Always been rotating brands and models with a preference for Saucony and Brooks. The last two years ish, I’ve used mostly the Hyperion elite and tempo and the endorphin pro. With an occasional short run in adidas takumi sen.
I used Brooks Pure Flows in the past. Tried the Newtons for a bit a few years back. Jumped on the Hoke train. Had Saucony, Sketchers, Zoot, and Nike mixed in for a bit.
Ultimately, I hated the Cliftons and only did 80-100 miles in mine before realizing they weren’t for me, but I did go through a few high mileage pairs of Bondis. I used the bondi as my long day trainers and used a pair of Kinvaras for me speed work stuff. I eventually tried a pair of the Endorphin Pros and loved them. This was pretty recent. I need to replace my last pair of Bondis and I will likely try the Shift. I also need to replace my Kinvaras, so I will probably get another pair of them, but also try the endorphin speed.
I fear if losing out on some of the brand variety will increase my risk of injury. I’ve been fortunate enough to have abstained from any running related injuries over the years and maybe the brand variety has always contributed to that.
I switched to Saucony for training after I got a pair of Endorphin Pros to use as my racing shoes last year. So I picked up a couple of pairs of Saucony to train in to keep my training shoes similar to my racing shoes.
Allegedly, 25.5 according to another review site.
That seems off. I’ll see if I can get an answer from them directly, but it’ll likely take a while to get there.
Thanks
Apparently FuelCell foam of the Rebel v2 is around 25, while FuelCell of the RC Elite 2 is around 22.
Clifton 8 CMEVA seems to be around durometer 32.
Durometer 25 will put the Speed / Pro foam at the same durometer value as the Rebel v2, with a higher stack, so with presence of the plate, it shall be perceived same “forefoot softness” (not stifness) than the Rebel v2 and Clifton 8. This is not what I heard (I heard it was kind of firmer), but have no experience of this shoes (except Clifton 8)
Anyone can confirm if Endorphin Speed frontfoot is same/softer/firmer than Rebel v2 / Clifton 8 ?
It definitely rides firmer than a Clifton in the forefoot.
Yup. Switched to Endorphin Speed Pro for all running.
I went all in on Saucony because of their eco-conscious choices. I wear their vegan Jazz shoes and have three pair of shoes for training. I can’t speak for performance comparisons - I just liked the company.
I’ll be intrigued when other companies come out with carbon neutral shoes as well.
Many brands are starting to improve their supply chains. Check out Asics Earth Day shoes, such as the Glideride. A reviewer said the upper in the Metaspeed Sky is also 100% recycled. I know Nike and Adidas are also increasing their recycled and natural fiber contents.
I already had a pair of Kinvaras in the rotation. I added the Endorphin Pro for a long race shoe (Nikes are good up to 5k but were doing weird things to my ITs past that). I just added two pairs of Endorphin Speeds - one that is water resistant for rain/ snow/ slush and one that is high vis for dark running.
I originally began my real racing career with the original Saucony Kinvara, and was a Kinvara and Virrata user for several years. I then switched to Hoka, absolutely loving the Clifton 1, then the 2. After that the Clifton went to hell. I eventually found a few other Hoka models similar to the original Clifton, and when the Clifton 1 was reissued, bought around 7 pairs. Last year I used my REI dividend on a pair of the Speeds, and haven’t looked back since.
I’m on my fourth pair, of Speeds and also have a pair of the Pros for faster/track days. I’m definitely a Saucony —> Hoka —> Saucony convert. Race day is in the Next%, but the Endorphin Speed is magical in some way. It makes easy runs feel comfy and super easy, but they come alive at faster paces and feel great at virtually every pace. I’m almost tempted to test out the Speeds in a race, as I don’t feel they would be much slower than the Pro or even Next%.
I’m looking forward to getting some of the Speed 2’s when the 3 comes out. Hopefully price will be down around the $100 mark.
I chose Nike in the survey but own Saucony too. My current crop of active shoes in my rotation:
Nike VaporFly - BEST shoe that I’ve ever run in
Nike Pegasus - good shoes
Nike Zoom Fly 3 - good shoes
Nike Tempo Next % - not my favorite
Saucony Endorphin Pro - good shoes but not as good as VaporFly
Saucony Endorphin Speed - good shoes, better than the Pegasus or Zoom Fly 3
Adidas Prime X - I know that they look like clown shoes, but feel AMAZING
Adidas Boston 9 - by far the best shoe value that I own. Cheap, fast and comfortable
My trend of all my shoes are neutral with 8 mm ramp or more. I can’t run in low ramp shoes like Hoka because they’ll aggravate my Achilles and I’ll be limping for a couple days.
Was Nike Zoomfly/Vaporfly but switched over to Endorphin Speed/Pro. Pro has been a fantastic race shoe, I really like how its a bit firmer and more stable than the Vaporfly. Don’t get the love for the Speed, its a solid shoe but it wasn’t better than the Zoomfly. However the Endorphin Shift has been the revelation of the line for me. It’s a soft comfortable shoe that still is quick.
I went the other way this year, from Saucony (Kinvara) to New Balance (FuelCell Rebel2). Couldn’t be more happier with the New Balance, a great shoe.
I am one of them.
Was a kinvara and peregrine user in 018, have switched back to them. Also bought the Pro recently.
Question for you (if i may): really appreciated your review on the Shift. Any Intel on the speed? My first reaction of the Pro is that it was not as stable as i wanted… Gave me a touch of medial knee discomfort
A bit of a long answer for me… but short answer is used to be zero drop Altra shoe line person and I’m currently training in the Endorphin Pro.
Long answer is I came up lame after a track workout with plantar fasciitis. Didn’t run for months and came back running in the Nike Vaporfly as a training shoe. In addition to the performance the soles on these super shoes are incredible in terms of cushion. I snagged a pair of Alphafly’s to race in but honestly for me they’re not that great compared to the Vaporfly. The Vaporfly isn’t a shoe I can get on very quickly so not a good race option and the uppers on the Nike’s tear the hell out of my feet. Their longevity isn’t that great either, once the sole goes the foam underneath almost evaporates.
Enter the Endorphin Pro mid-summer on clearance. The upper is comfortable, shoe is comfortable and well cushioned. It also has the bouncy foam and plate so I may also make it my racing shoe. I run as good in them as I do the Vaporfly. Longevity is great as well, some of the early pop is gone but still cushioned and sole still in great shape after 400’sh miles.
what are you training in? We’re just concluding a survey on run shoes and the year over year winner, in terms of increase, is saucony. HOKA remains #1 at exactly where they were - 26% - and all the other brands pretty much held their own or dropped a tick. saucony, meanwhile, jumped from 12% to 17%. i suspect it’s the endorphin series, but you never know unless you ask.
Switched from the nike trainers, the peg’s, zoom’s, etc., to Saucony endorphin speed. The speed is hands down the best, lightest, softest trainer I have ever used. They are good at slow and tempo paces. I race in the Nike Alphafly, Saucony isn’t close to that shoe, but for training the endorphin speed is the real deal.
The Hoka’s are ok they just feel clunky and a tad wide for my foot.
what are you training in? We’re just concluding a survey on run shoes and the year over year winner, in terms of increase, is saucony. HOKA remains #1 at exactly where they were - 26% - and all the other brands pretty much held their own or dropped a tick. saucony, meanwhile, jumped from 12% to 17%. i suspect it’s the endorphin series, but you never know unless you ask.
Agreed; the Endorphin series simply is amazing. I was skeptical but put on the Endorphin Shift in the store to give it a try. 3 strides and I bought it. Same with the original Pro and then the Speed. I equate running with the Pro versus a “normal” shoe as similar to swimming with and without a wetsuit. I gave up my Salmings, Brooks Hyperion, Mizuno Wave Inspire and went all in on Endorphin series and bought 10 pair of the various models. Hokas have never fit me well and the cushioning is far too cushy and non responsive for my taste. Every time I run in any of them I am amazed at how cushioned they all are in comparison to our old days of racing shoes (flats). Those old Nike Duelists were crazy light, but painful feet were the costs the next day. The new breed of shoes is quite welcome to this old guy.
Switched from Nike Pegasus to the Endorphin Shift about 1 year ago. I was back buying to the Pegasus 34 because I didn’t like the newer versions. Evenutally I tried a move to the Valermo and ran into some plantar fasciitis issues. Saw a lot of recommendations for the Shift to help with PF. The Shift has that right level of stiffness and cushion, that seems to keep the the PF issues away for me.
Was in Sketchers, decided I wanted to change it up after 3 pair.
Went into the store and tried every brand they had. Settled on the mid tier endorphins. I liked one other pair better (wish I could remember which) but were much more expensive than the endorphin
I did Turkey Trot 8 mile run on Thanksgiving and total 13,000 people showed up. 5,000 people did 5k and 8,000 did 8 miles. I was surprised to see so many people running with Sauconys. Nike dominated the field when they first released Vaporflys but I can tell it’s definitely more diverse now. I ran with Alphafly and got PR. They are still the best for me.
Went from Brooks to Hoka Clifton’s but after the 2 they just kept getting heavie, really liked the 2 hated every version afterwards. I picked up the NB Beacons as read a review comparing to the Clifton 1 and think they are great shoe and still use for some easy runs.
I was actually using the Beacon’s as my tempo/race shoe and first switched to Saucony with the Freedoms as I was looking for something I could wear without socks. Then last summer I tried the Speeds and didn’t look back. They just felt so light and fast and really easy to run in. I used them for tempo/speed and then picked up the Pro in the summer when they went on sale and they became my race shoe with the Speed for almost everything else.