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Design Your Own Shoes - Freaky Shoes

While the Vaporfly Next% 2 is versatile on the roads all the way up to a marathon, some runners wanted even less shoe for short road races like the 5K and 10K. Enter the Streakfly. It’s Nike’s lightest racing shoe, harkening back to the time when we all believed a shoe had to be lighter to get faster. But unlike the old, thin racing flats, the Streakfly uses ZoomX, the springy peba compound that is protective underfoot. There’s no carbon-fiber plate here, as in the Vaporfly. Instead the shoe uses a short Pebax plate under the midfoot only, designed to stabilize your foot as you go through your stride. Based on our testing, with one runner using it on tempo runs and even a 20-miler, we find it’s best suited for speedy runners with an efficient stride who land midfoot or forward. If you’re a heel-striker, you’ll feel the foam “bottom out”—there’s a noticeable “thunk” as the foam compresses as far as it’ll go and your foot runs out of room to travel.

One of the most exciting shoes of 2021 comes from an unexpected brand: Puma. Yes, for real. The Deviate Nitro is the first indication that the company is on the right track in building performance running shoes again. Like nearly all of the fastest shoes now, it has a carbon-fiber plate. And, like those other carbon-plated speedsters, the Deviate Nitro leverages lightweight, bouncy foam—it’s TPE instead of the pricier, springier Pebax that some other brands use. The foam is nitrogen-infused, which delivers a responsive sensation underfoot that makes you want to kick your heels to your butt and feels snappy when you’re running laps on the track with comfort for longer road runs. It’s heavier than most of the other speed shoes we recommend, but on foot it feels lighter and more lively than the scale suggests.

The Sky is the first model available in a two-shoe collection from Asics. The reason for two shoes is because Asics believes there are two ways runners can go faster: you can either take longer strides or take more steps. The Sky is built for that “stride” runner, who you’re often going to find gliding around an oval. With a 5mm drop and an almost uniformly thick midsole from heel to toe, it helps those runners increase their stride length while making them roughly three percent more efficient. This means runners can use less energy to cover a given distance.

The midsole isn’t Pebax, like on the Vaporfly; instead, Asics found that Nylon delivers similar benefits. (Nylon compresses easily when you land, feels squishy and soft, and firms up when you need to launch off the ground.) A carbon-fiber plate ratchets up the responsiveness and speed, too. In our testing, we found the Sky’s sweet spot to be tempo runs, but the shoe doesn’t hesitate when you want to make a sprint for the finish line.

The biggest surprise in footwear this year may just come from this legacy brand. Typically, running shoes only see major updates every other year. But, for v2 of this plated racer, New Balance rebuilt it from the ground up. It’s much softer and springier than before, thanks to a thicker midsole. The heel stack height—a measure of everything between your foot and the road—is up to 39mm, 7mm taller than before. And the forefoot got an even bigger boost, reducing the drop from 10mm to 8mm. That extra thickness not only improves cushioning, but it gives New Balance more space under the hood to beef up the engine: The carbon-fiber plate embedded in the foam has been reshaped to curve more, delivering better responsiveness and propulsion. Counterintuitively, New Balance ditched the sporty outsole of v1, which featured a sea of little triangles bonded to the foam, for a more traditional blown rubber outsole. It also gave the shoe one of the most comfortable and conventional uppers that we’ve seen on such a super shoe. But our test team tells us that it does nothing to hinder performance, yet makes the shoe even more versatile for both training and racing.

The Magic Speed was designed with some trickle-down knowledge from shoes like the MetaRacer and has more budget-friendly components from shoes like the NovaBlast, making it a good race day option for those of us running marathons competitively in the three to four hour range. We also love this shoe because it holds up to a heavy amount of speed training. To help you sustain those long efforts, it uses a lively FlyteFoam Blast midsole that’s bouncy and springy underfoot. You won’t mistake it for the Pebax found on a Vaporfly Next% or Asics’s own nylon-based foam from its top-of-the-line MetaSpeed Sky, but it offers an excellent combination of cushioning, energy return, and durability. This shoe, like second-tier performance shoes—Saucony Endorphin Speed or the now defunct Nike Zoom Fly—gets slightly cheaper components. Instead of a full-length carbon-fiber plate, the Magic Speed has one made from carbon and TPU (a plastic polymer) that spans only the front half of the shoe. The result is that the shoe isn’t nearly as stiff from heel to toe, losing a little of that snappy turnover you get from a fully plated shoe. But, it’s softer on heel-strike and still manages to feel peppy.

With the wave of new midsole foams, we’ve discovered that cush is king—even on race day. Skechers has been working with one of those new formulations, which it calls Hyperburst, with wonderful success. For its previous top-of-the-line racer, the Speed Elite, it used a moderate amount of foam that, in the end, just proved to be too little for going long distances on pavement. It was too much like a traditional racing flat. Enter the Speed Freek, which is basically the same shoe but with a considerably thicker pad of Hyperburst on the bottom. That extra cushion costs you another $10 and tacks on an ounce of weight. But it makes a huge difference in how far you can run at top speed. Unlike the Speed Elite that we only really employ for 5K or, maybe, 10K road races, the Speed Freek is easily capable of going a full marathon. Embedded within the forefoot are carbon-fiber winglets, Skechers’s approach to rigidity. Rather than using a thin full-length plate, it opted to stiffen up only the front half of the shoe, and only at the edges. The banana-shaped pieces give the shoe incredible snap when you’re running at a hard effort, yet allow the forefoot to feel more compliant and flexible as you roll from your midfoot onto your toes.

When Des Linden won the 2018 Boston Marathon, she wore a prototype of the original Hyperion Elite. It was a light and stiff shoe, but unless you were small in stature or light on your feet, the sole felt exceptionally hard. Fear not: Version 2 has an all-new foam package that boosts underfoot comfort without sacrificing a tick from the finish line clock. The DNA Flash midsole uses a nitrogen-infused foam that is softer than the original Elite’s EVA, but not nearly as squishy as its competitors at the $250 mark. The upper really shines on this shoe, thanks to the stretchy woven fabric that is incredibly comfortable no matter how far you run.

Saucony is one of the original running shoe makers, but it first gained wide appeal with runners in the ’80s and ’90s with innovative shoes like the Jazz, DXN, Shadow, and Grid. The Jazz garnered a following for its lightweight design, and it introduced a popular new technology, the MaxiTrac lugged outsole. In 1983, Saucony collaborated with New York City Marathon winner Rod Dixon to create the DXN, a high-performance model that was based on the Jazz but offered a lighter mesh upper and a bit more cushioning.

In the fall of 2019, Saucony debuted its Pwrrun+ cushioning in the Triumph 17. This TPU-based bead foam (Adidas Boost has similar chemistry) is 28 percent lighter than the brand’s previous EVA-based Everun foam. In our testing, we found Pwrrun+ much bouncier, more durable, more flexible, and more consistent across temperatures than standard EVA. The foam’s newest and lightest iteration is Pwrrun PB, which uses compressed Pebax beads in an internal lattice structure for a propulsive, springy ride.

To recommend the shoes below, we pored over Saucony’s deep lineup and newest releases, consulted feedback from our team of 350 wear-testers, and spoke with the brand’s designers. We also analyze data from the RW Shoe Lab, where we’ve run a gamut of mechanical tests. That includes checking (and re-checking) the energy return of Pwrrun foam, measuring the changes in midsole softness among several iterations of the Kinvara, and gauging the flexibility of TPU outsole rubbers and support frames. We also use our own running experience and knowledge of the market to parse out these nine best Saucony shoes.

The Triumph is Saucony’s ultra-plush offering. It achieves its soft underfoot feel thanks to a generous layer of Pwrrun+ cushioning in the midsole topped by another cushioning layer. Saucony designed the Formfit upper to closely wrap the foot for a snug fit, and the new mono-mesh material is engineered for optimal breathability and reduced weight. A carbon rubber outsole rounds out the shoe and offers good durability and traction. Overall, it’s a great trainer for runners who like a pillowy sensation under their feet.

The Endorphin Speed is the mid-tier training shoe that complements Saucony’s Endorphin Pro racer. Don’t let the Speed’s lower price tag fool you: This is a highly capable shoe that excels at speedwork and distance runs, too. It features the same responsive Pwrrun PB cushioning as the Pro, but instead of a carbon-fiber plate, the Speed gets a nylon midsole plate that adds a snappy feel while increasing flexibility. The SpeedRoll design promotes smooth transitions, and the Formfit upper creates a snug, breathable fit. Comfortable and fast, the shoe is a great racing pick for everyday runners, and it’s versatile enough to handle just about any workout regimen, no matter the distance involved.

The Endorphin Pro began as a prototype shoe that helped Saucony pro runner Jared Ward nab sixth place at the New York City Marathon in 2018—making him the fastest American athlete in the race that year. Later, Molly Seidel wore a pair of Pros to capture second place in the 2020 Olympic Trials Marathon. The Endorphin Pro 2 is the newer version of Saucony’s elite go-fast model. The combination of Pebax-based Pwrrun PB foam and a carbon fiber plate creates a cushioned, propulsive ride. Then there’s SpeedRoll tech, which combines a cambered sole profile, an 8mm drop, and a dense, firm foam in the forefoot to help you roll forward in your stride and get maximum power at toe-off. Put simply, this is the shoe you want for busting out a PR.

I Want To Design My Own Shoes

The Kinvara is a great training shoe for runners who like to push the pace, and Saucony has been leaning into the shoe’s speedy reputation in recent iterations. The 13th version continues the trend. The shoe’s Pwrrun cushioning creates a firm base for toe-offs, and a redesigned midsole shape encourages a smooth stride. The upper is completely new and made from a single layer of mesh for improved airflow and a glove-like fit. On the bottom, Saucony’s XT-900 carbon rubber outsole should hold up well through high mileage.

The Guide is similar to Saucony’s Ride, but it’s tuned to offer a bit more stability. Like the previous version, it uses a Pwrrun midsole, but the cushioning in the 15th iteration has been tweaked for a softer, more forgiving feel. (Fair warning, it still feels firmer than the plush Hurricane.) Inside the midsole, a new, lightweight “Hollow Tech” guidance frame helps counter overpronation and support your feet, and a new midsole shape promotes a smooth stride (and helps you pick up the pace). “It’s the Guide’s rocker-like sole and flexible midfoot that urge you to power through, encouraging fast turnover,” RW Test Editor Amanda Furrer says.

In its fourth version, the Freedom has morphed into a do-it-all shoe capable of taking on everything from running workouts to gym sessions. Its revamped midsole features race-ready Pwrrun PB cushioning for a responsive and lightweight feel, and Saucony widened the sole slightly to provide more stability for lateral movements. The Formfit upper offers a comfortable wrap around the foot, and its engineered mesh will keep you cool when you crank up the intensity.

Although the Peregrine excels at going fast and powering through mud, it’s a very well-rounded trail shoe (and one of the best of 2022). “It’s just as suited for newbies’ first footprints on a muddy trail as it is for shielding vert-chasers’ toes on rock-strewn singletrack,” RW Test Editor Morgan Petruny says. The biggest change: It’s over an ounce lighter than the previous version. A new, pared-down upper offers dependable protection with less weight, and the bouncy Pwrrun+ foam has been moved to the sockliner only. The midsole utilizes regular Pwrrun foam, but a new, more flexible rock plate creates a smooth ride, and the burly lugged outsole delivers dependable grip across terrain types.

Saucony promises “more foam, less weight” in the newest version of the Ride, the brand’s workhorse training shoe. It still utilizes an EVA-based Pwrrun midsole, but Saucony tweaked the chemistry to make the material lighter and softer, and it’s paired with a Pwrrun+ sockliner for a plusher feel. The redesigned sole now offers more flexibility in the forefoot, it features a new shape for a smoother stride, and the footbed sits deeper in the shoe, which helps cradle your foot for a supportive, snug fit.

An ideal trainer for runners who need more support, the Hurricane delivers as a stability shoe that doesn’t feel overly stiff and uncomfortable. Like its predecessor, the 23rd version has a generously cushioned Pwrrun+ midsole—for a plush feel without sacrificing responsiveness—and an embedded “support frame” (otherwise known as a medial post) that counters overpronation as you run. Although the Hurricane isn’t especially lightweight, its slightly rockered platform helps keep transitions smooth and quick during long training runs when you want to protect your legs.

Comfort is king. In fact, some research even shows that when you choose a shoe simply because it’s comfortable, you may be less likely to get injured. So to guide you on your sole searching, we’ve highlighted the models that offer a “made-for-me” sensation. Each shoe we recommend here was ranked on overall performance and also earned especially high scores from our testers in three specific categories: fit, cushioning, and—of course—comfort.