Road-Running Shoes
Archive
New spring-loaded tech promises to make us faster. But they might go the way of swimming鈥檚 ill-fated LZR Racer suit鈥攚ithout making an Olympic debut.
The springs inside this sole could make you a faster runner
Running to work is hard, especially when you have to contend with cold weather, poor visibility, and icy roads. On those days, your gear matters.
Top shoe brands are racing to enter the super-cushioned fray. We review 2014鈥檚 corpulent shoe crop.
Dominate the water and the road with the help of this gear arsenal.
From superfat to ultrathin, these are the best new sun-season road runners.
After 16,000 miles of wear testing by runners around the country鈥攊ncluding Farah鈥擭ike's Air Pegasus 31 debuts this weekend.
Next week at Outdoor Retailer, Black Diamond will unveil jackets with a revolutionary cord management system that shrinks, hides, and embeds the technology needed to tighten hoods and hems. It鈥檚 called Cohaesive, and I鈥檓 excited about it for a few reasons. Cohaesive simplifies cord…
Over the past few decades, humans have developed some pretty high-tech synthetic fabrics, including membranes with nine billion pores per square inch and bi-layer wicking polyester. 聽聽 But in spite of our best efforts, the most advanced technical fibers still come from Mother Nature. Take merino wool, which is hard…
This is always a tricky question. There鈥檚 plenty of room for debate when it comes to choosing the 鈥渞ight鈥 ski length, and a useful answer should entail a lot of research. 聽 聽 Take the rocker revolution, which had people arguing about how the effective edge鈥攐r the length of metal…
The 2014 Consumer Electronics Show, a tech orgy that draws hundreds of thousands of people every year, wrapped up Friday in Las Vegas. And as usual, there was some pretty weird technology on the floor.聽 Sensoria Fitness Sock A tattoo that measures your pH. A glove…
Exercise caution when you look for an inexpensive mountaineering pack. Remember, a well-built pack is going to last a lot longer than a cheap one, and you want to make sure it won鈥檛 fail at a crucial moment. But that doesn鈥檛 mean there aren鈥檛 good options out there that cost…
国产吃瓜黑料聽staff members are always busy testing gear鈥攚e reviewed more than 600 items for the summer and winter聽Buyer鈥檚 Guides alone. We can鈥檛 cover everything in the magazine, so we asked 11 国产吃瓜黑料rs to name their favorite piece of gear from 2013. And because our staff ranges from elk hunters to ultramarathoners,…
It鈥檚 been years since we picked a thickly padded road runner as our top shoe. But the 1260v3 demanded the recognition. Yes, it goes overboard on the comfort, with a pillowy tongue and heel collar and spongy mesh in the upper. Yet it鈥檚 still efficient, so it was a welcome partner on long hauls.
国产吃瓜黑料 reviews the best gear of June 2013, including the Saucony Kinvara 4
From minimalist speedsters to winter-ready mountain scramblers, we鈥檝e got you covered.
国产吃瓜黑料 reviews the best triathlon gear of 2012, including the Felt B12 triathlon bike.
国产吃瓜黑料 reviews the 6 best running shoes of the season, including the Saucony Kinvara 3.
Reviewing shoes used to be straightforward. Lightweight shoes were meant for racing, heavily cushioned shoes were meant for efficient runners who racked up lots of miles, and stability shoes鈥攚ith a section of dense rubber under the arch, a.k.a. a medial post鈥攚ere meant for people whose feet collapse inward.
Kicks designed specifically for the female foot, including The North Face Single Track Hayasa, best for mixed road and trail runs; the Salomon XR Mission, best for long trail runs in rough terrain; the New Balance 890V2, best for a cushy on up-tempo runs; and the Pearl Izumi Kissaki, best for high-mileage marathon training and racing.
国产吃瓜黑料 reviews the best gear in the 2012 Winter Buyer's Guide, including the Saucony ProGrid Outlaw.
国产吃瓜黑料 reviews the best gear in the 2012 Winter Buyer's Guide, including the Saucony PowerGrid Cortana running shoe.
Best Foot Forward: From marathon trainers to minimalist runners, we've got the right shoe for you, including the Pearl Izumi Streak II running shoe.
Best Foot Forward: From marathon trainers to minimalist trail runners, we've got the right shoe for you, including the Adidas Response Cushion Twenty M running shoe.
Best Foot Forward: From marathon trainers to minimalist trail runners, we've got the right shoe for you, including the Asics Gel-Kinsei 4 running shoe.
国产吃瓜黑料 reviews the best gear in the 2011 Summer Buyers Guide, including the Brooks Trance 10 running shoes.
国产吃瓜黑料 reviews the best gear in the 2011 Summer Buyers Guide, including the Nike Lunar Elite + 2 running shoes.
国产吃瓜黑料 reviews the best gear in the 2011 Summer Buyers Guide, including the New Balance 890 running shoe.
国产吃瓜黑料 reviews the best gear in the 2011 Summer Buyers Guide, including the Brooks Ravenna 2 running shoe.
国产吃瓜黑料 reviews the best gear in the 2011 Summer Buyers Guide, including the Asics Kayano 17 running shoe.
国产吃瓜黑料 reviews the best gear in the 2011 Summer Buyers Guide, including the Puma Faas 500 running shoe.
国产吃瓜黑料 reviews the best gear in the 2011 Summer Buyers Guide, including the Saucony ProGrid Mirage running shoe.
国产吃瓜黑料 reviews the best gear in the 2011 Summer Buyers Guide, including the Mizuno Wave Elixir 6 running shoe.
Barefoot-inspired shoes are flying off the shelves, and they're poised to transform the way we run. Here's how to make the most of running with less.
Triathlon is one of the most gear-intensive sports there is, so try a few tris before you invest in a top-of-the line wetsuit or bike. In the meantime, here are a few great buys that will shave seconds off your time and get you amped for an Ironman. Specialized Women's…
CROSSOVER ARTISTTo save weight and increase comfort, Pearl installed a urethane crash pad in the heel-strike zone at the rear of the Float’s midsole, while bolstering the instep with lighter expanded-vinyl-acetate foam. The result is a great compromise between cush and stability, offering even overpronators an excellent all-around ride. Go…
SPEED DEMON “My initial response after trying these on was ‘Wanna race?’ ” one tester said of the aptly named Streak. With a flyweight construction, socklike fit, and soft yet energetic midsole, it’s basically a racing flat with just enough guts for daily training. The relatively generous heel cushioning and…
What do you get when you cross a running shoe with the British military? Sounds like a joke, but that’s actually what UK Gear did to come up with the PT-03, the toughest road shoe we’ve seen. Using the British Army Physical Training Corps for testing, designers gave the PT-03…
If cushioning shoes are mattresses, the Cruise is a futon. “It’s firm, but good firm,” said one tester. The Cruise has Pearl Izumi’s trademark seamless upper, fabric eyelets that allow fine-tuning of the laces, and unique cushioning pads under the forefoot and heel that deliver a responsive ride. Best…
PLUSH RIDELooking like a track shoe built atop a precarious scaffolding, the Mega Ride doesn’t scream “marathon.” But I found myself comfortably chewing up the miles on the cushy undercarriage. Near the end of one long run, I was still cruising on downhills where I’d typically be bracing for impact.
TRIATHLON-READY With a pronounced heel tab, quick-pull laces, and sole drain holes, the Tempo is designed to speed up your switches from bike to run. But the first-ever road shoe from the triathlon-apparel company Zoot is also a highly advanced, lightweight trainer for everyday roadies. The midsole’s dual-density foam and…
A running shoe without foam? Nothing but air here. That’s what the flashy Air Max 360 brings to the table 27 years after Nike first began using air in running shoes. The full-length air cushion and integrated outsole combine to create supple heel-to-toe transitions and a smooth overall ride. Choose…
Good for the Road If you’re like the vast majority of runners, you’re looking for a shoe that offers a touch of stability and ample cushioning but don’t want to pay the price in extra weight. Voil脿: We give you the Ravenna. Its lean construction (10.1 ounces)…
HIGH-MILEAGE CUSHION If you’ve followed a marathon training program, you know what a grind it can be to crank out those 18- to 22-mile runs about a month before race day. Not so with the dreamy Praya NC, a lightweight trainer that derives cushioning from a thick foam midsole and…
LONG-HAULERThe X stands for ten—the number of revisions Asics has made to this lightweight standard bearer. Serious racers will still find Asics’s proprietary gel cushioning and the firm arch post they’ve come to depend on. But with an open-air mesh upper, this year’s DS offers a more stable ride, a…
MID-MILEAGE WORKHORSE If the true test of a stability shoe is how comfortable it is during your last month of marathon training, then the heavily cushioned Kendari is the champ. “It felt great out of the box,” remarked one tester, “and just as good 100 miles later.” The comfort stems…
“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” may work as a guiding principle for, say, can openers, but not running shoes. Brooks took a popular, high-quality cushioning shoe and went back to the drawing board, producing the new and improved Radius 06. It’s a lighter and more generously padded runner…
Good for the Road This affordable neutral shoe had testers raving about its plush cushioning. It was easily the softest of our test but somehow found a way to impress everyone, from our heavier, slower runners to our faster, svelter ones. The reason: For all the shock…
1. The Triumph is like the best hotel mattresses: soft and springy but not mushy. Articulated outsole lugs and a five-layer sandwich of foam, rubber, and thermoplastic in the heel absorb the impact of each foot strike while retaining a remarkable responsiveness. And thanks to its forward-leaning tilt, the…
MAKE TRAINING FEEL LIKE RACING Sometimes you float through your training runs like a butterfly, while other times every step stings like a bee. But since you’re no Muhammad Ali—sorry, you’re a midpack dude prepping for a charity marathon—you’ll like this smooth-riding, ultra-comfy trainer. On both good and bad days,…
SLOW AND STEADY The Structure Triax creates fortresslike heel stability via three densities of foam: a rigid medial post that tempers foot rolling, a medium-density foam to absorb heavier heel strikes, and a supersoft crash pad that channels foot plants forward from the moment of impact. Amazingly, despite all the…
1. Who says you can’t please everyone? Whether our testers had wide or narrow feet, or preferred slow, long runs or quick, on-your-toes workouts, somehow all were convinced the Glide was the perfect shoe for them. The key is a generous amount of padding in the heel collar and…
Good for the Road No one likes to stand corrected; fewer still like to feel corrected while they run. Among stability shoes, the updated Sequence plays the part of the gentle guide, offering noticeable pronation correction followed by such a smooth transition to toe-off that the support…
This Bond-worthy shoe hides a secret weapon in its midsole: A springy thermoplastic plate—or wave—mechanism runs the length of the shoe, yielding consistent rebound and smooth transition at moderate and fast speeds. I cranked out a marathon-pace tempo run and felt like I was running downhill with the wind at…
LONG-HAUL COMFORT Most runners will either love or hate these flashy kicks on looks alone. But please, don’t be so superficial; there’s grit beneath the glam. Testers loved this shoe’s shock-absorbing heel pad, snug fit, and even flow through toe-off. The Triumph excelled on long, slow, base-building runs; several testers…
MOTION CONTROL LITE Runners whose mild or moderate heel rolling doesn’t warrant a fat, heavy heel brace will find smooth striding in the new Gel-3000. The wide, stable heel features a moderately cushy foam—offering the softness and sprightliness of a neutral-cushioning shoe at heel strike. But as the shoe rolls…
Cushioning The light, flexible Fast puts a twist on minimalist speed shoes. Designers placed a block of stiff foam in the front of the heel, with softer foam fore and aft, that encourages runners to land lightly on their midfoot, as opposed to riding their heel. It…
Like a restaurant with an “Under New Management” sign out front, Etonic deserves a fresh look. After licensing out its running-shoe division for several years, the company has brought the brand back inside and created the ultra-comfy Jepara SC. The midsole’s dual-density EVA cushioning and proprietary rubber results in a…
Aigle Shems – Midweight Jackets: Reviews 聽 With a soft fleece interior and warm, durable merino wool/nylon exterior, this jacket combines our favorite fabrics in one versatile top. 1.9 lbs; aigleusa.com 聽 聽 聽 聽 Patagonia Pau – Footwear: Reviews (Terry Heffernan) The coolest mocs we’ve ever laid eyes…
1. A handful of shoes boast construction this light, but most are minimalist racing flats without much structure. Not so with the 902. Thanks to new-tech, lightweight materials—in the cushioning, foam, and even the breathable mesh of the upper—the 902 supports your foot better than many midweight shoes. 2.
LOVES LONG RUNS If neutral shoes are sedans and stability shoes are SUVs, then the Infiniti is a minivan. It’s part of Brooks’s new “guidance” line of shoes, which are designed to be a bit less structured than stability shoes but not quite as minimalist as trainers. To wit: The…
CushioningCombine a lightweight race shoe with a long-distance trainer, and you’ve got the Praya 2. Although it has more cushioning than the Karhu—and more than enough padding for ten-plus-mile runs—the midsole is light and snappy and had no trouble on shorter, faster-tempo runs. “It’s one of those…
Motion-control shoes have a rep for feeling big and clunky, but this agile cruiser defies the stereotype. The key component is the detached heel-strike pad, which moves independently of the rest of the midsole. The design isolates shock absorption from the rest of the shoe and stops mild pronation in…
Why They’re CoolEvery pavement pounder knows the drill: Just when your feet and shoes start feeling like old friends, a variety of joint ailments emerge to tell you your midsoles are fresh out of sproing. 禄 New Balance rebels against such obsolescence with a proprietary midsole material called Acteva, which…
ENERGY SAVER If we had an award for efficiency, this shoe would win it uncontested. No shoe here converted downward heel impact into forward propulsion as well as the Testament, and testers reported a significant rebound leading up to the toe-off phase of every stride. Credit the springlike hard plastic…
LOTS OF CUSHIONING The Testament II was a bit too sluggish for our most gazelle-like testers but well received by our heavier and slower (read: normal) runners. Impact energy is centered by a cushy, concave heel and transferred smoothly down a springy plastic shank to the luxuriously soft forefoot. “It…
CushioningCan’t stand the squishy feeling of your current running shoes? The Glycerin 7, by far the firmest shoe of our picks this year, might be more your style—especially if you’re a heavier runner or a slow-and-steady type. Of the neutral shoes on this page, the no-frills Glycerin…
Boing, boing, boing . . . I couldn’t quite hear the springs in this shoe as I bounced down Boulder Creek Path, but I could feel their bounce. Spira sneaks metal springs into the EVA midsoles, and it’s no gimmick. The lively two-inch-diameter coil in the heel puts a noticeable…
Why They’re CoolHow little does a runner need the heavy exterior material of most road shoes? If these sleek mesh numbers are any indication, very little. 禄 The 21-ounce Swift Vapors practically drifted from their box to the ceiling. But would the less-is-more aesthetic spell instant speed? Yes. 禄 Not…
SPEED ABOVE ALL Let’s put it this way: If all the other shoes reviewed here are full-suspension bikes, the Wave Creation 8 is a hardtail. The stiffness, which makes this shoe startlingly lively, is the result of two suspended plastic plates embedded underfoot. Some break-in time might be required: “At…
CAN HANDLE HEAVY STRIKING The Elixir is like a Ferrari with all-terrain tires. It combines the barely there mesh upper of a race shoe with the full-foam midsole of a distance trainer. A snug heel cup and soft forefoot flex promote maximum thrust at toe-off, while a thermoplastic spring mechanism…
Mild Stability Old perceptions die hard, and a few of our testers initially scoffed at the idea that Puma, better known in other sporting arenas, is making legitimately high-performance running shoes. The Concinnity III changed that. At under ten ounces, it’s a remarkably fast and agile shoe.
Because of the repetitive pounding of road running, you need a shoe designed for your particular foot strike. (Consult a specialty running store to diagnose your type.) If you overpronate, with your foot and ankle tending to roll inward, you need a “light stability” or “stability” shoe to help…
Why They’re CoolLet the marathoners worry about shoe mechanics—here’s a fat-foot Cadillac for the rest of us. 禄 Reebok’s top-of-the-line cushioning road shoes padded my peds like a down pillow. But it was the perforated heel that sold me. The innocuous-looking row of holes along the outer heel reduced skidding…
AN IPOD-READY STABILITY SHOE If rock and roll is integral to your running—and we mean either the Flaming Lips or the instability caused by pronation—then you’ll want a pair of iPod-compatible, supportive Equalons. Testers raved about this shoe’s stability and heel-to-toe cushioning. But the real genius of this soft-flexing shoe…
HEAVY SUPPORT, LIGHT FEEL Even the best shoes can’t turn a severe overpronator into a neutral strider. But the AdiStar Control makes trompers feel like bounders. Sure, it offers a wide base, rock-solid medial posting, and a beveled, decoupled-heel crash pad that will serve heavier runners or severe overpronators. But…
Mild Stability If the 769 were a coffee drink, it’d be a quadruple espresso. That highly caffeinated feel is due in part to a lightweight midsole compound and deep flex grooves under the toes. Which is not to say it’s jittery: A midfoot shank and a dual-density…
Looking to set a new personal best? The Redemption can help with a less-is-more approach reminiscent of a racing flat. Plus midsole thickness descends dramatically from heel to toe—putting you in a forward-leaning position and encouraging quick leg turnover. The effect? I ran the Rock ‘n Roll Arizona Half Marathon…