Fresh Foam X 1080v14

Your current shoes probably dont need to be replaced if they only have 250 k on each pair. You should work on your form so that your body acts like a cushioning spring. If you heel strike and over stride, a massive force is transmitted directly into your shin and into your knee joint. If you correct your stride, your muscles and tendons will absorb much of the force and remove the knee pain. Changing to brand new shoes every other month should not be the solution to your problem.

Nimbus and Novablast seem too close for me to have both in the rotation. It wasn't always the case, but since Nimbus 26 and Novablast 4 it definitely is. If Novablast 5 loses their pop, they basically become Nimbus with not so high end upper. Maybe try Adidas Evo SL for extremely soft and bouncy midsole (though they are too unstable for me)? I personally preferred Saucony Endorphin Speed which have it all : durability, comfort, stability and some energy return. And they keep it lightweight and breathable. For Nimbus there are many alternatives. Mizuno Neo Vista (never tried it), Nike Vomero Plus (very plushy, but also unstable for me), New balance 1080 v14 (this is softness of Nimbus 25 with more Novablast bounce). Some where in the middle there is Hoka Clifton. In many ways it is like Novablast, but feels heavier and not as bouncy.

Neo Zen have an accommodating toe box & large volume upper. They're very light for the amount of cushioning you get. They're 6 mm drop. They're very soft & bouncy though so if you don't like soft shoes may want to look at something else. New Balance 880 v15, & 1080 v14 are 6 mm, but runrepeat measured them at 4 mm. New Balance shoes usually have good toebox room. Glycerin max are 6 mm drop & I've read feel less than that, but are 305 g so might be too heavy for you since you mentioned lightweight.

I enjoyed my NB 1080s v14s. I feel like they lasted me 350 miles. I am 220 lbs forefoot striker FYI.

Sorry, longish post ahead. Trying to figure out why some shoes work and some dont and get a pair for the Evo SL. Im a relatively light and slow runner: 135lb, 9:30min/mile tempo, 11min/mil recovery easy run pace. For whatever reason, certain popular shoes seem to really hurt my feet/legs and I cant quite figure out the common denominator. Ive ordered a lot of shoes that dont work so trying to work out what shoes might be good for me. I current run in the Evo SL and LOVE them! Amazing shoes and works for easy run, tempo, intervals etc. But given their instability, id like something to pair them with for longer runs and on real recovery days when my legs are sore. So far I got on really well with the NB5 but unfortunately have sizing issues. I was running in a pair that was a half size too small and would make my toes hurt after a long run but when I went up a half size I got horrible arch blisters I couldn't fix. So I had to return those. I have a pair of Vomero+ I ran a good ~75 miles in and for whatever reason they seriously hurt the arch of my left foot and bother my Achilles. I really wanted them to work and seem like they'd be the perfect compliment but I cant resolve the pain. I ordered a pair of NB 1080v14 thinking they would be a good recovery shoe but oh my god ow! They hurt my feet so badly and my toes are numb after a few miles. The sizing seems fine? I dont know why this happens doesnt happen in the Evo Sl or NB5. Its like the issues in the Vomero+ but worse. I am not sure if the issue is the shoes are too soft but the NB5 are soft and I didnt have a problem. Maybe they are too heavy? Evo SL and NB5 are very light shoes. Based on these issues, does anyone have a recommendation they think might work as a compliment? Sick of ordering shoes that just dont work!

Dont get me wrong I definitely do need to build up strength but I also didnt have the issue with NB5 so its not like its one shoe works and nothing else does. But yes I am incorporating a lot more strength and mobility into my training to see if it helps.

Thats kind of what I think. Especially with the 1080s theyre sooo soft. The NB5 are soft too but I almost feel like theyre more squishy than soft if that makes sense? Less like a pillow than the 1080 or V+. With the SB I am intrigued but im worried about them at my weight. I feel like heavier runners love them but im worried they will be too clunky for me?

You'd think right? But I have plenty of room between my toe and the front of the shoe and it doesnt feel too small. But idk, maybe youre right. I still dont think it resolved the Achilles issues though. I think I may have a narrow midfoot but wider toe area, if that makes sense. Narrow toe boxes are tough for me. I was really surprised the half size up in the NB caused blisters since it never happened on the half size too small but I guess the midfoot was wide enough in the bigger size to make it an issue.

You know when I was looking around a bit last night these came up a lot! I will check them out. And I think youre onto something about the midsole. That is the area that has the most problems and the V+ and 1080 both have very soft/plushy midsoles. Evo SL and NB5 dont, IMO.

You know what, you mean be onto something here! NB5 and EVO SL are both similarly very flexible, Vomero+ is stuff and the 1080s are not as stiff as the V+ but still quote a bit stiffer than the other two!