 as well um I you know I even I even quite enjoyed the Carano 31 as we talked about stability shoes on That I don't really need that but I I Found that had quite a nice clip along As well I was quite impressed by by that Um Brooks ghost Max 2 I'm still testing I like the ghost Max original whether or Not I like the two as much I'm still
Working out but I think all of these Shoes are sort of swimming around in my Head I don't know whether the night Peg 41 makes it into this category or not But that's another one that I found very Good for easy easy Ming right up to kind Of yeah sort of 70 percenting it's very I find it very good at a sort of low and Slow pace although some might not find It is quite protective enough but all Those I've heard what you both said how About if we pick our top three but you Have to have one which is a Max stack so It's above 37 MIM wi you have to have One that is under that and then you have To have then you can have one versatile One does that work what now and a Stability not now not now when when I do The actual video I'm thinking of ways to Actually cuz if you if you picked the Oncloud oncloud hyper and somebody came In looking for a cushion shoe and They're they're not looking for that Sort of performance features one they're Looking for classic cushion shoes just Re it's not a performance shoe though It's not no well no but it's that's the Thing it's like mentally that's probably Where it falls down but you know it's Yeah yeah yeah yeah but I think the Other thing as well is that the cloud Hype is very expensive shoe if you're You're not going to buy that if you're a General Runner beginner who just wants a
Cushion shoe you're gonna look at that And go why would I why would I buy that Yeah I mean I I I was totally caveat That that's a very specific to the kind Of to people who might be thinking about Doing long long Mike in is super Blast yeah I mean I I I think the super Blast arguably I wouldn't count that out But yeah yeah the bases all right uh Well I'm going to make it I'm going to Keep it simple the ones on my list at The well more V5 is uh arriving soon Hopefully so I should imagine I'm G to Have some pretty strong views on that um The the other ones on Def I definitely Think hurricane 24 is I've really been Enjoying ringing that shoe that has been That has surprised me that shoe is Surprised me massively came out nowhere Didn't it just um i' never i' never even Heard of the hurricane range bit pool um I remember the cartoon not the sh the Hurricanes yeah wonder if any any Listeners viewers know remember the Hurricanes um and then I'd probably Based on my style of running go for the 108 v13 as well just very enjoyable shoe That for easy days but it's not a Cushioned daily trainer because Nick Says it's not Yeah well you can't run fast in it can Basically saps your energy but if you go Out for run you don't want to bothered About energy then then it's it's very
Comfortable to use yeah cool okay well I Think that uh is covers Us for cushion Shoes until Nick gets involved when he's Back from hold day and he throws some Spanners in the works right well will be Changed everything will be changed yeah Waste of a video waste of a Video right well we better start Choosing it before he gets back all Right then catch you later guys yeah Cheers this episode of the podcast was Presented by Tom Wheatley Kieran alar And Mike saw the music was by Fear of Tigers
