Newsletter - #01
You may be wondering why you're reading this newsletter. Well, Ian (owner, long time Ithacan, red newt enthusiast) mentioned to me last winter that maybe the social media side of things could be done better, so here I am a year later getting on top of it.
If I can make this a reoccurring event, then you can expect to read about:
New gear industry wide
Insider knowledge on what Ian is wearing/eating/feeling on a given day
Fun facts
General ranting banter on all things running if I'm still feeling angsty after my morning run
Basically, fun for the whole family to enjoy. Particularly if your family has an affinity for running, or an unhealthy obsession with talking about gear and feet.
Meat N’ Taters
For the first official newsletter, we’ll keep things simple with a take on upcoming models that I’m really excited to have in the shop to start the new year. I’d like to have a longer blog on our website with updates across the industry that also look exciting, but that might be a project for later in winter as I finish up with preordering Fall 2025 product this week. Enjoy!
Altra
Timp 5 BOA
February 1st, 2025 - $175
A new style/proof of concept from Altra this spring is the Timp 5 BOA. It retains the same Timp 5 platform, top notch Vibram grip, and upper width, but adds a BOA dial in place of the laces. For those unfamiliar with them, BOA dials have been a staple on cycling shoes and allow quick adjustments without unclipping from your pedals. Although, it would be super impressive if anyone could actually use the dial while running without taking quite the tumble. Either way, it prevents the laces from coming untied or caught on branches and can potentially help transition times at aid stations if you need to switch shoes during your next trail ultra.
Here is a pretty simple rundown on it; like Speedland shoes but can’t afford another mortgage on the house and your spouse might leave you if you buy another pair of $500 shoes? Timp 5 BOA
Asics
Novablast 5
December 1st, 2025 - $140
The main update here is the new midsole, FF Blast Max, which is noticeably softer and lighter than v4’s foam. They also lost weight from an already light shoe; 9oz (255g) vs 9.2oz (260g) (men’s size 9). Upon my initial look at the launch colorways, they seemed kind of ugly, but I can confirm they look much better in person.
I’d also say that the upper change does alter the fit slightly. For me, the v4 upper was just a touch too snug on my midfoot and deterred me from trying them out, but out of the box v5 is more accommodating there. I’d wager it’s likely due to the thinner mesh upper vs anything else.
Nimbus 27
January 1st, 2025 - $165
($5 increase)
Slightly higher stack height of 43.5/35.5mm vs 42/34mm in v26. Same FF Blast+ ECO cushioning as v26 as well. This may seem like a super small change, but it is noticeably more cushioned and I welcome it. It’s perhaps one of a few current models in the max cushion category that don’t feel like a boat of a shoe on my foot or like someone is trying to strangle my toes with marshmallows.
I remember v25 getting a lot of feedback in the shop of being a bit too soft for most people to run in (this has since been overshadowed by the truly mind-boggling softness of recent New Balance models like the 1080v13 and Rebel v4 that are both pretty ridiculous).
Personally, I loved the Saucony Triumph 17 in college, which had an 8mm drop and was not a super soft shoe. Honestly, I’m pretty ticked off the Triumphs have been at a 10mm drop for the last few models, so this feels like a spiritual successor to what I want the current Triumph line to be.
Brooks
Catamount 4
January 1st, 2025 - $170
Another one of my personal favorite model lines recently, the Catamount 4 adds more cushion with a 34mm heel and 28mm forefoot vs 32mm/26mm in v3, and a stiffer scooped plate vs the split plate in v3. This should add a livelier bounce and feel overall to the shoe and give it a bit more wow-factor.
While I was a big fan of version 2 and 3, I did feel like the forefoot was almost too flexible and upset the ball of my foot occasionally, so this update is welcomed. Even though it’s not my very first choice for a blistering fast and technical trail race despite the super light weight, the added cushion should make it more viable for longer efforts now too. I’ve even used the prior versions for hiking and it gets the job done there too.
The only slight complaint I’ve found with these models is the lack of bite on the rubber compound Brooks uses. It’s definitely not the worst I’ve used, but I do remember slipping a little on small things like wet dirt and some leaves when conditions weren’t that bad. Otherwise, it has been my favorite “door-to-trail” model the last few years which makes it pretty perfect for Ithaca.
Caldera 8
January 1st, 2025 - $150
The Caldera 8 gets an updated upper that feels more accommodating and softer than v7, which was really my only complaint. For some reason I managed to get blisters on both arches every time I ran in the prior model, however, Ian had a much better time and actually enjoyed them quite a bit. The framework was there and I think this update will knock it out of the park.
Due to the super tall cushion stack height, it’s not either of our first choices for super technical and speedy stuff on trails, but it’s pretty stellar at everything else. For most of my summer trail miles, I used the Hoka Mafate 4, which is pretty similar to these as well. The upper was better for my foot in the Mafate, but underfoot felt comparable. That being said, slow technical sections around Ithaca (Buttermilk, Lick Brook, and Treman) still felt really good in them, so it’s not totally unusable to have a tall shoe on those areas. It just might require some extra focus.
Hoka
Bondi 9
January 15th, 2025 - $170
($5 increase)
Another big update in the Bondi this year. Hoka is finally switching away from CMEVA (compression molded EVA) to supercritical EVA. What does this mean for you? It is a bit lighter on foot and more fluid feeling. Traditionally, supercritical EVA will have more bounce and responsiveness to it and it is definitely noticed here. It also loses weight and is just over 10oz in a men’s size 10, which is probably due to the foam change as well.
In run specialty as a whole, we’ve been seeing more and more non-running customers look to us for shoe advice, and I’d guess that a larger percentage of Hoka’s Bondi customers are not running in them. That being said, these foam updates should be appreciated by runners and walkers alike. The only potential downside I’m interested to see is the durability of the foam. With more and more shoes adding versions of supercritical foam to their shoes, I have seen it drastically decrease the lifespan of some models. At the moment, I have no evidence that this will be the case in the Bondi 9, but should be mentioned with the number of people I see weekly saying they only get 4-5 months of walking out of their shoes.
It also moves away from Bondi 8 upper-fit to add more width and volume. While this is not a huge issue I’ve seen on the women’s side (even some customers remark it feels too wide), the men’s models have been incredibly hard to fit people for given the narrow upper. Even for myself, I have always had a relatively narrow foot and super narrow heel, and even I didn’t like the fit on the Bondi 8s. The Clifton 10 (4/1 update, stay tuned) has a new last and also adds more width and volume, which has been this awkward point for us trying to sell some narrower Hoka models when a lot of our customers need something with a different shape in the forefoot.
Clifton 10
April 15th, 2025 - $150
($5 increase)
I’m planning to include this in a spring newsletter as we get closer to the release date, but I will give some tidbits while it’s fresh.
The Clifton 10 changes the drop from 5mm to 8mm (a first for the Clifton line, possibly a first for Hoka in general) and does so by adding 3mm more cushion to the heel, which makes it a 42mm heel / 34mm forefoot. As mentioned above, the upper is noticeably roomier due to a new last. However, the midsole does not receive the same supercritical EVA like the Bondi above. I think this should be fairly noticeable side-by-side and give more of a separation between the Clifton and Bondi instead of just saying the Bondi is a taller Clifton.
New Balance
880v15
January 1st, 2025 - $140
Massive changes here. New midsole shape but same blend of Fresh Foam X as v14, adds +3mm of heel cushion and +5mm of forefoot cushion, which gives it total heights of 40.5mm in the heel and 34.5mm in the forefoot… and a brand-new drop of 6mm. The first thing I said when trying the samples was that it’s really a Novablast-esque feel without the ultra-squishy-ness and borderline unstable feeling. When testing the softness with a durometer, it was remarkably close to the Novablast as far as softness but noticeably more stable than other recent New Balance models (cough 1080v13 cough Rebel v4 cough).
The 880v14s and 1080v13s admittedly didn’t sell very well in the shop over the last year, but I’m much more hopefully for these. Bottom line? If you want a more predictable Novablast, this is the one.
Hierro v9
March 1st, 2025 - $155
($5 increase)
Yet another trail model I’m excited for. The Hierro v8 felt a bit too soft in the midsole, but v9 tweaks the cushion just slightly and I think it will make a big difference here. It also doesn’t hurt that the rubber compound is Vibram and should be pretty tacky as well.
Ian and myself will still test them out before committing to having them in the shop, but they look super promising. It feels fairly rare with the state of running shoes to find something that has cushion without being a huge shoe, but these should bring a good mix of both to the trails.
Saucony
Peregrine 15
January 1st, 2025 - $140
Another Saucony model with a love and hate relationship for me. We used to have it in the shop more consistently, but this past year I was a little fed up with how the grip kept failing me on semi-wet / almost dry conditions and didn’t feel good about recommending them anymore. However, this update seems to have addressed every qualm I had and then some.
It uses the same midsole material in name, but it’s tweaked to be more energetic and I think it’s noticeably in hand and on foot. The first few minutes of my run were on pavement heading to the South Recway and it was almost surprising how lively it felt. Granted, I did have a day off before that, but I like to think it’s the shoes.
Our Saucony sales rep also reported that the outsole is supposed to have more tack to it, but also has a tweaked traction pattern to add more lugs around the heel and midfoot, which I think I also noticed. The ground was relatively firm this past Sunday, with little patches of ice but nothing I would consider wet or slippery overall, so I’m excited to see how they do in those conditions.
I’ll also mention that Saucony still has some of the best sock liner inserts in the running world. I even had one person consider ordering any Saucony shoes in their size just to buy them and only use the sock liner.
Topo
Aura
January 1st, 2025 - $165
In the last year and a half, Topo has gone from top 4 and top 3 to vying for the top shoe brand in the shop (as of writing this, they are still holding off Brooks by a few pairs). A sizeable portion of these Topo sales are due to their stability model, the Ultrafly, being a best seller.
The Aura, similar to the Ultrafly, is also in this stability category and aims to give Ultrafly fans a taste of more cushion. The new Aura will have a much higher cushion height of 38mm in the heel and 33mm in the forefoot, while the current Ultrafly 5 only has 30mm in the heel and 25mm in the forefoot. Side-by-side, the difference is pretty clear. The Aura should also be slightly softer while having identical stability to the Ultrafly.
- Josh Nogaret, Dec. 19th, 2024
