Best Overall Men’s Running Shoe

Asics Novablast 4

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Weight Per Shoe (Size 10.5): 9.76 oz | Heel-to-Toe Drop: 7 mm

Thanks to an engaging geometry and fun, comfortable ride, the Asics Novablast 4 is our choice for the best overall running shoe. It’s our favorite trainer for daily use; we use it for easy days and some workouts. The FF Blast + Eco foam absorbs impacts and returns energy well. The rocker geometry and “trampoline” forefoot act as advertised, making this relatively big shoe feel light and bouncy. We think it thrives at easy-moderate paces, but we’ve enjoyed it all the way down to 5K pace. The upper of the Novablast 4 is soft, with enough stretch to accommodate a wide variety of foot shapes while still providing comfortable lockdown.

Our only true concern with this shoe is traction. The lack of lugs is evident when running on wet or slick roads, and the risk of a slip increases with pace. However, it wasn’t enough for us to stop using this shoe in winter, even after our testing. This shoe is comfortable and fun, which makes it the perfect daily choice for us. We think it could be a quiver-killer for runners who want one shoe that can do a little of everything comfortably. For others, it could find a spot in a rotation for easy/uptempo days. If you’re looking for a shoe that is as fun as it is reliable, start here. If you are looking for a more stable and supportive daily trainer, the Asics Gel-Kayano 30 is a similar shoe that doesn’t have the same excitement but has a lot more stability.

Read more:Asics Novablast 4 review

Best Running Shoe for Uptempo Training

Saucony Endorphin Speed 4

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Weight Per Shoe (Size 10.5): 9.03 oz | Heel-to-Toe Drop: 6 mm

If your running involves regular doses of faster paces, we think the Saucony Endorphin Speed 4 is the perfect shoe for you. It’s one of the few options out there that truly can handle any type of run. Thanks to the responsive PWRRUN PB foam, a moderate forefoot rocker, and a nylon plate, the Speed 4 gets after it in workouts while remaining comfortable enough for long, easy miles. The upper is comfortable, and Saucony updated this version with a fit that should work for more runners.

We really don’t have any issues with this shoe other than price. It’s not the cheapest option, but in fairness, no other shoe in our lineup offers such a great balance between performance and comfort. Compared to previous iterations of the Speed line, this one feels approachable and stable but still quick. It’s great for runners who only have one shoe and like to pick up the pace. If you’re super-shoe-curious but not ready to spend that much, the Speed 4 will make a perfect companion for your training block, and it’s one that you can wear all the way across the finish line. For runners with a rotation, we think this slots in well as a workout shoe that can also handle faster long runs. If you’re after a high-performing trainer, this is your shoe. If you want something that’s versatile but a little more tuned for comfort, the Puma Deviate Nitro 2 is a great choice.

Read more:Saucony Endorphin Speed 4 review

Best Bang for Your Buck

Puma Velocity Nitro 3

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Weight (per shoe): 10.07 oz | Measured Heel-to-Toe Drop: 10 mm

We think the Puma Velocity Nitro 3 is a great shoe choice for most days, whether you want to take it easy or push the pace. With a decent stack of Puma’s supercritical NITRO foam, it’s relatively lightweight, smooth, and responsive. The upper is breathable and has excellent lockdown, although the toebox does run a bit narrow. The PumaGrip outsole performs very well on a range of road surfaces, from ice to dirt and everything in between. The versatility makes this shoe our first choice when we travel; it’s comfortable for long runs on unknown roads and responsive enough to get the job done during workouts.

Puma added a little stack height to this new version of the Velocity Nitro, which increases comfort but reduces overall stability. This is a neutral shoe with a good ground feel and is probably not the best for runners who need significant amounts of lateral stability. It is also heavier than average for the group, although we did not feel the weight on our runs. Overall, this is a solid pick for most runners, from beginner to seasoned racer; it can work alone or in a rotation. This level of versatility, combined with its affordable price tag, makes it a great budget buy. Plus, if you shop Puma’s sales, you’ll find great deals, making this an even better value choice. If you like what this shoe has to offer but want a shoe more dedicated to speed, check out the Adidas Adizero Boston 12, which works at a range of paces but is snappier when running fast.

Read more:Puma Velocity Nitro 3 review

Best for Race Day

Nike Vaporfly 3

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Weight (per shoe): 7.24 oz | Measured Heel to Toe Drop: 10mm

The Nike Vaporfly 3 combines extremely responsive ZoomX foam with aggressive geometry and a carbon plate to provide excellent race-day performance. The Vaporfly saves significant weight with a thin upper that still provides good lockdown. The geometry of this shoe propels you forward on each stride and helps keep your form stable and efficient towards the end of hard efforts. This is our favorite race-day shoe. While it was originally designed for marathons, we’ve found it to be extremely fast and effective in road races all the way down to one mile.

The focus on pure speed does come with a few drawbacks. The Vaporfly is pretty unstable, which can make cornering at high speeds difficult and lead to issues on uneven surfaces. And while traction is solid on dry, paved surfaces, we found ourselves looking for a better bite on wet pavement and hard-packed dirt. If the lack of stability is an issue for you, the Saucony Endorphin Pro 4 offers more in this area and still is an extremely fast shoe. This aside, the Vaporfly is an expert at hard efforts and fast races. It isn’t a shoe for everyday use and is quite an investment, but if you’re looking for some help chasing that next PR on the roads, this is the shoe we’d recommend.

Read more:Nike Vaporfly 3 review

Best for Performance without a Plate

New Balance FuelCell Rebel v4

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Weight Per Shoe (Size 10.5): 7.98 oz | Heel-to-Toe Drop: 5 mm

We love the light and responsive ride of the New Balance FuelCell Rebel v4, regardless of pace. The FuelCell foam is soft and bouncy, providing excellent cushioning for longer efforts and engaging pep for workouts. The lightweight and stripped-back upper suggests it’s meant for fast running, but it has plenty of comfort for easy cruises as well. We’ve used the Rebel v4 for everything from long runs to speed workouts, and think it has excellent versatility. The shoe also sports a wider, stable base that makes it a very approachable shoe.

Our only gripe is related to fit; the shoe runs slightly short. We noticed some rubbing on our big toenail during long runs. Otherwise, the fit is excellent, with plenty of volume in the toe-box for runners with wide feet and the ability to get a secure lockdown even if your feet are narrow. There are very few runners we wouldn’t recommend this shoe to. We think it can work as a do-it-all shoe or as a non-plated option for faster workouts. We’ve loved using it for uptempo long runs thanks to the relaxed yet responsive ride, and while it doesn’t have quite as much snap as some plated options, it’s close. Runners who want a similarly lightweight, non-plated daily trainer might enjoy the Hoka Mach 6, which is very similar but has a narrower fit and firmer ride.

Best for Fun Recovery Runs

Saucony Triumph 21

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Weight (per shoe): 10.37 oz | Heel-to-Toe Drop: 11mm

If you want a fun shoe to coast in, look no further than the Saucony Triumph 21. The thick chunk of PWRRUN+ foam absorbs impacts well and gives good energy return, making it our favorite shoe for easy runs, no matter the distance. The rubber outsole provides excellent grip on all surfaces. The upper fits well, and we experienced no hot spots during testing, even when we started runs with existing blisters.

The thick chunk of foam is great for giving your legs a break, but it isn’t the most stable on uneven terrain. We also found that the PWRRUN+ foam seemed to mold to our footstrike over time more than some other shoes, meaning it likely isn’t the best for runners looking for support. This also isn’t a light shoe — it can handle marathon paces, but it isn’t the one we’d grab for a threshold session or faster. We love the Triumph for our easy days and recommend it for most runners who want a comfortable and smooth cushioned ride to cruise in. If you like the sound of the Triumph and want a faster-paced trainer to round out your rotation, we recommend taking a look at the Adidas Adizero Boston 12 as well.

Read more:Saucony Triumph 21

Compare Products

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Score	Product	Price
74	Nike Vaporfly 3 Best for Race Day	$260
73	Asics Novablast 4 Best Overall Men’s Running Shoe	$140
73	Saucony Endorphin Speed 4 Best Running Shoe for Uptempo Training	$170
73	Nike Alphafly 3	$285
72	Saucony Endorphin Pro 4	$225
70	New Balance FuelCell Rebel v4 Best for Performance without a Plate	$140
68	Puma Velocity Nitro 3 Best Bang for Your Buck	$135
68	Puma Deviate Nitro 2	$160
66	On Cloudsurfer 7	$160
65	Hoka Mach 6	$140
62	Adidas Adizero Boston 12	$160
60	Reebok Floatride Energy 5	$110
59	Hoka Clifton 9	$145
58	New Balance FuelCell Propel v4	$110
58	Saucony Kinvara 14	$120
58	Altra Torin 7	$150
58	Asics Gel-Kayano 30	$160
57	Saucony Triumph 21 Best for Fun Recovery Runs	$160
57	New Balance Fresh Foam X More V4	$150
57	Asics Gel-Nimbus 26	$160
57	New Balance FuelCell SuperComp Trainer v2	$180
55	Topo Magnifly 5	$135
55	Brooks Adrenaline GTS 23	$140
48	Brooks Ghost 15	$140
42	Hoka Bondi 8	$165

Why Trust WebProCare

Our running experts have tested hundreds of pairs of shoes over the last decade — and more than 80 pairs of men’s road running shoes specifically. Before even starting tests, we complete extensive market research to determine which competitors are worthy of entering the lineup. We then purchase each product, take copious in-house measurements, and send each contender through extensive hands-on testing on the road. We utilize tester experience combined with data gathered by our in-house testing team to produce detailed reviews for our readers.

To analyze all aspects of a running shoe’s performance, we devised a comprehensive testing plan. Each shoe is put through a rigorous set of runs. First, each shoe completes a standardized 6-mile test loop that contains hardpacked dirt, loose gravel, asphalt, concrete, and grass surfaces. Additionally, each shoe in our current lineup has run through at least:

• One threshold workout of 6-10 miles

• One long run of 90-120 minutes

• One shorter recovery run

• One session of alactic hill sprints

• One session of 3k-5k paced work

• 2-3 sets of mile-paced strides

Most shoes log significantly more than this over the course of testing.

We then score each shoe on five weighted metrics:

• Cushioning and Landing Comfort (25% of overall score weighting)

• Responsiveness (25% weighting)

• Stability (20% weighting)

• Upper Comfort (15% weighting)

• Weight (15% weighting)

The cushioning and landing comfort and responsiveness metrics each hold 25% of the overall score weighting, much higher than the other test metrics. Collectively, that’s 50% of a product’s overall score. We think these are the two most important factors in a runner’s experience of a shoe, and we weigh them as such. During testing, we note subjective measures of comfort or discomfort during runs of various lengths, on different surfaces, and at different paces. We also complete side-by-side testing to compare geometry, ride, and foam resilience.

Lead tester Nathaniel Bailey has always loved running. He competed in track and cross country at the middle school, high school, and collegiate levels and now continues to chase “fast” times on the roads. Nathaniel coaches high school and recreational runners, sharing his passion for the sport and continuing to develop his knowledge of running and physiology. When he’s not thinking about running (pretty rare), he’s doing something like cycling unsupported across the United States with his wife, camping in the backcountry, or trying new recipes at home.

Analysis and Test Results

We’ve tested the best men’s running shoes by evaluating five key performance metrics that we believe capture a shoe’s overall performance. The test metrics include cushioning and landing comfort, responsiveness, upper comfort, lateral stability and support, and weight. Between our article on buying advice for running shoes and our detailed review, we believe you’ll find the best running shoe for your needs and budget here. Read on to see how each contender performs in the different test metrics.

Value

Value is a huge consideration when you’re logging miles. Some runners want to get the most mileage per dollar they can, while others care more about performance than durability. The Puma Velocity Nitro 3 is our favorite model for value, blending great performance, versatility, and durability at a reasonable price. The Reebok Floatride Energy 5 and the Hoka Mach 6 also provide solid all-around performance and a lower list price than many other shoes in the test.

Cushioning and Landing Comfort

This category is a rating of how comfortable a shoe is underfoot as we run. We want our running shoes to reduce the pounding our legs feel over miles of running. We’ve tested various models that claim to have different levels of cushioning to narrow down what we feel are the best models at various paces.

One useful metric when assessing cushioning is stack height. Typically, the higher the stack height, the more cushioned a shoe is.

That isn’t always the case, though; some shoes, like the Hoka Bondi 8, have a huge stack height but also have firm and non-resilient foam, making for a disappointing ride.

The Nike Vaporfly 3, Saucony Triumph 21, and Asics Gel-Nimbus 26 earned some of the highest scores in this category but are three extremely different shoes. The Vaporfly is very well-cushioned and does an excellent job of saving your legs over long, hard efforts on the roads. It’s also extremely responsive, which makes it highly difficult to run comfortably at easy paces. The Triumph 21 is bouncy and smooth. It’s our favorite shoe for easy runs, regardless of the distance. The cushioning feels bottomless and does a great job of leaving your legs fresh on longer recovery runs. While it can handle some faster paces, we wouldn’t go out of our way to use it in a workout.

The Gel-Nimbus 26 is a one-trick pony, but it does that one trick very well. It’s great for slow and easy miles and is very enjoyable for recovery runs. In that sense, it’s similar to the Saucony Triumph 21, but it just isn’t as responsive. Even marathon-paced efforts in this shoe feel like a struggle.

The Puma Velocity Nitro 3 is a great compromise that provides plush cushioning with the ability to hit faster paces. This shoe ended up with a high rank in our review thanks to its balanced performance and excellent price point.

Responsiveness

Feeling fast is fun, so we’re always looking for shoes that give us an extra edge when the pace drops. We test each shoe at a variety of paces, looking for a snappy toe-off, good energy return, and the ability to maintain a fast pace with ease. Nothing is more frustrating than feeling like you’re fighting a shoe during a run, so this metric significantly affected our opinion of each pair.

The Nike Vaporfly 3 had the highest level of responsiveness in our testing, closely followed by the Nike Alphafly 3. This makes sense, considering they’re both race shoes designed for speed and propulsion. Our male testers felt that the Vaporfly was more agile in corners and more responsive to pace changes, making it a better option for various distances. On the other hand, our female testers preferred the comfort and propulsion provided by the Alphafly. Your experience may vary, but we think the Alphafly is best for long-distance races on relatively smooth and straight courses. We’d pick the Vaporfly for anything under a full marathon. Both are excellent choices but with slightly different ideal applications.

Among everyday shoes, the Saucony Endorphin Speed 4 and the Adidas Adizero Boston 12 perform extremely well. They’re very similar shoes, combining great cushioning with responsiveness that we loved during faster efforts. Both utilize a stiffening agent (glass-infused rods for the Boston, a nylon plate for the Endorphin Speed) to provide a snappy toe-off and the sensation of rolling along with ease.

Among non-plated options, the New Balance Rebel v4 and the Hoka Mach 6 stand out as light, rockered, responsive options. They accomplish the same task in a different way; the Rebel v4 has a bouncy and soft ride, while the Mach 6 feels firmer and fast rolling. Both are excellent choices. One note on sizing: our male testers with “normal” width feet found that the Mach 6 ran uncomfortably narrow and much preferred the wider fit of the Rebel. In contrast, our female testers preferred the fit of the Mach 6 and found the wider upper of the Rebel to detract from the overall experience. If you’re interested in the Mach 6 and have normal-to-wide feet, you might consider opting for the wide version or the Rebel v4.

Stability

Stability is important to reduce the chance of pain and injury. Our testing lineup features a wide range of offerings for every type of runner. Support is one of the most personal choices in shoes; some runners prefer less support in favor of responsiveness, while others seek out a shoe that holds their foot in a certain position. For those in the latter group, we test each shoe over various gradients and surfaces to give you our top picks that are both stable and supportive.

The Asics Gel-Kayano 30 provides the best support and stability in the test. It utilizes a wide platform to provide inherent stability and uses geometry rather than medial posting to keep your foot moving forward. It’s also well cushioned, although our testers who land heel-midfoot found the cushioning more comfortable than those who land mid-forefoot.

Stability shoes are tricky — we are glad to see an industry shift towards stability shoes that use less medial posting and are more inherently stable neutral trainers. That’s more in keeping with most current peer-reviewed evidence. You might need support depending on your natural mechanics, but remember that shoes are not a solution to mechanical issues. You should work with a running-focused physical therapist or sports medicine doctor to resolve those mechanical issues rather than self-diagnose your running mechanics and attempt to address them with a shoe.

Brooks is known for making stable shoes, and the Adrenaline GTS 23 and Ghost 15 follow that trend. We also found that the Asics Novablast 4 and Bondi 8 provide strong lateral stability thanks to a wide base. Similarly, both the Puma Velocity Nitro and Deviate Nitro provide a strong lockdown and a stable base that performs well on uneven surfaces and hard impacts.

Upper Comfort

A shoe’s upper can make or break a running experience, as hotspots or blisters can quickly ruin your day. We keep our testing standard by using the same pair of running socks during our first test loop. After that, we mix it up, running in thicker and thinner pairs. High on our list of priorities is a snug fit that keeps our foot stable and provides confidence through corners and uneven terrain. We want an upper that offers good support and locks down our heel without our toes feeling cramped. The tongue has to wrap our midfoot precisely, and the laces have to hold us snugly without causing pressure or hotspots.

The Asics Gel-Nimbus 26 earns one of the highest scores for upper comfort. The stretchy knit upper provides great lockdown and a snug feeling without creating hotspots. It’s easily our favorite in the test.

The On Cloudsurfer 7 has a light and breathable upper that also provides great all-day comfort, as does the Asics Novablast 4.

This is another area where Brooks shoes are known to excel. The Ghost 15 has a comfy and soft upper, and it’s easy to get the lacing right. The Adrenaline GTS 23 feels snug with excellent lockdown and a gusseted tongue that stays put. The only caveat to the upper comfort for these two kicks is that they both tend to run a bit warm.

Weight

Lighter shoes are almost always faster. In fact, plenty of studies have shown significant benefits to running economy when shoe weights are reduced. Unsurprisingly, we typically prefer lighter shoes, but there are some exceptions. Particularly on easier days, we’re fine with a heavier shoe if it provides some extra cushion and stability.

Weight often differs from the manufacturer listings, and we weigh each size 10.5 per shoe in-house to compare each pair more accurately.

The Nike Vaporfly 3 is one of the lightest shoes in our test. The Saucony Kinvara 14 and the New Balance Rebel v4 are both lightweight options for daily training. All three shoes save weight thanks to minimalist upper fabrics. Although not the very lightest, the Hoka Mach 6, the Saucony Endorphin Pro 4, and the Saucony Endorphin Speed 4 all weigh below average for the group, and we like them for our faster efforts due to their lightweight upper and fabrics. All feel agile and quick.

There is often a tradeoff with lightweight designs when it comes to overall stability and predicted durability. Many lightweight designs use thinner and lighter upper materials or reduce or eliminate the rubber tread on the outsole. More traditionally designed shoes with padded uppers and durable outsoles are among the heavier designs we tested.

Conclusion

Finding the perfect running shoe isn’t easy (there’s a reason so many runners have a rotation), but after spending hundreds of hours and logging dozens of miles in these shoes, we hope we can at least make it easier for you. Don’t forget to check out our individual gear reviews linked throughout this article for more detailed information about each design. We hope that this review will help you find the right shoe for your fitness needs and budget, and one that will provide you with an awesome running experience.