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.
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00:00 – Intro
00:40 – What is a cushioned shoe?
07:04 – What categories of cushioned shoes are there?
15:20 – What makes a good cushioned shoe?
20:10 – Our best cushioned shoe shortlist
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Hey Tomy brother in testers in this Video we are discussing cushion shoes We're going to be doing our best cushion Shoes Roundup in the coming weeks and This video which is also the podcast so If you're planning on listening to the Podcast maybe you don't watch this video We're going to be talking about how we Classify cushion shoes what we Define a Cushion shoe as how cushion shoes are Changing at the moment and basically how We decide what goes in the best cushion Shoe list right let's dive in and see What we all have to chat [Music] About so cushion 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 cushion shoes there and go I know they're cushioned 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 um 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 a whole bunch of new Shoes that come in with much higher Stacks and you could argue that you Could def 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 Softer to provide more cushioning on Impact uh the biggest 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 phams 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 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 that's 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 K 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 things 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 own 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 lot of Their kind of daily and you're not Necessar thinking this is going to be a Shoe although it might be able to race In it it'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 yeah 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 yeah 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 Running much slower Marathon yeah and I Suppose as well with the enhancement and 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 um Classifications as everything else Does all right well let's let's try and Uh because 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're gonna 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 Oldest 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 kind of Testing Used so how about if you classified it So you've got your purely easy day Cushion shoes because 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 Element 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 them so that would that be a Category do 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 that as Runners we Need a lot of I don't think in our group But stability has to be in there I thing Yeah um all of those you know that's one Thing they tend to have sort of Cushioning 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 Kayano 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 Cushing shoes out There you don't even notice the Stability in them so it's added another Element of confusion to have to choose The best if you look at something like The um uh the hurricane 24 that's a Stability shoot I if you hadn't told me That had stability in it I would put it
Up there with some of the best Max Cushion shoes out there and like the the Mor V4 or something like that um so yeah You're right is really 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 made 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 this whole thing That we're on a spectrum of how much Stability we need and the shoes are Getting better at 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 um stability shoes 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 Tempest The Tempest but for me That's it's they're completely different Shoes one's a cushion shoe On's a a Daily shoe um so stability shoes is Becoming a bit confusing um so yeah 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 in the nature of Stability I think UL you talked about it Is that before previously it would be One Focus thing that would be delivering That stability in the way stability Shoes have 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 Of the lines between a kind of a neutral And a kind of a moderate stability isue I think that's maybe the more of the Thing we're maybe not seeing that very
Kind of strict stability Shue 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 Stability is 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 K and 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 to K In which it' be interesting to find an Actual somebody really majorly over Pronates to see how those shoes work for Them but um they 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 episod 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 um okay any other categories is This it's like a not performance one a Versatile one like suppose your daily Cushion shoe yeah yeah that was where I Was G to go I wouldn't know know what to Call it really but it's and I think some Of these will come in what I was sort of Saying earlier they're kind of now would Be considered almost like the in terms Of stack of 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 Supernova Prima SOC 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 Focus I mean For me maybe there's there's an argument For that right that maybe they not the Same level 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 because Then you got C plate ratios that are Probably some of the most Cushing shoes Out there um 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 Protection that you may not going to get In the same way um and I feel like that Is a an area that's that's growing I Mean yeah It's all right Okay Yeah 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 going to 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 Cushy sh needs to have for that beginner That's above all else important to to For 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 and this will be different for Different Runners but the the amount of Ping 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'd 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 pillowy 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 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 you can get cushion 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 um they're just Nice to running for a long period of Time or for for slowly uh Um if you went into a shop some went Shop 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's you Know some shoes go too far and you got Tongs that are like they're Giant and There's like so much K collar and this 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 midsole 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 m 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 op 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 F 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 phone 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 kind 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 makes a world of difference in A in a cushion Sho and not every cushion Sho 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 a massive difference of you Wanting to go out in that shoe and Wanting to spend a lot of your running Time in it as well agree okay well let's Finish off with uh we haven't actually Been through the short list of Um 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 in is that including the category You can have whatever you want but you Might get AIT debate on it you just Messed up the Categories no I mean in terms in terms Of ones that I've spent um a lot of time I feel like I go back to um in this kind Of space I think the new B 10 atv3 which Is not new but I think in terms of uh Kind of max cushan style shoe that's a Very good weight you know 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 shoe to Cruis in I Think things like the hawk skex I've Really liked and I've been out a lot in Post kind of testing and that's just Just a fun shoe to run in a bigger stack Of Cushing but I think there's a lot Going on there in terms of HW down with That HW has done with that shoe is kind Of make it a very enjoyable shoe to run In and really handle the 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 magmax 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 been pitched As an easy kind of recovery day shoe I Think there's a little bit more about it Um that it feels a little bit super Blast I think to me um and I think That's potentially another good option So I think this is a category there's a Lot of good cushion shoe options which Is great for us you know great variety But there's some well I tell I'm glad we Haven got Nick on this this pod 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 my what my favorites Within this category are possibly Slightly different to some other peoples
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 shoot That probably aren't quite so big and Pillowy and soft so you know for me I I Actually really like the Adidas Supernova breamer 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 foam responds I think WR 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 rattle on about the socony ride That's another shoe that I I really like Um one that I might I'm weighing up Still on the list and it's a bit of a Curve Bo is the on cloud 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 too 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 whether the night Peg 41 Makes it into this category or not but That's another one that I found very Good for yeah easy easy Ming right up to Kind of yeah sort of 70 percenting it's Very I find it very good at a sort low And slow pace although some might not Find it is quite protective enough but All 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 mm whatever 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 stability not now not now When when I do the actual video I'm Thinking of ways to Actually because 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 For it's not a performance shoe though It's not No well no but it's that's the thing It's like it's meant to 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 Hy Is very expensive shoe if you're you You're not going to buy that if you're a General Runner beginner who just wants a Cushion shoe you're going to 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 say with Mike And his super Blast yeah I mean I I I think the super Plus arguably you I wouldn't count that Out but yeah yeah covers all the bases All right 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 Going to have some pretty strong views On that um the the other ones on i' Def I definitely think hurricane 24 is I've Really been enjoying raring that shoe That has been that has surprised me that Shoe has surprised me massively because
Came out of nowhere didn't it just um i' Never I'd never even heard of the Hurricane range bit before um I remember The cartoon not the shoe the Hurricanes Yeah I wonder if any any listeners uh 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 why Yeah well you can't fast than it can you Basically saps your energy but if you if You go out a run and you don't want 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 holay and He throws some spanners in the works um Right well cies will be changed Everything will be cies will be changed Yeah waste of a video waste of a Video right well we better start Choosing it before we get All right then catch you later guys yeah Cheers that's it from us on this video Thanks a lot for watching don't forget To like subscribe click the bell all Those sorts of things that but a smile On our faces and don't forget if you Want to listen to the podcast version of This or the other podcast the link is in
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