I've always just used NB 880 GTX (Gore-Tex), I'll be getting the newest version this winter. My current ones have 1000km on them and look pretty new still, winters are much easier on wear/tear it feels. I usually wear them with a thicker winter sock in my usual runner size, and they fit well still.
I find regular summer runners let too much heat out without some type of weatherproofing, and at that point you might as well get something Gore-Tex
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.
Just bought a pair of Ride 19's because my Ride 16's are falling apart. I'll provide an update once I've tried them out.
I recently bought the Nimbus 27's to try out a more cushioned shoe, but after the first run, I got blisters near the underside of my big toe so I gave them to someone else.
I ended up going with the New Balance 880 v15 2E in size 10 and a half. They're wide enough for my feet and comfy. I wasn't a fan of the soft heel in the Ride 19.
The 880v15 are wider in the midfoot than the 1080. I got the 4E and it’s nice, actual footbed is wider not just a sloppy huge upper. The asics wide kayanos are good too but give a lot of extra upper and volume. I’ve been marathon training with wide feet and I rotate the kayano and skyward x.
After lots of searching I think I finally found a running shoe that actually fits, the Asics Novablast 5. Very wide toebox, lots of space for wide, flat and high arched feet, good heel drop, lightweight.
One problem: I splash my feet flat onto the ground and don't really roll them off due to a muscle condition, meaning the bounce is mostly directed upwards, not forward. Are there other shoes i should have a look at that are overall less bouncy and create an easier forward momentum, rocker sole, stiff and plated? Been searching through runrepeat, but the all important metric of width at arch is not listed. Obviously only recreational running.
Tested so far:
* new balance freshfoam x880 v15. Managed to find a female version in wide. Heeldrop, despite being low feels good, and stiffness is perfect, love the smooth transition into the rocker. But the elastic holding the tongue pulls up the insole, which presses painfully against my arch. Basically: shoe should be wider there. Not sure whether the male version is wider as it's not available. As are most wide shoe versions overall. I want this shoe with the dimensions of the Novablast!
* Asics Nimbus 28: heel drop too low and very soft metatarsal head area, meaning I splash my foot down, forefoot ends up in a deep bog before rocker starts. End of smooth movement.
* Adidas Supernova Glide: Same tongue/rubber problem as NB. Plus boring. Like the stiffness though.
* Adidas Adizero Boston: too unstable.
* Asics Nimbus 27: Too heavy and soft.
I tried the supernova as well, and they were also just on the edge of what's possible. Their sizing is not for me. In all shoes I'm just about fine with 40.5 but would prefer 40.25. In Adidas I'd need 40-2/3 and they are just too long for someone who doesn't lift up their feet properly 😅
The Asics Novablast 5 are still the only shoes that fitted perfectly at the toes and arch.
Were the Speed in 'wide' wide enough for you compared to the normal width? I'm honestly not sure I should go for the Speed as I'm a true slowrunner, even though my runs feel like a 40min 10k finish to me (40min is more like my higher effort 5k time, thanks to my muscles having problems accessing any aerobic energy). But the stiffness and the speedroll feel great. Note, the Azura and Ride also felt quite nice.
Aww! I can't believe I'm not the only one with strange feet! So glad you found some shoes that fit you. I've not tries any of the Superblasts yet but I do have the 2 on my list of shoes still to try. I've now bought a pair of Novablast 5 at halfprice, and they are not bad for running anyway.
How do the Superblasts compare to the Novablast with regards to bounciness? Both still don't have a plate, but the overall sole stiffness of the Nova seems to be fine for me. It's just the bounce that annoys me as I can't direct it forward.
I can still get the Novablast, though only in bright green. I can get the 3s in only ugly colours as well. Meh, Asics: need more colours!
Top Road Running Shoes on Reddit
1
ASICS
SUPERBLAST 2
71% positive of 805 users
Marathon workhorse, but loud and clunky at slow paces.
Thri11house
