You can stay in the Newton family and go for the Motion or the Distance S. Both offer the same support of the Kismet but in lighter more responsive packages. The drop is less in the Motion and the Distance S by a few mm. I have all three. The Kismet is a nice shoe but feels bigger/heavier than the other two (with the Distance S feeling the lightest but also a little less cushioned than the others). The newest Kismet feels lighter than the older versions though. The Motion is my goto shoe for longer training runs. Distance S is race shoe (not in IM though). The Motion sits in between the Kismet and Distance S in feel and responsiveness IMO. I have tried to like the Hoka's....but just keep wasting money. They are good shoes for a few miles for me but always end up giving me terrible blisters (I've tried 3 different shoes). I wanted to like the Rincon so bad..but it just doesn't work for me for runs longer than 4-5miles...the blisters are just so bad. I can take any pair of Newtons straight out of the box and make a long run with no problems (other than getting the laces just right).

X2

I stick with motions and boca's for trails, have also experimented with hoka over the years, but I also do far better and stay injury free in any newtons.

Same for me. I decided to increase my mileage and thought going to a cushy Hoka would help, but ended up with some knee pain. I switched back to the Kismets and all was well. I do like the Hoka shoes as a general walking shoe and I wear a pair of their boots at work.

I've given up with Newton's since I started seeing points about improved design for heel-striking in their shoe descriptions. Newton running shoes for heel striking is a completely pointless endeavour as it goes against the whole point of buying a Newton shoe.

Newton shoes are (were) designed quite specifically for a relatively niche market within running of mid/fore-foot strikers, on the lugs towards the front of the shoe. It's the entire ethos of the company.

I realise they're trying to appeal to a greater market, but their shoes for the general runner aren't good enough to compete with shoes from other brands for this purpose, and on top of that are now also not designed for their core market. What is now the point of buying a Newton shoe?

I also had an existing gripe with their shoes; that every time I bought a new pair, even of the same model, the sizing was slightly different and the fit always changed.

I had always run in Newton's since beginning in triathlon because their shoes fit my running style and the very springy lugs on their Distance Elite shoe were great. Now I've switched to Altra, which cater for all runners, but promote a natural running style (i.e. foot landing under the body). Won't be using Newton again. Such is life.

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Feel the Speed