Merrell Men's Altalight Hiking Shoes or Saucony Men's Freedom 5 Running Shoes

The Freedom 5 hasn't fared as well with reviewers as the 4th iteration. Check the RunRepeat page. The v4 is a nice walk-around shoe. I like to slip it on for short trips to the store. But I wouldn't run in it despite the Pebax midsole. It's more of a casual shoe.

The Asics Magic Speed series originally seemed compelling to me but as I have become more familiar with Asics GuideSole models such as the EvoRide and GlideRide I have soured on Asics in general. These models, Magic Speed included, use either overly firm midsoles or rigid plates that lead to a proscriptive ride. The shoes are simply too inflexible to be enjoyable. Unsurprisingly, there's a few reviews for the Magic Speed 2 on Running Warehouse noting with dissatisfaction the firmness of the midsole. The Magic Speed 2 uses two different plates, one carbon and another either unexpanded Pebax or TPU, which seems like overkill. Those plates negate the cushioning of the FF Blast foam.

The other shoes Sierra currently has are no better. There's been a paucity of compelling options from this retailer. They only seem to get the unwanted scraps that other retailers don't want to touch.

I agree with everything you said about the freedoms. I like the freedom 4 as a casual shoe, although it took me some coming around because initially I was disappointed it was firmer (with pebax) than version 3 with pwrrun plus. For what it's worth, several sizes of the 4th version in black are available for $47 from marathon sports. Free shipping with code slickdeals (there's another post on marathon sports shoe deals right now).

https://shop.marathonsports.com/p...2120015933

Be careful buying from these places. They typically sell defected shoes. Bought a pair from a previous SD and they were 18 months old on the production tag. Foam in the shoes can only go 12-18 months before it breaks down and the glue starts to crack. Plus the stitching was all off and had weird creases. Had to return.

That would surprise me. There haven't been any delayed refreshes with any other Saucony models. Shoe sales are also tanking right now. Check the stock prices for Nike, Crocs, Deckers, and On. All down over the past couple months. Freight data in the US and transoceanic is showing the worst pullback since records have been kept. New Orders in the PMI reports for durables are also tanking into contraction territory. Consumers are pulling back.

There's a still a lot of 2nd generation Endorphins in the sales channel. Quite an overhang of excess inventory on old product. I purchased a pair of Endo Speed 2s for $62 off Amazon (direct) in April. Some merchants have the Pro 2s for under $100. I think one retailer has either the Speed or Pro 2s for as little as $72.

Saucony has the least restraint when it comes to discounting. They always capitulate and end up deep discounting their best models.

Worst case scenario just keep buying the v2 Endorphins for super cheap. The v3s are not worth the full MSRP pricetag.

New Balance is practically giving away their Rebel v3 on their outlet site, Joe's, for $56. That shoe doesn't get a refresh for another 4 months. In April it was available for even less, $52. I like the Rebel as much as the Endo Speed. I will not pay $170 for a shoe.

There's going to be great deals in the coming months on the ye SuperComp Trainer v1, Nike Flyknit Invincible v3, and the Puma Deviate NITRO v2. Already seeing one colorway at a retailer for the Deviate for $100 ($60 off MSRP) with a coupon code and it's not even on clearance yet. The Brooks Catamount 2 is another nice TPU based shoe that is starting to see some discounts well ahead of refresh.

The Nimbus 25 is also seeing some nice discounting even though it doesn't refresh until early 2024. This evidence that retailers are definitely feeling pressure.

Those super deep discounts on the Nike Zoom Fly v5 earlier this year were also notable. They were selling for $100 off more than 6 months away from the refresh. Not that I would buy that brick of a shoe but this price activity bodes well for the more useful Invincible model.

We're a couple months away from a HOKA Mach refresh. Last year a bunch of Mach v4 inventory got bought up TJX Corporation. These Mach 4s ended up selling for $70 on one of TJX's websites, far below the HOKA's stringent MAP guidelines. Eventually TJX slashed the price of the Mach to $40 at their bricks and mortars stores.

It feels like the economy is ready to finally crack. Great deals on running shoes should be forthcoming. These greedy shoe companies that have been marching prices up for the past decade to ridiculous levels need to eat some humble pie. Pebax, TPU, Olefin, nitrogen gas, carbon, and other materials don't warrant the hefty price tags today's shoe command. The earnings reports from Deckers demonstrate how high the profit margins are on running shoes.

Very informative post, thank you. Most running shoes have been lower quality since NB quit their 1060 line around 2011 imo. What are the best brands you think now.? Is it good to only buy top models? Wi th h so many fake reviews its impossible to know what's good.

I had a pair of NB 1040 (?) back in 2009. Those were dinosaur shoes compared to what's available on the market today. Today's midsole foams, even EVA based varieties, are far superior to what existed 12 years ago.

If I had to choose one brand it would probably be Saucony. But every brand has its strengths and fills a niche.

The New Balance 1064 was higher quality materials and more durable than anything they offer for a neutral runner today. They were far better than the asic gel cumulus 13-15s and keyanos of the early years which were all better than the cheap cloth wrapped foam shoes today. Despite not having newer foam, they didn't use 1$ of materials back then and many of the 2010-2014 shoes lasted hundreds of miles more.

I know there are sites that say that, but the word from Saucony reps is that the Speed 4 and Pro 4 aren't being released until Q2 2024. I'm hoping that's incorrect, but I'm not holding my breath on being able to get a pair of 3's for half price anytime soon.