Newsletter - #02
In this edition we have some new arrivals in the store, along with some full and partial reviews/commentary on current shoes I’ve been trying out the last few weeks. Enjoy!
New Arrivals
New Balance 880v15
Neutral medium-cushioned trainer gets an impressive update
The most exciting update of the spring is from New Balance of all places. They add 3mm more cushion in the heel and 5mm more in the forefoot; almost unheard of by the way, usually a 2mm change is significant enough to make it a different shoe, let alone 5mm. It now boasts a new 6mm drop as a result.
In hand feels like still fells Novablast-esque but with less stack height, which is definitely noticeable in the heel with the classic large Novablast sidewalls. The new Novablast does feel a tad “squirrelly” while getting used to it, and a more aggressive toe-off roll, but both are well-cushioned everyday trainers that would work well on longer runs too. Side-by-side, I’d skew more towards the 880. As we get into the end of winter, I’ll probably pick up a pair and test them out officially.
Hoka Bondi 9
Max cushion trainer returns to prior glory
Another much anticipated update after what felt like years and years of the Bondi 8 (it was actually 28 months but who’s counting). Upon an initial step in, I can confirm the fit is improved and not as claustrophobic as version 8. Just that alone would be a good update to a model we’ve had a hard time fitting people for. However, they went and totally retooled the midsole with a supercritical foam and it feels like it’s back to an actual big-mileage trainer versus the big bulky walking boat-of-a-shoe. Again, I haven’t ran in them yet, but I have them earmarked in my reptile brain along with the 880 above for the next pairs of road trainers I try out.
In for Testing
Mizuno Neo Zen
Rant on a brand new Mizuno daily trainer; “Does softness make a sound when the upper doesn’t fit?” - Ian
Rant below, but TLDR; the upper should be better.
Just one warmup and cooldown in them at Barton Hall so far, but quite a nice ride underfoot. It is definitely the softest shoe I’ve ran in since the 1080v13 in Summer ‘23, but still feels more controlled than the 1080 I remember. I’d wager it could be the midsole sidewalls or the rubber sole having a rail design that still holds the foot over the center of the platform during foot strike. The upper… leaves something to be desired so far.
Every foot scanner I’ve used has told me I have low-volume feet and narrow heels, so I’d take this with a grain of salt/sand/Skratch Recovery Drink Mix. I’ve rarely seen inelastic knit uppers sit well on the foot. The men’s size 9 sample felt pretty good in the upper, and I’d wager a 9.5 might be ideal versus a 10 like I usually wear on my trainers. However, I KNOW a regular mesh upper with a tongue would actually work well every time, that’s why a majority of shoes still use it. While I get it’s a statement to go with this styling for the sake of making an exciting-looking shoe, I wish some of these companies would just tweak the ride of a shoe. Now that may seem like a harsh statement, but two things infuriate me with the run shoe business; 1) fashion over function & 2) too long/too short laces. It’s abundantly clear that Mizuno has something super exciting here in the ride of the shoe that can rival a New Balance Rebel, Hoka Mach, Brooks Hyperion, etc. but it seems to fall just short of a home run because of a fashion choice. Technically on that front, all shoes might end up looking too boring and similar, but I’d argue that any company would sell twice as many pairs if they fixed the fit on shoes with awkward uppers.
While I’m on a filibuster about uppers; Sketchers actually got into a lawsuit with Nike in late 2023 over how similar their knit weave was to Nike’s 2000s golden child in FlyKnit (which I believe is still on-going despite being out of the mainstream news cycle). We’ve seen less of the classic stretchy FlyKnit in cutting-edge run stuff from Nike now that the Free Run line has gone the way of the many titans before it; The Dodo, burritos in the Oregon area, Johnny Gregorek (retired, and no it’s not too soon to make this joke). Adidas also has had some nicer knit uppers since the inception of the original Ultraboost back in February 2015. These stretchy knit uppers are usually ones that don’t need to be tied with laces afterward and could almost be worn without socks for how soft the knit is. The trade-off here is that you lose structure in the upper and sometimes spill over the midsole on turns. They tried weaving in plastics or glue to the knit to give it structure, but that also left some shoes relatively unbreathable and not as soft as a traditional mesh upper, so it really didn’t give a performance edge and was in some ways a proof of concept / fashion choice.
Even though I don’t absolutely love the upper, I do like the ride and should definitely put more miles in them on the roads to get a feel. Despite not having a ton of miles on them yet, this shoe would be killer with a regular upper.
Asics Superblast 2
Fan favorite max-cushion uptempo rockered trainer
TLDR; This rocker/toe-off is what I imagine a lot of people enjoy about Hoka so much. Upper is great so far, but needs to be used in warmer weather to see how breatheable they actually are.
Similar to the Neo Zen above, the Superblast recently arrived a couple weeks ago and I’ve been able to work them into a weekly running rotation, but no serious mileage on them overall. I think the longest run here was maybe around 10ish on slushly road shoulders with my pal Liz on Coddington.
Admittedly, I’m a new convert to max cushion shoes as of the summer (the Hoka Mafate 4 being one of my favorites last year). I try not to use them on every run, even when I feel beat down by training. The catageory in general is certainly helpful on longer runs post workouts and really do almost entirely eliminate footsoreness when doing two hour runs, but I still go back to my firmer & less cushioned models for most runs so I’m not missing that ground feedback. I have yet to do any faster workouts in them too, but the rocker is pretty conducive of some tempo paces. I’m not sure I’d enjoy such a tall shoe for threshold efforts, but I could be wrong and is definitely just my own preference of doing workouts in flats or spikes in college.
I’d also like to note that these were our most asked for model during its release this past July. “Do you have the Superblast? Can you get the Superblast?” was half of my summer shifts.
Full Reviews
Asics Novablast 5
Neutral medium-cushioned trainer retains its spot on all “Best of 20XX” lists
TLDR; in the running for my favorite trainer of the year (not a high bar as we’re almost 3 weeks into January, but a favorite over the last few months).
As of writing this, I’ve put a little over 100 miles on my Novablast 5s. I believe the longest run I’ve done in them was 15 miles on the Black Diamond right around when I first got them with former teammate/current coworker Hunter, but pretty much everything else has been around 9-12 miles on the roads or recways around Ithaca.
Upper: I like to think the fit is improved versus version 4 here; the midfoot and heel don’t feel as bulky and claustrophobic on my feet and I can’t remember a time I’ve gotten a hotspot or blister from it. It fits well with thin and thick socks too so no need for any gymnastics there to achieve a good fit on my end. Essentially, the perfect upper; no-nonsense and just works, like an 8-year-old Hydroflask that you haven’t washed (I know some of you don’t know what a straw brush is).
Ride: I’d argue the underfoot ride of the Novablast has been its main selling point since version 1, and no surprises here; it feels great. Just enough cushion to go for two-ish hour long runs for me, but not bulky feeling and plenty of pep to do some post-run strides. I wouldn’t do workouts in them if I had a say in switching shoes, but I also wouldn’t feel out of place doing some tempo miles mid-long run in them either and can totally see this as a marathon option for those brave enough to not use plated shoes. Simple-feeling trainers seem to be a thing of the past, but I’d wager that shoe structure has changed a lot over the last 7 years to make shoes “fun” like older models and still give you a better degree of control.
The only partial knock I could give it is durability? Still way too soon to clearly say anything on that front, but I’ll make an effort to get around 400 miles in them and report back since I haven’t really seen how these soft and bouncy foams are wearing towards the end of their lifespan.
Brooks Catamount 4 & Saucony Peregrine 15
TLDR; Catamount is finally great dry ultra trail racer (as it was intended), and the Peregrine finally might have the grip to go the distance as a do it all trail/gravel/road shoe.
As of writing this, I have 40-ish miles on the Catamount 4 and 60-ish miles on the Peregrine 15. The longest run I did in the Catamount was a two hour trail long run in Danby during that December heat wave we had briefly when it was 45 for a day. The longest run I did in the Peregrine was up and around the Monkey Run trails for maybe 12ish.
History: The Catamount 2 and 3 were both personal favorites of mine the last two summers. I might skew towards firmer shoes with my “youthful 20-something-year-old body” as Ian likes to put it, but really did enjoy versions 2 and 3 on roads and trails. So much so that I don’t think I was using any road shoes at the time of testing them. However, version 4 is a totally different shoe in my opinion. The on-foot feel is not as comfortable as the last two and you lose almost all of the ground feel that was present in 2 and 3. The culprit here is the added cushion and new plate underfoot. However, even though they’ve gutted and significantly changed a favorite shoe of mine, this update just makes sense in the context of the shoe.
New Plate, New Context: Since its inception, it was meant to be an ultra trail racing model for long trail races, and I think it achieves that in spades. Version 2 and 3 had a ton of flex in the forefoot, and would usually upset my MTP joint (ball of the foot/big toe joint) after about 15 miles. Version 4 does away with all that flex and opts for a more aggressive roll off the toe thanks again to the new plate. I’ve done 3-minute pickups in them on the Black Diamond Trail with some light snow and I think they’re noticeably better when injecting some pace. I have yet to do any faster runs/workouts on a real trail given the state of the weather recently, but I have a feeling I’ll like them there too.
Traction: Probably the only thing that went backward in my opinion is the traction. I wasn’t a huge fan of the grip on versions 2 & 3 to begin with, but it got the job done when dry and was okay-ish when wet. I want to believe the Brooks proprietary rubber is more tacky than in prior years, but the lug depth really kneecaps it this year again too. I thought for a while that maybe the lugs are shorter than the last two versions, but that’s not the case. I’ll keep running in them and get some more opinions down once we get some wet and muddy trails vs snowy and icy trails, but 3.5mm lugs usually aren’t going to amount to outstanding grip in wet/technical trail conditions. Like my wise Sensei Ian would always say, “Give a man 3.5mm lugs, and he’ll survive a local 50k trail fun run. Teach a man 5mm lugs, and he’ll win Hardrock 100.”
Speaking of traction; the Peregrine 15 has been reborn. Again, take this with a grain of salt/sand/crushed-up Nuun tablets since I’ve been using these on mostly snowy and icy trails versus wet and muddy trails with exposed shale. However, the new Peregrine 15 adds more lugs back by the heel and “allegedly” has more tack on the proprietary outsole rubber. I say allegedly because our sales rep did specifically mention that, but could’ve been a tactic to get us to try them and bring them back into the store because Ian is quite the hard-ass when it comes to grip. I am too to an extent now that I’ve been running on trails more frequently since I moved to Ithaca.
Ride: Like a lot of Saucony models, the step-in feel is great. Their sock liners are top-notch, and I’d recommend everyone get a pair of them just to know what it feels like. For the cushion, on my first run in them they almost felt bouncy on the sidewalks and still feel grounded on the trails. The 4mm drop beats me up less than it did a year ago so it could potentially be fitness and durability getting better too, but the midsole does feel less firm in hand so I’m using it as my confirmation bias.
Comparison: I wanted to pair (see what I did there) these two reviews together because I feel like they have almost switched places for me. The Catamount used to be my go-to road and trail shoe, and the Peregrine used to be my I-hate-the-traction-give-me-anything-else shoes. Now the Peregrine is a go-to trail/snowy shoe, and maybe favorite trail shoe of the year depending on how the Hoka Mafate 5 feels this summer, and the Catamount is a serious contender for an actual ultra trail race model. Not on the Ol’ 2025 Bingo Card.
Side Note: The Mafate was one of my favorites this past summer and even though I never tracked mileage on them, I’d wager I was getting close to 350 or 400 miles in them just from mid-June to August.
Josh Nogaret - January 17th, 2025
