Your Reviews of the Best Neutral and Performance-Neutral Running Shoes?

so all in all, my favs (so far) are:

Brooks Defyance 2

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Asics Gel-Speedstar 4

i look forward to trying others

The far-and-away most underrated performance trainer on the market for neutral cushioning is the Pearl Izumi Streak. Runs like a flat, feels like a trainer. Very soft/cushy upper, very low to the ground, very flexible, very light (9.0 oz. in size 9 I believe) and quite durable... I wore mine until the actual upper itself split, close to 1k miles. Don't let the weight fool you, this isn't a racer that just happens to be durable enough for training, it is a trainer that was designed specifically for biomechanically efficient runners.

Brooks Launch. Probably the only true neutral trainer (non-flat) on the market today. Nothing fancy: no plastic in the midsole, no correction devices, no gimmicks. Just a smooth riding midsole, a no-frills upper, and a durable outsole. Okay, maybe the colors are fancy. I think it's the best shoe out there by far.

I don't see how you can call the Ride and Defyance neutral shoes when they have huge chunks of plastic in the midsole and are based on "stability" trainers.

Terminator4Prez wrote:

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Asics Gel-Speedstar 4

are those different than the 3's? i bought the 3s on a whim and they kind of sucked.

Laybrawn Jaymez wrote:

Terminator4Prez wrote:

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Asics Gel-Speedstar 4

are those different than the 3's? i bought the 3s on a whim and they kind of sucked.

probably depends what you're looking for. I've actually never tried the speedstar 3s (yellow ones). The 4s (dark red ones) are lighter than the 3s and have new asymmetric lacing like the latest two or three DS-Trainers XIV(14) to newest one (are they on the 16 now?) have. Some say the speedstar 4's dont feel like a flat at all though because they have too much cushioning/softness feel. But they are supposed to be a performancetype trainer so maybe that's why they have a lot of extra softness

countdown to launch wrote:

I don't see how you can call the Ride and Defyance neutral shoes when they have huge chunks of plastic in the midsole and are based on "stability" trainers.

Yeah, you're right...I'd say that Progrid Ride 2 has more of a divider gap of plastic between the forefoot and the heel part. Plus the heel is kinda higher off the ground. Anthony Fam. and Nate Jenkins train in the Ride2s because they get them through sponsor. The Defyance 2 has some of this plastic in the "gap" but not as much - seems mild to me. Thanks for the tip with the Brooks Launch. And from looking at the pics of the Launch, it looks like it's just one outsole all the same throughout - no sort of "gap" of hard plastic between heel area and forefoot. Thanks for the tip man. Why do you think they classify these as neutral? I'm not saying you're right or wrong I'm just curious because maybe this means I'm not really a "neutral" runner or I'm running in a stability-like "neutral" shoe.

Brooks Launch = Best. Shoe. Ever.

Give the Adidas glide a try. Really soft, super responsive, light.

BTW has anyone tried the Adistar Solution? It's their new nuetral shoe, was wondering if it is basically Adidas' version of the Asics Landreth.

I'm telling you, Launch is good, Streak is better...

I tried the Pearl Izumi Streak, and they're okay. The upper is comfy, but the midsole/outsole aren't great. The last is too straight, and the plastic support bridge is annoying. And what's with the lip at the back of the shoe?

Pearl Izumi makes their shoes "different" to stand out from the crowd, but sometimes different isn't good.

What's this idea that because shoes have plastic bridge, they aren't "neutral?"

Why do 95-96% of "Neutral" classified shoes still have a bit of plastic in between?

Not knocking you, just wondering what the deal is. Help me out there. Thanks.

I dont think I've ever owned a pair of shoes that don't have a little plastic bridge. So what's the deal here? Thanks.

No problem.

Back in the day running shoes didn't have the arch cut out. To save weight some manufacturers started removing the EVA and rubber from underneath the arch. Well this led to a lack of rigidity for heel strikers, so they put plastic in the midsole to limit torsion.

For midfoot strikers, this plastic is pointless. It serves no purpose. Shoes like the Launch are ideal because they have provide constant contact with the ground.

Add me to the list of Launch fans.

I wore the Defyance 1 and liked it, but by the time I got the 2 I just felt like it was a bit clunky. Landreth was always too wide for me. The Skylon was probably my favorite over the last few years, but, well, Nike just couldn't leave a good thing alone.

I was thinking of trying Speedstar 4's, but I'm worried they'd be too wide for my foot. Any fit comments from people who have tried them?

I agree about the skylon. The last one was sweet. The newer one has lost some flexibility and something weird happened t the toe box. I run in adizero aces and the adizero trail shoe (xt?) and absolutely love both of them. So I'm looking for a adizero model more cushioned than the ace but with a similar fit and ride. My choice, I think, is the boston? Anyone know anything about that one?

VF Runner wrote:

Add me to the list of Launch fans.

I wore the Defyance 1 and liked it, but by the time I got the 2 I just felt like it was a bit clunky. Landreth was always too wide for me. The Skylon was probably my favorite over the last few years, but, well, Nike just couldn't leave a good thing alone.

I was thinking of trying Speedstar 4's, but I'm worried they'd be too wide for my foot. Any fit comments from people who have tried them?

Also, if you're using a neutral trainer you probably want a flexible shoe. So why would you add something artificially rigid to the shoe?

the brooks ghost 2 was a great shoe...until they made the launch. blew it out of the water.

Will there be any way to get the Launch in non-Hansons colors? the colors are fine for races and tempo runs, but for an everyday trainer when im just running easy i think id rather have something not as flashy. justme though. still gonna try them either way

I tried the Ghost 2. Shape and fit is great. Only minor issue is arch is high in the insole which isn't bad but more than I'm used to.