Newsletter - #05
Long time no see! I hope you’re also drinking on a weekday afternoon at work (we’re all going to prank Ian and say I’m writing this on my “personal time” and not 3:47pm in the store). Anyways, to answer a few questions: yes I’m alive and writing (writhing if you fancy), no I am not well, yes I still can’t juggle. Unless we’re talking about juggling all of these tariffs updates, because I do have a list and will try to think of a way to keep everyone on top of it that’s better than our Instagram stories.
Where’s the April Newsletter? Hold your horses, mister. Where are the unnecessary personal life stories? Good golly, I’m not in the grocery business for crying out loud. You can’t expect me to stay on task.
This is the equivalent of me taking a vacation to Turks and Caicos, so let me have some peace for a few weeks. Honestly, I would never actually use my one vacation in my adult life on a beach vacation. However, if I was going to go to a beach vacation, there’s a small set of islands just southeast of eastern Caicos with the absolute best name ever and I just can’t help but see it for myself (see the bottom of the page for the name of it if you’re too lazy to Google).
“Rome wasn’t built in a day… but newsletters… newsletters are not Rome.” - Ian Golden
TGIF - Tariffs Get Into Footwear:
Is it my fault? Are they mad at me? 10 things brands don’t want you to know. #6 will shock you!
Let’s get a show of hands for who remembers the Brooks price change announcement I had in the March newsletter. Five of you? That’s more than I thought. To recap, Brooks said “We will be shifting the Ghost 17 to $145. As we battle some of the current economic changes, Brooks has decided it would be a smoother process to update the price at the beginning of the life over mid-cycle.” Then to showed you all a super well put together graph on shoe prices changes over the last decade and reminded you all that shoes used to cost $1.75 and they were better quality or whatever. I hate to say I called it that this was a sign for price increases but I sort of did? To be fair, I was more thinking along the lines of status quo and not tariff responses, but I’m gonna take credit either way.
However, I have more bad news. In the last few weeks, Brooks has again changed their pricing to the following; Ghost 17 to $150, Ghost Max 3 (8/1 release) $160, Adrenaline 25 (11/1 release) $150. To be honest, not the across-the-board increase I’ve been harping on other brands for doing, so kudos to Brooks there. However, with every rainbow comes a short redhead to bite your shins; we have not seen the Spring ‘26 pricing yet. Currently, our rep and all of your reps are at a nice farm upstate (Seattle) going over the line updates and, most likely, spending at least 72 hours this week reiterating the pricing plan to everyone so they can be on the same page.
My best guess? Expect more price hikes.
Slander & Rumors: Hyperion will be $150. Glycerin / Glycerin GTS will be $170. Glycerin Max will be $210. Hyperion Max will be $210. Cascadia will be $150. Caldera will be $160. Catamount will be $180. And I don’t even want to think about the cost of Gore-Tex models.
Now might be a good time to re-mention a quote from the Brooks Town Hall meeting we had a few weeks ago on the pricing plan. A very exquisite direct quote from upper management when asked if they’ll adjust prices back to what they are now if the tariffs come off in the coming weeks or years; “We’re not a grocery business, we don’t change prices every week.” Trust me when I say the March newsletter went through at least 7 drafts of the ‘Brooks Ghost price increase’ section, and at least 1/3 of the reason I couldn’t write an April newsletter without slamming companies in the process.
However, I think that quote sums it up pretty well for anyone still left with brand loyalty to any specific brand. Providing this is just the Trump mood-of-the-year (80 year olds do throw tantrums sometimes), various brands have stated they won’t decreases prices once the tariffs are returned to normal. Still could be an ‘if they return to normal’, but it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I won’t subject you all to the math I used last time for the cost of making a shoe, but the reason they cost so much outside of import taxes is mostly because they want to recoup and reinvest the profits in developing new tech. Will I still wear and sell Brooks? Yeah of course. They make good stuff, and their new apparel is going to be really nice over the next few months. But I think we can all be critical of things we like and try to push them to be better. Bottomline / tldr; I am not cut out to run a business.
To fully list everything I know, here’s a rough breakdown of the last few weeks of brands giving us updates.
Asics: Price increases $10 across the board starting 12/1. Might be some smaller or larger price changes, but I’ll have to take a more in-depth look as I write our 2026 order the next few weeks. (Just met with our Asics rep this week and I was a little off in the $10 estimate, but the next newsletter will have updates included here)
Brooks: Read the stuff above dummy.
Hoka: Nothing yet, but they love their money.
Nike: You better believe Nike is gonna rummage your pockets for everything you own.
Topo: Price increases $5 across the board with delayed releases of the Vista and Fli-Lyte 6.
Maybe the most disheartening news to come out of all of this; the new trail model, Vista, from Topo is delayed from June to mid-August. I’ll still be really excited to try it out, but that new timeline makes it really hard to bring it in. As a rule, bringing in any new models in August is a risk with sales slowing down in September through to March. We’ll do our best to give them a shot but no promises.
New Balance: Nothing yet, but they also will eventually most likely.
Made in USA Rant: Contrary to the propaganda a lot of people seem to believe, no they are not all made in the USA. Their “Made in USA” stuff is sourcing upper materials in the US and then having the midsole cushioning made overseas and imported and assembled is my guess there. Assembled in USA is a little too long for the marketing team apparently. Not to knock them down a peg, a lot of other companies will use a similar workaround to slap a “Made in USA” tag on things as well. While we’re on that topic, maybe some things are improved with locally made goods, but Ian just opened a new brand that puts that “Made in USA” tagline on everything with a nice flag behind it and I am not a fan of the product or the stand it came with. Call me unpatriotic I guess, but I’m not feeling the vibe watching us go into a third recession before I’m 24.
Anyways.
Saucony: Price increases $5-10 across the board, with the Endorphin line seeing the most change. The Endorphin Pro increases $15 to $240, Endorphin Elite increases $15 to $290, and Endorphin Trainer increases a whopping $20 to $200. Thankfully, the Speed 5 only moves up $5 to $175.
I’ve really got to comment on that Endorphin Trainer. What are we doing. Should a super trainer be $200? Yeah probably, that’s where the rest of the market is. But you cannot just sneak this in there and be like ‘shrug’ “I guess those tariffs really got us good.” C’mon now. If I’m paying $200, the absolute least bare naked birthday suit minimum you can do is give us a rubber outsole so it’ll last 400 miles.
If you’re looking for a silver lining to the tariff news and updates, I don’t think I’ve seen anything specific on apparel price increases from footwear companies. So we can all still pretend that $115 leggings and $90 shorts are okay and definitely aren’t something we can make with $10/yd fabric and a sewing machine.
Janji: Various price increases but nothing super solid yet. Fall 2025 will remain the same, and Spring 2026 will see price changes, but unknown for the most part. The one piece they have mentioned that increases $18 is the Zephyrunner windbreaker, going up to $156 from $138. A piece we’ve stocked the last few seasons, and one of the softest jackets out there, but it’s hard to justify that price point too. An alternative I might look into carrying would be the Brooks Canopy Jacket. I think I had one back in 2020, and it did okay as a windbreaker from what I remember, with a nicer price closer to $120.
Patagonia: Nothing yet, but out of every brand, they might be the definition of “our customers don’t care how much they need to pay for stuff, they just want the stuff.”
The language used in some of the official email communications has also been a bit confusing. Initially, some brands said pre-book orders would not change pricing. Then they said any orders after ‘x’ date will be subject to the new prices including those pre-booked orders, which sucks on our end. Any businesses with a set budget for fall orders are going to cancel things they might need to keep to stay afloat.
Overall Take: Does this need to happen for brands to continue functioning? Probably, but I don’t like the idea of this being the status quo. The biggest thing with shoe sales is that companies recoup the research and development, and the tariffs just gave them a diving board to slingshot prices to maintain profit margins in the short term and maybe swindle us in the long term. Personally, $150 on training shoes that last 3 months of running is ridiculous. We’re looking at options for getting prior season models at a discount and selling them for a lower retail price at the moment, but man I would be grifting around eBay for used pairs for half to a third of the retail price like I did in college.
If any of the last few paragraphs upset you. You did ask for another newsletter, and I’m always a people pleaser by nature. Seriously, like three people said after March that they liked it, and literally one would’ve been enough confirmation bias for me to cut a finger off if I were in a scarier cult than just shoe sales.
Updates and Releases
Out Now-ish:
Topo Phantom 4 pictured here
Topo Phantom 4 - May, 1st:
A slight but significant update from Topo’s most popular model to date. A new upper and midsole. Some of the colors leave a bit to be desired with the classic 2010s gradient. Price goes up to $150.
Topo MTN Racer 4 - May, 1st:
A favorite of mine, Topo’s 2nd favorite trail shoe behind the Ultraventure (which isn’t really a trail shoe but who’s counting). A new upper, new sock liner, same midsole, same outsole, new gaiter velcro. Pretty straightforward. Price goes up to $155.
Altra Experience Wild 2 - May, 1st:
The smallest of small updates. A new upper, but same midsole. No fit changes or anything, just a new look. Price goes down to $140 from $145
Asics Superblast 2:
These released quite a bit ago, but we finally have a size run coming to the store in June! $200, but a favorite nonetheless. I’ve put more miles in them since the review I did in a prior newsletter, and the toespring angle is less bothersome than it used to be, so I’ve picked them up more recently in my running.
Upcoming Launches:
Topo Vista shown here. Photo from Trail Running Review.
Topo Vista - June, 1st (now mid-August):
Brand new model from Topo to round out their trail category. Max cushion trail shoe with Vibram outsole, deep lugs, and wide toe box. I’ve read that it’s still ZipFoam for the cushioning, but that it’s the softest blend in their trail line so should be fairly comfy, and we’ll have to see what durability is like. $175 with the price increase.
New Balance Rebel v5 - June, 1st:
Update to a fan favorite from New Balance. New upper and midsole in design, but I’m not sure there is any material change. Honestly can’t remember how this felt or fit from the sample, but will be a big marketing push from New Balance to get it rolling in June. I want to say it felt similar to version 4 and still way way too soft in my opinion. I want to say they made it a touch firmer and more outsole rubber ala the 1080 update last fall to make it more stable. One can only hope. $140 for now.
Altra Experience Flow 2 - June, 1st:
Continuing the trend of fan favorite models, Altra’s Experience Flow gets a new upper and new midsole cushion. The new cushion is a brand new material for Altra they’re calling EGO P35, which I cannot find any specifics on. I believe our rep said it was still EVA based, so it might be some critically molded thing like the recent Clifton models from Hoka. I do remember a noticeable difference having the current model on side by side though. Price stays the same at $140 for now.
Xodus Ultra 4 - June, 1st:
Another Saucony trail update I have high hopes for this year. A new upper, same-ish midsole (they might have tweaked some things vs version 3, but I think the same materials are used), 4mm lug Vibram outsole, and $170 with the new pricing. Really excited to try these. The Ultra 3 was quite horrible in the traction department. It still might be a nice shoe for anyone who is on bone-dry western groomed trails, but not the humidity and roots and rocks of Central New York.
Running in Currently
Haven’t done much running over April on account of being in a dumpster and having cereal for dinner. However, here are the two new things I’ve been in:
New Balance 880v15: $140 / 6mm drop / neutral trainer
I’m still committing to getting more miles in this before a review, but the heel collar does hit my ankle in an awkward spot that I don’t love on runs over an hour. Just standing in them today, I realized how early the rocker starts in the forefoot on the lateral side too? Maybe medially as well, but visually it’s mostly the lateral side.
They do feel smooth underfoot, but I still find myself comparing it to the Novablast and I still really love that shoe. My pair has almost 300 miles on them and I want to try and see what 500 looks like. I guess I wished I was more excited to run in them after getting them, but that’s how it goes sometimes.
Salomon Genesis: $150 / 8mm drop / trail shoe
Only two runs in them so far. Both were technically trail runs but involved quite a lot of hard rock sections or pavement, so not the best feel for the shoe yet. I definitely wouldn’t mistake it for a door to trail option. I still hate the Quicklace system Salomon uses. They could probably shave $5 off the price of all their shoes with it and just use regular laces and it would give a much better fit. The upper is my favorite material of all time with Matrix being used there, but it does seem to loosen up as I run in it. Hence wanting regular laces to retie them faster.
If ever there was a time for Salomon to rebrand and retire that Quicklace stuff, I’d really like to see them move to BOA dials if they’re going to add a gimmicky thing to the lacing.
Josh Nogaret - May 7th, 2025
Mystery Caicos island is called Cockburn Town. Yes, my wife did leave me because I am a child.
