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The Run Testers Awards 2024 | The best running shoes, watches and headphones of the year
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The latest episode of the podcast is our annual Run Testers Awards ceremony. We pick our top picks for running products across a range of categories: Race shoes, daily shoes, cushioned shoes, trail shoes, watches, headphones, and the audience award for best running shoe.
Download, stick your headphones on and make the best of that long run.
Big thanks to Fear of Tigers for the killer intro music. You can listen to more of his stuff over at https://www.patreon.com/fearoftigers
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Transcript
Welcome and Overview of Runtesters Awards 2024
00:00:04
Speaker
Hey, Tommy from The Runtesters and welcome to The Runtesters Awards 2024. This is where we pick our top picks across a range of categories, including best running headphones, best running watches and a series of different categories covering different types of shoes. This is also available as a video version, so if you'd rather watch it, then listen, then maybe don't listen to this podcast. Right, let's dive in and see what we all picked this year.
00:00:38
Speaker
Evening Runcestors, what's going down? Good evening. Good evening. Evening, evening. How are we all? Good. The energy, the energy is, yeah. We're all high, so high. Really? Yeah. Yeah. Is this is is like a lull before Christmas? ah No, we're all just excited, excited to get to the awards.
Black Friday Deals Discussion
00:01:01
Speaker
I just can't think about anything else but Black Friday, so can we just talk about that?
00:01:06
Speaker
ah I always, feel that nowadays, when it comes to Black Friday, it's like, I don't know, I never know when it actually is, because it just seems like every single post from like a week ago is about Black Friday anyway. so Well, all the deals are here now, because once Amazon goes, that's it, right? Yeah. yeah so on the On the day, there'll be a couple of extra deals, but they can't beat deals they've already given earlier in the month because people will just return everything, won't they? so yeah yeah I think ah think it's ah it's it's very much a month-long extravaganza these days, which is which is great for those in the industry of having to write about these things. yeah This is all of us. I don't have to do it anymore, it's an absolute joy. That's true. this Yeah, although the others don't seem to be that good these days. I seem to remember there was a time when there were like some really good deals, but I've not spotted any. Garmin deals have just got really good. They're just, there's not, I mean, it's still expensive, but they have just knocked like 20% off everything. So all of the watches are like the cheapest they've ever been, which I mean, it kind of makes, you you never should buy a Garmin at full price, I
Garmin Watch Discounts
00:02:05
Speaker
think it's fair to say. Does that include the new ones as well? Well, apart from the Phoenix 8, like the 965, 265, 165, they're all 20% off kind of thing. And that just brings them down to the price of their main rivals, which I guess is is how it works, isn't it really? So the Garmin 265, for example, is now the same price as the Corus Pace Pro and the Polar Vantage M3. So top tips for and watch buyers. I've got a lot of tips, but I've been, I've been writing this stuff. So. Well, let's avoid the fact that it's black Friday and let's talk about Sunday. I don't want to say it again. I'll never say it again. Well, you can think about, uh, oh, well, let's just reduce though, actually, to be fair. What is the more flight? How can you reduce the more flight? It's already such good value. Imagine, imagine better value more flights. I can't actually imagine it.
00:03:00
Speaker
ah fine and everything else alright Well, let's, uh, let's talk about, uh, it's coming towards the end of the year. Normally by this point, I'd normally, I'd expect that most of us wouldn't be doing much, but we've actually, half of us are about to do a marathon. So, uh, Nick, you've just raced and you may have got Valencia in
Nick's Paris Racing Experience
00:03:17
Speaker
two weeks. Yeah, I went to ho went to Paris over the weekend with Hoka for the Paris Centre 10K, which was great. like a really it's basic It feels to me a lot like the winter run in the UK, like that kind of twisting central course, very fun, good atmosphere. um Not necessarily that fast, but I ran like my second fastest 10K, my fastest 10K not on a course that has a big stretch of downhill in it, so that's good. Good sign for Valencia because I was pretty chill going into it. and um
00:03:43
Speaker
It was a really good event, like really well organized, very fun, a bit wet and Paris has so many cobbles, more cobbles than London. it' So basically you are running on like a death traps at all times, but um didn't fall over. So
Upcoming Races and Training Plans
00:03:56
Speaker
that's good. And yeah, around a good time and really enjoyed myself. So all looking good for Valencia. I've got a very ambitious aim for Valencia now. I'm going to try and go to try and go sub 2.25. Oh, where we going? Yeah. Well, I had a good good good run at London, got a good PB this year already. So might as well have a little shot to nothing at Valencia, I guess. Very nice. All right. Kieran, what's going down with your running vibes? There's less eventful. Yeah, no races for the rest of the year. and I'm just plodding around in the rain now and in the cold with all my layers on You look like a down December though, Kieran. You're into that so much. I can't wait to, yeah. So it's just, yeah, nice nice and quiet. I've um started to think about next year that I've just got myself a place at the Trans Grand Canaria to do the marathon out there and with an all face. so Up and down, is that I assume?
00:04:46
Speaker
Yeah, it's going to be, yeah, I can't remember the elevation, but I was offered like the 80k or the the really long one. And for once I decided I was going to take the yeah the cowards route out and just going to join myself for the weekend. But I think thinking thinking about the comrades again, just having did the to the this is what happened. This is what happened to my friends. They did it
Valencia Marathon Preparation
00:05:06
Speaker
once they just come back every year. It's gone on sale so the place has just opened up and yeah so mainly I've been doing a lot of running in the rain and thinking about race to sign up for next year but yeah but you're off to Valencia as well Tom and Eva it's gonna happen. It is happening I'm going I'm feeling actually surprisingly optimistic about it I don't think I get a PB but I'm feeling pretty fast at the moment. You had a good 10k at the weekend?
00:05:29
Speaker
Ridiculously surprising. the bright and ten k I I went down. there I've not raced a short distance race for quite a long time. and I had a fairly positive Manchester half with Mike a few few weeks back, but I didn't think I'd be under 38 for a 10k.
00:05:45
Speaker
So yeah, and I wasn't actually trying for that when I started doing the 10K, so I'm a bit annoyed because I went out the night before. So now I wish I hadn't gone out the night before and maybe knocked off 10 seconds and got a new PB. But no, it was a perfect day for it. I mean, it's just this unique that if you get a perfect day on the coastal races, they are the best races because they're so flat.
00:06:08
Speaker
Yeah well I did that then last year and it was crazy blowing in one direction so it was a ridiculously quick first 5k and then madness second half but my friend did it as well and said it was great conditions. Oh yeah and this race is it's just you run down the seafront and then you turn around and come back so you've got loads of switchbacks or anything it's just really quick. The same place to do the part run but yeah no it's really good. um So yeah I'm going for a sub three in Valencia.
00:06:34
Speaker
nice fine That's my aim. um And I'm not going out the night before like I did in Barcelona. Are you going out with all your mates though, aren't you? so Yeah, but they're fit pretty serious about it this year. They've all been training properly for it. So I think we're going to avoid each other the day before and just just get an early night. Mike, how are you? I'm all right. I have not got a marathon to train for. I'm definitely kind of looking working out what I'm going to do for next year. So at the moment, just kind of keeping the running ticking over it to decide what I want to do. I probably will try and do a race before the end of the year. Not deciding what yet, but probably will be a ah shorter distance one. um And then, yeah, just trying to kind of work out what. ah To be honest, catching up on some putting some more models and shoes I've really liked this year, which, you know, is kind of This is kind of a good opportunity when there's probably quite a launch window for shoes So it's been quite nice to go back in and get back and put some money some shoes I really like it this year, which is kind of good timing for the world So yeah, not decided what I'm gonna do marathon wise next year just yet But I'm I'm working on that. So yeah, it will be something but I'm hopefully I'll have a spring marathon and Kind of line up next year I'd still wait for you to come and do a Manchester with me. Maybe. Can I just say as well, Mike, I'm um really, really enjoying the yeah the old school Humbro football training to pro top. It's such a big go. It's taking the colours on them, like 70s colours. I know people on the podcast have seen it, but Mike is basically wearing an Humbro training top from the Glen Hodles days. Is it a team top or is it just black? No, a little fine in a vintage shop at the weekend, so very happy with this wine. Speaking of teams, we're all very excited to see Tom's joined Wickham Wanderers. i go check you tom's instagram I had a few comments on Instagram and I, uh, I didn't really, I don't know anything about football. So I was like, who's that? Tom, Tom, dear Tom's new club. They've absolutely ripped off the wick and wondrous quadrants in different blues. Unbelievable to see the kit yet. so probably All right. Well, let's talk a bit about kit.
Wahoo Kickr Treadmill Review
00:08:50
Speaker
I got very exciting things to talk about actually today. I went and ran on the Wahoo Kickr run treadmill, the one that changes speed as you kind of move around the belt. And it was everything I hoped for and more. It really surpassed expectations. Like it's amazing. Like it really, really works. You kind of just running and you lean forward a bit and you land a bit further forward. It's not entirely as natural as just speeding up on an outdoor run, but it feels very good. It feels very easy to do. You can lock into a pace even in that mode and you can obviously you can go out of that mode. It was,
00:09:18
Speaker
just a joy to run on like it's a really big running belt open front that run free mode it laterally tilts as well so just creates like a genuinely realistic experience in a way that lost treadmores of aim to do and yeah I'm really impressed basically it's obviously very expensive not to the UK next year but it's out in the US now at five thousand dollars which it's a weird price because like it's it's a very novel thing like it's got a top speed that equivalent, you only really find on like 10 grand treadmills goes up to four, four minute mile page, which I did very briefly. That was, that was terrifying. Um, so really they could pay any price on it. They could have come out to us 10 grand and like no one really know if that's good or bad because it's, you know, it's all new features and very high spec. So yeah, I'm really impressed with it. i Especially at the moment at home, I'm testing a $400 treadmill, which, um, has a running belt that is, it goes up to a 10 miles now. You you cannot run that speed on the belt as that size. It's a, it's an absolute menace. Um,
00:10:09
Speaker
But it is pretty good value for a treadmill that you run at slower speeds, obviously. But yeah, that Wahoo really impressed me, I have to say. Well, the Wahoo actually, you can just run faster without pressing any buttons in it. It ultimately speeds up. It's got a special mode, run-free mode. basically you run it It has a sensor that looks at your flight time, your cadence. and As you land near the belt and start to like take more strides and lengthen your stride a bit, it starts to speed up naturally. And then if you drift back on the belt, it slows down. and That means you can't fall off it because if you start going to the back of the bed, it stops because it senses you're at the back of the belt and slows down that way. And yeah, so it's, it really is like, if you want to do it and it also accelerates unbelievably, like terrifyingly quickly. Like I was holding the paddle to put up like top speed and I was like, ah I'm already running a four minute mark, but this is terrifying. So for intervals, it's amazing because obviously you just start striding out, you can accelerate really quickly. And so I did like a little section at marathon pace. And because you have, to if you're in that run three mode, run three mode, you have to think about the pace you're running. You actually, it's kind of a bit more engaging though. So, you know, if you slap us treadmill on marathon pace, sit there for an hour, run your marathon pace, it's just, it feels like treadmills doing a lot of the work for you. But if you if you actually have to engage and move forward to kind of get that pace in the right zone, it's maybe a little bit more, like I say, a bit more realistic all around.
00:11:17
Speaker
Well, it sounds like a Karen's dream. you You can run to feel on a treadmill. that's but ah It's making me think back to early days of swift running where they had, I'm thinking about they put us on with a virtual headset on and had us on a treadmill. And at the time, this is years and years ago where the sensors where you moved on the belt picked up and slowed and kind of sped up the treadmill and helped you kind of position yourself. But that was a long time ago. So it sounds like maybe this is something that they finally they finally nail. But that yeah caughtline the idea of that kind of more natural feel where you yeah you're going to have to sort of control the pace rather than just whacking the belt, jump on, and then get it to control you. which is But I was a bit worried that it would just if you're just running normally and not paying attention, like I was obviously on my phone playing Pokemon. And um I thought you know I was worried that I'd start drifting around and I'd go back and forth. But actually, no, you kind of do naturally settle into the spot on the treadmill, which maintains the speed. And that, again, makes it feel more realistic. It's not something slowing down for no reason. and
00:12:14
Speaker
It can control Zwift and do the hills and that, gave that a try. The only thing, and this is this is a bit odd, like so they the console is designed to be as minimal as possible, so it just shows ah your incline and your pace. It shows pace rather than speed, so it actually shows what you know you'd see on your watch, like per kilometres or per miles. It does not show total time or distance. It doesn't even measure that.
00:12:33
Speaker
So I was running, you have to have an app, you know, to record all that. So I was running and at the end, I don't know how far I'd run because by what obviously watches are a bit random on a treadmill. So I had a rough idea, but um because I hadn't set the Wahoo app going, i I had it linked to Zwift for some of it, but not the whole thing. So I thought, I mean, I like the idea of a minimal console, but I would like to see total time and distance in front of me as well as pace and everything. Like if it was like a small concession to normality. But um other than that, no, reporters oh I had a little bit of static buzz when I was using the paddles, but that might've been because of the shoes I was using.
00:13:04
Speaker
Yeah, really comfortable. Would you feel more comfortable doing intervals in that mix? I know sometimes you think when you're doing your interval sessions, you'd rather be doing it out, you know, oh yeah I don't do any intervals. I'm sure I'm gonna help it. Yeah, 100%. Because it feels more natural. It feels like harder work. It feels and like the nut, not harder, but the right level of work is also just a very good treadmill force to eat if you don't use that mode.
00:13:22
Speaker
It accelerates really quickly. It's got a big open front and a big running belt, so you don't feel worried about clipping things or folding off the back. and yeah so It's just a great treadmill full stop, you know similar level to things like a peloton or the top techno gyms, and then you have this extra kind of really novel feature. yeah i've got a video I've got a video I've got to come out on this week, the first round impressions of it, because We won't get it in the UK, I think, until quite late next year probably, but it is out in the US now. um It is also massive, so it's one it's one of those ones where you not only need to think about the space around you, you have to think of clearance because it's it's quite high off the ground. but yeah I loved using it. I would say like I went in excited because the DC Rainmaker confirmed it works. He's not like a gimmick. It's amazing, and I was really excited to try it, and it lived up to that excitement.
Nova Blast 5 Launch
00:14:04
Speaker
Okay, so ah if you're not looking to spend 5,000 pounds on your treadmill, is there any shoes or kit that we've tested recently that anyone, well we haven't really talked about on the channel yet? Nova Blast 5 maybe? Nova Blast, got great shout. yeah Quite a big one. Obviously it's not launching until, well not globally launching until December, so we've we've got it nice and early before it launches. Obviously we're all kind of big fans there. No, we've lost four. This feels like it's taking it. You know, obviously there's awesome changes here. There's the changes is in terms of the upper. Obviously the midsole is the big story here. That's a big change. I think we've all kind of felt it's it's definitely delivered a different experience. And obviously so we've got our kind of a first run video app on the channel. And yeah. For me, it feels like another very good noblest. I think I'm still on the fence whether I prefer it to noblest, or just now I've done a, I mean, post the kind of first run, I've done another run in it and had the exactly the same experience from it. But I think, yeah, I mean, I think it feels like it's going to be another good kind of solid noblest installment. And I assume that it's, you know, is, is going to appeal to a lot of runners still like the previous versions. Well, I was interested, have you, have you run in it yet, Karen? Yeah, yeah, I went out. I've been to I did another one today as well. And I yeah first run, I actually felt like it was a bit more kind of lively. Today I was out and maybe I was a bit more tired, legs are a bit heavier. And I just felt it was a little bit more sluggish. So initially, I was quite excited about how there was quite a lot of energy coming back. It was it definitely softer, I think. But
00:15:30
Speaker
this time I just felt it dragged me down a bit so I've kind of had two runs that have split me at the moment so I'm looking forward to doing a few more miles to see how that falls out whether it's whether I was just feeling rubbish today and the shoe helped me out by or compounded that feeling of rubbishness or you know the other run I was feeling great I don't know I'm gonna see but Yeah, I think it's, it's, it's filling that kind of, it's got an overblast DNA. and I'm thinking maybe I'm going to prefer the four, but I don't know what were we spoke the other day. ah I was thinking that you, you likely that you're probably going to prefer the four just because of that extra softness.
00:16:04
Speaker
I love the five. I'm into the five so far. I think for me, it's not even the foam as much as the way they've trimmed down the back of the caboose on the shoe. They've trimmed off some of that and it makes it just an easier transition. Now it's a shoe for a massive shoe that really I don't feel on the run at all, which is why I always want an easy run shoe. Just kind of, yeah, I think it just disappears in the foot really nicely now. It's got a really smooth, nice feel to it. ah I'm really trying to think fast in it though. I'll give that a go at some point. okay Anything else? You've been testing quite a few things actually, haven't you? nick I've got this pegason pri Pegasus Premium, which is going to be one of the most interesting divisive shoes I think next year. ah It's weird, right? So it this is the new Pegasus. It's the top of the Pegasus range. It's got three frames of the midsole, top layer of Zoom X, a full length air zoom pod, and then a layer of React X underneath just like that. That just goes to the midfoot from the heel. It's big. It's 45 mil stack at the back. All that stuff in the midsole is heavy. It's kind of like 330 grams in my size and it's
00:16:59
Speaker
It's a shoe that I guess is going to go up against things like the Mag Max, that kind of thing. It doesn't it doesn't feel like lively and fast enough to do um you know like like a massive range of training in. Although, I don't know, sometimes it's hard to judge the those shoes because people say the Mag Max is really versatile. I think maybe it's going to be a versatile shoe, maybe for a different kind of runner to me, maybe a heavier runner, maybe more of a bounding runner. but but I liked running in it, but I think it's an easy run shoe for me and ah you know it's really expensive and it's got a very cool look. For me, it almost looks like it's heading towards kind of that ultra boost area where you're going to buy a very cool shoe, use it for walking around to do some runs in as well. um But then I've seen, I believe in the run, but all like loving it. So I was saying it's like an amazing, bouncy, incredible shoe. So maybe other people have a very different experience. but
00:17:37
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, for me, the big new Nike is the Zoom Fly 6, which is amazing, and a real step up on what they had before as a super trainer. So that's what I'm really excited about. But the Pegasus premium is going to be interesting. Comments are very down on it on our channel. Our comments are, yeah, Nike can be a bit divisive, can't they? And they're not huge fans. But, yeah, an interesting issue. It's the only thing prominent that it really tapers in the mid-foot. And If you look at all these super high-stack heavy shoes that are built forever like the Skyward or the Brooks Glycerin Max, they're all quite wide of stability and this doesn't feel like it's going to be very stable. So I think that might i put some people off. Okay. All right. Well, let's ah dive into the big one and the awards.
00:18:16
Speaker
good and ah Lovely.
00:18:28
Speaker
Guys, welcome back to another awards, the Runetesters Awards 2024. It's been quite a big year for Running Kit. We've trusted a lot of shoes this year and some really, really impressive ones. I think you said, Mick, that 2024 is probably your favourite year for running shoe releases for quite some time.
00:18:48
Speaker
Yeah, i I think it's been a great year. like we We're doing our trying to think about our favourite individual five shoes of the year and it's going to be a nightmare for me. There's so many shoes I've loved this year. yeah you're going to You're going to be back and forth with that, aren't you? That's quite easy for me. I did it earlier. um but okay so the the awards um just for people who are new to this we do this every year and it is um we pick a number of categories um and ill we'll go through all these in order but the way that we judge the best shoes best watches and best headphones is that we each vote on the products we think are in the top three of those across each category and then I
00:19:27
Speaker
tally up all the numbers and they will get assigned a different point value and I work out what the actual top three list is of all of the different cascades that we've got in the awards and we also are going to corruption this system Tom just turns out results Well, to be like way you'll see that i' not it's not corrupted this year because none all of my shoes are ah winning. or respect And then we also have the Audience Award, which is where we gave all of you an opportunity to vote on what you thought was the best running shoe of 2024.
00:20:00
Speaker
ah Now, when we're talking about the awards 2024, we're talking about things that were released in 2024. So there were some people that commented and saying, picture her shoes, they were about six years old, which I've i've discounted from this. um But ah yeah, so some interesting awards to come up. So let's dive in and do the first category.
00:20:30
Speaker
Okay. So the first one is best running watch. So Nick, do you want to talk us through what, how we pick the best running watch? Ah, didn't expect him to come with me with the watch. You can swap it with Mike if you want. Mike does the watch usually. Go on, Mike. You do it.
Running Watch Evaluation Criteria
00:20:50
Speaker
Running watch. Okay. Well, I mean, so I think first of all, if you've looked at any of our reviews that we've done on the channel, there's some very kind of clear areas where we kind of focus on in terms of what we would say would stand out for us in terms of being a great watch for running and kind of look at it from a kind of design point of view and that can be everything from the materials in terms of that comfort um you know whether you're wearing it when you're running and outside of running as well too. Then you're kind of looking at the feature sets and it's you know primarily it's about our performance in terms of accuracy but it's also we're looking at if there's any kind of innovation in those features as well too.
00:21:24
Speaker
if, you know, certain brands are pushing the boundaries in terms of what's expected from those types of features as well. And then those kinds of things that we, you know, we kind of expect and may potentially take for granted, but things like battery life as well too, you know, we want something, we're not necessarily going to be charging on a regular basis, or if we are having to do that, there's something to kind of, you know, make, ah you're not making such a big compromise in terms of getting that kind of good level of battery life to keep you tracking your runs and over a week or longer. so you know We're looking across ah price range. We're looking at value as well, too. so There's a lot of things that come into play in terms of picking the overall ones. and that's kind of Hopefully, that's how it'll be represented in our choices. Very good. Much better than Nick would have done. 100%.
00:22:06
Speaker
okay so in this category we've actually this is going to be a recurring theme in the awards we've actually got two winners there this year's best running watch those are the garland phoenix 8 and the chorros pace pro so mike you probably want to be the one to pick this up uh why would we pick those Well, I think so obviously the Garmin Phoenix 8 was quite a late launch in 2024 and the big deal or the big kind of headline story here was ah this was fundamentally Garmin kind of bringing its epics and Phoenix range under one kind of range ultimately. So now with the Phoenix 8 you're getting the option of AMOLED or the solar charging display option. Obviously you're getting multiple sizes as well here too.
00:22:52
Speaker
It's also offering the latest in Garmin software as well, so you're going to see changes in terms of user interface. That's going to impact on features like mapping and navigation support. You're also looking at how that's going to you know bring the software together and make apps and workout tracking feel closer together. Now, I think first and foremost, I think we'd all kind of agree from a design point of view in terms of having that optional display in a Phoenix watch and bringing in those kind of epics um kind of um hardware elements I think it's you know first of all it's a really nice watch to wear you've got those size options ultimately it's got those key things you want from a guy and what's the best of what it offers in terms of sports tracking and then it's also trying to kind of further bridge that gap between being a smartwatcher and a sports watch as well too so you've got these kind of voice enabled features now crucially I think what I would say is what you know those features being brought in haven't made a massive compromise in terms of battery life that's always been
00:23:45
Speaker
the kind of biggest concern I think ultimately when you are introducing AMOLED displays is it going to impact on that battery performance? I think what we've seen in the versions that we've tested that that battery life still very much is there and you're not making those big compromises so I think the Garmin Fenix A that you know despite launching later in the year it's definitely been the one that's kind of stood out for us ah in testing and you know the reason why we've picked it as one and of our favourite running watches or our best running watch for 2024. And then Chorus Pace Pro I think you know again we've seen a lot of watches launched later in 2024. This is a mid-range watch, Chorus's first AMOLED watch as well too and I think you know I think it would have been you know it was very competitive I think in terms of that mid-range space now but I think in terms of what you're getting from the you know at the Coros Pace Pro, you're really building what we've got on the Pace 3. It's obviously not as small and kind of dinky as that watch, but it's kind of upgrading a lot of the features that we saw there. You're getting that AMOLED display. As I said, you're getting that kind of very good battery life performance and that kind of core tracking performance is very good. You're maybe not getting the best in terms of smartwatch and sports watch experience or running watch experience, but I think ultimately there's a good kind of trade-off in what you're getting overall and crucially that price, well, it's more expensive than the Pace 3.
00:24:57
Speaker
I think the price jump and the features you're getting in return really kind of, I think, are justified in terms of what you get overall as a running watch. Wonderful. So other other watches that we cover that we talked about within this shortlist included the Garmin Enduro 3, the Suunto Race S, ah the Garmin 4Runner and the Polar Vantage M3. Right, let's go on to the next one. That is best running headphones.
Running Headphones Evaluation
00:25:36
Speaker
Kieran, do you want to you want yeah explain running headphones? Yeah, I mean, essentially what we look for in running headphones, I think, top of most, we're talking about good quality sound. That's good fit. So it's got to be fit secure. We don't want them dropping out on the floor and we're running good battery life. We want good durability.
00:25:53
Speaker
And then we're kind of looking at things like bells and whistles, you know, if you've got find my buds or you've got customization of the the sound, you know, some people I think in this team will look at ANC, active noise cancellation and the transparency modes and kind of rate those higher among some headphones and others.
00:26:11
Speaker
And yeah, we're just looking at a good sort of all-round package that comes in at a price that offers value. Okay, so there ah there was a very clear winner in this category and that was the Jabra Elite 8 Active 2s. Why did we pick that one? I haven't tested these, so I don't i don't know what we're repeating this one. like We've we tested them, but I don't think we've put a review up. The same as last year's. They offered the same kind of fully well-rounded package as we got last year, and they won the award last year.
00:26:47
Speaker
for very good reason. They've got, you know, for me personally, they've got great fit security, they stay in really tight, they're really comfortable to wear. There's a good competitive battery life as well in them, you're getting kind of around 14 hours, I think, without ANC, that drops to eight hours with ANC, it's an extra 32 in the case, so the overall kind of package of battery life there is really solid.
00:27:08
Speaker
there's I think the app experience and the features and the customization is up there with any headphones you can get. So there's just lots of tools to change the sound profiles, personalize the sound profiles to sort of tweak and store your own sort of sound profile settings. ah The sound quality, it's nice and balanced. You know, you got a good rich sound for me.
00:27:31
Speaker
packs a lot of big kind of big punch. It's got that kind of top volume loudness that you look for in a good set of you motivational running headphones. ah The durability is good of the buds and the case as well. You get durability in the case, which means it's so super portable. If you want to take it out on runs, you don't have to worry about that case getting damaged. Most of the buds in this category tend to be sort of rated for waterproofing, but the cases are often not. And this is one area where it stands apart. I think what else have I missed? I mean,
00:28:00
Speaker
Yeah, I think it's basically the all round package of the Jabra Elite 8 active 2 are really good. The one thing I will say actually though is that the price has jumped up a bit and that's some improvements in the active noise cancellation and the transparency modes. There's some improvements With this generation that factor in the kind of there's extra mics, for call quality, all those kind of things, I think if you're not too bothered about those things, actually last year's award winners would still be recommended on a deal. But those we feel those things have improved enough to make the second generation the award winners this year as well.
00:28:34
Speaker
Okay. um They are always in deals as well. So that is one thing with Jabra. And we're still saying this because Jabra are likely to discontinue their consumer headphones, right? But it does seem like they're going to be supported. So I don't think we have to worry too much about buying them. I think that's fair to say. Yeah. Okay. And the runner up for best ring earphones is the Apple AirPods 4.
00:28:53
Speaker
which I never tried. Why did why did that why did i get the runner up? I'm really pleased it's got a runner up. These are but like my favorites. I didn't know you guys liked them as much as me. I think it's just Nick. um They just fit my ears so well. I don't get on with in-ear headphones very rarely. The Jabras do fit my ears actually, but yeah, the AirPods 4 just fit my ears. So I love having a partially open headphone because it means you can hear your surroundings quite well. They sound really good for a partially open design. They have surprisingly useful ANC for a partially open design. So I use them when I'm traveling. They're the only headphones I really use now for everything. And yeah, I really like just the fit and everything. So I'm very pleased they've ended up getting runners up, but someone else was the voted for them. It can't just have beat me. I mean, I've got them in, I have got them in. So the other ones that appeared in that list were the shocks open for air, the shocks open for Pro, Bose ultra open, what are they called? Ultra open earbuds. Earbuds. And the Sunto Sonic.
00:29:58
Speaker
Okay, so the next category is we don't call it best because we, well, it's favorite trail shoe.
Favorite Trail Shoes Selection Process
00:30:05
Speaker
And the reason we call it favorite trail shoes is there's too many trail shoes for us to cover. We don't test them in the same way as test running shoes, as road running shoes. So ah we call it favorite um trail shoes because we don't feel like we can call them the best. ah So this one is another interesting one. ah who Who wants to pick up trail shoes? Yeah, I mean, I'm happy. ah for For us, and in this category, a trail shoe, I think fundamentally has to, the kind of trails that we're running on here when we're testing are often slightly tamer. You know, if you're out in the kind of mountains of Colorado or in the, you know, the French Alps, it's going to be a very different experience. You might want something that's slightly different to this. And this is why we've got
00:30:44
Speaker
favourite and I think we're looking for a shoe that can cover 80% of your trail run so we're looking probably at slightly slower paces rather than the sort of fastest top-end kind of lightweight speed trail shoes. We want something that's going to deliver really good reliable grip, going to be good and comfortable over the long haul.
00:31:03
Speaker
ah It's going to be nice and durable, a good good price. and Yeah, I think just those kinds of things. We're always on kind of rollable, kind of rollable. We're always on kind of running. No, we're always runnable. We're always on kind of runnable trails, you know, rolling hills rather than rolling stuff. So so so that's we're looking for shoes that can kind of tackle that and light off-road running. So there you go.
00:31:27
Speaker
Okay, so on this list we had a pretty pretty clear winner and that was the Hockus Speedgoats 6. Why is that? Lovely shoe. We've used it on quite a range of terrains. I think I took us out to Gran Canaria. I've used it on some soft stuff as well. and It's just an easy shoe to recommend and a shoe I would, that would be the trial shoe I'd buy. It does everything I need it to do. It's pretty lightweight. It's comfortable. It's reliable grip. It's got a pretty supportive upper. It's just, it will do the job in all conditions and feel pretty good about it. I remember just running down a hill in Grand Canary and it like quite a steep hill and I don't go down hills very well. It's not really my thing. And I just thought, yeah, this shoe is just going to catch me basically. It's very reliable. It's going to grip well.
00:32:05
Speaker
And I think you can do, you can do pretty much everything in this shoe. It's very versatile. I think the only thing I have really against it is it's quite similar to the previous for model and that might be available in a deal, but I just have never disliked a run or found that the speed coat doesn't grip for me or is uncomfortable. It just, it always seems to do everything really well. Very good. Globe review. And the runner up was another Hoka shoe. It was the Tekton X3, which I imagine is for quite similar reasons. It's a wild shoe though. That's a really bound. I mean, that's I think one of the first trail shoes to me that really felt pretty wild and crazy and bouncy, a bit like the Adidas did last year. But yeah, I took this for a long run in Scotland and it protects the legs.
00:32:43
Speaker
i think So that was a big thing I noticed about it for me. like I felt so good the next day compared to what I normally feel when I did. I think I did about 700 metres of climbing and descending in that run and that's just not what I do. So normally I'd be in tatters for a week and I felt fine. It's so protective. It's a bit wild there, right? Kieran, you know it's just wild. Yeah, I mean, i I think this is a really great issue for a attackable kind of racing trails. So I often do a race called the New Forest Marathon, which is a big mix of and road to trail, but all of it's it's pretty flat. You know, you can really go at it on this particular race and it fits that bill really nicely for me. If I get to anything too steep, I find it a little bit too energetic. You know, more skilled runners can probably cope with it better. But that's, you know, if you've got a ah piece of trail that you're going to go and run that you know
00:33:27
Speaker
you can run all out then I think this shoe works really well and in my head I've got the kind of thing where you might be thinking do I run with a road shoe or do I run with a trail shoe those ones that if it's you know if it's dry and hard you can get away with the road shoe this shoe will excel on that trail and yeah it's also got that mountain pedigree I think like like you say if you're a skilled runner I think you can do a bit of everything in this look I think actually I believe from what I understand about it the Hoka Tekton 3 the one that's the consumer edition is a bit tamer than the one, the prototype that has been used to win UTMB. I think they made it less soft, right? so it's Yeah. I think this i think the formation of the speed of the carbon plate is slightly lot slightly more aggressive, I think. And they've kind of rained that in a little bit to make this one a little bit more accessible ah for everyone else. So it's not what it is, probably targeted, ah as you guys have kind of said, at more kind of
00:34:16
Speaker
kind of skilled and kind of more, um more challenging trails. I think it probably is going to make it, this design is going to make it more accessible to more trail runners, I think. Nice. Okay. And other picks that were in our shortlist were the Essex Metafugi Trail, which is something that a few of us have been testing. Essex Trabuco Max 3, Sockany Zodas Exodus Ultra 3. Zodas. Okay. Meryl and the agility peak five and the adidas Tarek's agri-vix. You know what's glaring in his omission and I want to almost shout stop the steal at this point. It's got its own category. Okay, the Meryl Morpherd award. Meryl Morpherd award for being the best Meryl Morpherd of the year. Okay. Yeah. yeah
00:35:05
Speaker
Okay. So the next award, uh, Nick, you can do this one because you seem to enjoy explaining the difference between these, this, this category more than anyone is the best all rounder slash daily trainer. Well, we didn't explain the difference where we had a long fight about it.
00:35:26
Speaker
But what do we say in the end? It was like we did one event. We wanted an event diagram. We were all good. The rounder was if you had one shoe that could do everything. Daily shoe was your training. An all-rounder is a daily trainer, but daily trainer is not necessarily an all-rounder. Yes. Is that what we said? Yeah. Anyway, we actually did a video on the best all-rounders recently, and all of our winners popped up. Basically, it's a shoe you can do everything in.
00:35:46
Speaker
It works both as a standalone shoe, like a rotation killer, a shoe that you can do every run in. It's fast enough for speed sessions and racing even, but it's comfortable enough for easy runs. It's great for cruising around in, great for long runs. um Or you can have it in a rotation as just a really versatile shoe, your daily trainer, essentially where you might then surround it with an even faster, pure racing option and then have a more cushioned, pure, easy option with it. But the idea is, it's a shoe that you can think about
Daily Trainer and All-rounder Shoes
00:36:10
Speaker
your running plan and go, oh, I wouldn't mind doing any of those runs in this shoe, or I'd love to do any of those runs in this shoe. so Lots of options these days in this category. Every brand now has them. There's more of a divide now, so you you either go for a plated trainer in this category. Lots of the opestal rounders are plated shoes now, whether they have a nylon plate or a more flexible carbon plate than you get in a full racing shoe, or you have a really lightweight, bouncy, unplated shoe that you know still can do speed because it is unplated. but
00:36:36
Speaker
is also still comfortable because every shoe these days has a pretty high stack of foam and is quite comfortable because foam is so lightweight and that means you can get really versatile shoes that can do a bit of everything without having a plate. So yeah, there's this category is now laden with great options and it's one of my favorite categories for sure. Yeah, it it's definitely one of the most, and well, there was a lot of options in this in this in this category. um And the top the top two are a joint first, but joint winners for this category, and probably will not surprise you. One of them was the Saucony Endorphin Speed 4, the other was the ASIC Super Blast 2. Nick, please continue with why we picked those. Well, these actually weren't my choices, so I'll hand over. I can assign them, though, because I think Kieran, I assume, picked the Saucony Endorphin Speed 4.
00:37:20
Speaker
I put that one first and I had the Super Blast second. yeah i mean like the speed the speed for and i I basically separate these out. The Speed 4 for me it has a few characteristics that make it slightly different. It's it's kind of really light. It's really precise. There's a lot of agility in the shoe. It's probably, I think, slightly kind of more direct than the Super Blast 2, which I quite like. it's got Now, when you look at it in comparison, it's got i think a bit more of a traditional ride, but it's really lively. It's really light. It's really energetic. When you want to go slow, if you like that kind of ride that's a bit more kind of ground feel, it's comfortable enough to tackle the easy miles. But then when you actually, you know, it comes to life when you kick up the pace, and that's when the foam kicks in and the nylon plate sort of start to do the work. And you can actually take this shoe, I think, through the whole gamut of pace. So I can do pretty much any training run in this.
00:38:10
Speaker
I also just think it's got really nice sort of disappearing feel on the foot. It's one of those shoes that no matter what I'm doing in a training session, it will just disappear on the foot and then they get on with business. And I think that's, it has, it it cuts a slightly different path now than something like a Super Blast 2, which I also like, but I just like it because it's just got a little bit more of that kind of nimble agility to it, I think. It's definitely now the lowest stack really of these, even the plated ones, especially under the forefoot, you know, it's, and that can lead to it being a little bit less comfortable under the forefoot, I think on harder long runs than some of the other options like the Mac X2, the Super Blast, which are now so built up there, but it does give it a really nimble feel if you're going to go and do like short intervals or something like that, which yeah, it does expand its versatility. And it's really cushy at the heel for such a fast and lightweight shoe. Like as a heel strike, if I'm mooching around, that's where the softness I think is really clear in it, even with that plate in there.
00:38:58
Speaker
The other thing is it's very available, which we'll carry away. Oh gosh, yeah. Okay, here we go. So who wants to talk about the super blast too? Tom, you talk about the super blast. Tom was telling you on the day, if you can't get a super blast, you're an idiot.
00:39:13
Speaker
I did not say that. Please don't comment on that. I actually said we should probably start featuring it because everyone keeps complaining about that. I thought you had two pairs of soup last, haven't you? not ah No, not soup last. I've got any pairs of soup last to you. No, I've got your soup last. Mike had two. I've got two pairs, yeah. That's why there's none available. Mike keeps stealing them. It's been feeling a kitchen feature out of them.
00:39:38
Speaker
well Cut some up while reading comments. It was probably not a surprise that the super last two was going to crop up in this. We have all very much enjoyed testing super last two and many of us enjoyed testing super last one. And the reason why it's so popular is it I think it's because it it really delivers a certain type of all rounder style running really, really well. I use it as a longer session tempo training shoe. If I'm doing marathons, it becomes, it's it's probably my favorite shoe for hitting those.
00:40:06
Speaker
distances and times where I need to maintain a really consistent pace. It's not necessarily the best interval shoe in the world, it's not necessarily the best easy day shoe, but it really hits that bit in the middle really, really nicely. It doesn't have a particularly soft midsole, it's got a lot of cushioning in it, but it's still a little bit responsive, a little bit firm than some people might expect from a shoe that's got that level of cushioning in it.
00:40:27
Speaker
and But it has a lovely turnover. It's just very very quick off the quick off the mark. And yeah, I think that's about it really. What have I missed? Hard to get hold of. Hard to Yeah, i well, I did say that, hopefully, Essex will produce more of these in time. Yeah, I don't know what's going on. how just ah i mean yeah yeah there There's loads of colours being like leaked and stuff. Why are they coming out? I don't know. It's like an all teal one, I think. now That's going to be a thrill. Yes, it will be for you. i done some thank
00:40:58
Speaker
so So they're the two topics. although There was a lot in this category. We actually, they're probably one of these categories of different choices that was in there. the So we've got the Mizuno Neo Vista, Hakamak X2, Hakamak 6, New Balance Balos, A6, Never Blast 5, New Balance Rebel V4, and Brooks Hyperion Max 2. So pretty big category of choice. A lot of shoes. A lot of shoes. We're just going to show you how big that category is now and how many good shoes there are in it.
00:41:32
Speaker
Okay, so best cushion shoe, I'll probably, I'll explain this one. So cushion shoe, cushion shoe is a really tricky category these days, because pretty much every shoe you could class in some way as a cushion shoe. It's not like, you know, the late 90s, early 2000s, where you bought a cushion shoe because you wanted a cushion shoe and all the other shoes had slightly smaller stack heights. Most shoes now will have a relatively large stack of cushioning in it.
00:41:55
Speaker
The cushioning that we, how we classify a cushion shoe is normally a shoe that's not specifically designed for like race day and faster training. It's a shoe really designed for click ticking off the miles. more More about comfort and easy runs, maybe a bit more longer runs, but they're really shoes that are focused on comfort.
00:42:11
Speaker
and cushioning as opposed to, you know, the Super Blast, which is a pretty max cushion shoe, but we wouldn't put that necessarily in cushion shoes. I know Kieran would, because he did. Kieran's cushion shoe picks over the years, man. yeah In general, when we say cushion shoes, we're really talking about that that end of the spectrum, where it's about comfort and then enjoying the run and not necessarily going at a fast pace. I think that's fair to say, isn't it? Super Blast 2 is great for that though.
00:42:38
Speaker
Don't just not do this again. I got the blame last time. And the winner is... Back to the previous video, if you want to hear us arguing about that. um So this another category that was massive. There's so many shoes in this category now with many, many brands releasing their max version of ah quite a lot of their their range. So the top two picks in this, well the the the joint winners in this were the Brooks Glycerin Max and the Saucony Hurricane 24.
Brooks Glycerin Max Review
00:43:06
Speaker
So these are two ah quite different shoes actually. So you've got the Brooks Glycerin Max that was yeah for out fairly fairly recently and that shoe is obviously um a new development of the Brooks Glycerin Rhine but it's It's actually quite a different shoe. There's quite a big stack of cushioning in there, but Brooks is very much always focused on their shoes having good level of stability in them. So it's quite a nice stable max cushion shoe. It's got a relatively soft midsole in it, but you still feel like you've got a nice firm hold on the ground and it's not wobbly or anything like that. um And it's actually, as a result, it's a relatively balanced, macro cushion shoe, I think. You can, you can, it's not a fast shoe, but it's definitely a shoe that you feel is more sitting in that sort of daily realm necessarily than, than a really slow, easy day shoe that you can often find. Is that right? That's right. And one problem with it though, you wouldn't get married in that shoe.
00:43:57
Speaker
yeah but No, I tell you what, she would get married. The soccer and hurricane, hurricane 24. Only one man could talk about this shoe. Yeah. Go on, Mike. Go on. Talk about your, ah your wedding shoe. That's you for weddings. Last category coming up. um I think, I think for all, I think I probably speak for full all of us. I think this has been a bit of a surprise shoe for us. I think, you know, for for me, the Hurricane, I would, I think the first, i you know, this is a kind of miles stability shoe. That's kind of its focus. None of us here are kind of stability or use kind of, you know, strictly stability focused shoes. But I think in terms of what you're getting here in the Hurricane, it's just a very comfortable shoe, first and foremost, from upwards, midsole.
00:44:39
Speaker
I think that's that's the thing that really strikes me and for the types of runs that you're ultimately going to be using it for, it is a shoe built for easy runs and that is absolutely where it excels. it It generally just feels very comfortable, you can roll through very nicely, I think you've got those stability elements there but they're not kind of I don't think it doesn't make a stability and kind of only run a kind of shoe. I think anyone can kind of get on with the shoe and I think that's fundamentally what I think we've all kind of found that it's, you know, in terms of what it sits and what it delivers, promises to deliver, that's ultimately you get. And ah it definitely has been a surprise shoe for me. One that I didn't think you know, so we kind of probably be talking about in this award. Yeah. one percent i almost like was I was testing it, but I haven't tested people with models of the line, not a stability runner. And this is, yeah, probably my favorite cushion shoe for a long time. It just doesn't feel like the kind of shoe you would get along with, but yeah, like you say, just ticks over so nicely. It's soft, but doesn't get squishy and, you know, boggy down. It's, yeah, it's kind of a shoe we, I think some of us thought the Triumph 22 might be with this power on PB foam in it. It's a really great shoe. I agree.
00:45:39
Speaker
Okay, shortlisted entries in this category, there's quite a few of these and they're quite varied as well. So you've got the New Balance More V5 that you can guess where that came from, that boat came from. The Hoka Skyward X, the New Balance 1080 V14, the ASIC Superlast 2, thanks Kieran. Yeah, Hoka Skyflow and the On Cloud Monster Hyper, so a big range of shoes there in cushioned shoes.
00:46:11
Speaker
Okay, two more awards left. Nick, I'm going to let you do this one because this is your favorite category. More flight time. Best more flight colorway, 2024. We're doing best race shoe. Go on, explain what makes a good race shoe.
00:46:29
Speaker
It's got to be fast. It's always got to be. It's the simplest one. There's no Venn diagrams here. It's a shoe designed to be fast and deliver on race day. It's not necessarily going to be stable. It might be stable, but it's all about running fast. For that these days you need a high stack of a very lightweight and soft and bouncy foam with a carbon plate in there.
00:46:46
Speaker
Trend this year has definitely been to seen some shoes move a lot lighter than we had in the past and that's I think a really welcome trend for me because you're still getting these huge high-stack shoes but they are now more lightweight and still delivering all that protection now you've come to expect from a race shoe and yeah they're great for every distance you you know you might have a bit of a difference between your 5k shoe and your marathon shoe but really I don't think there is that difference so much. anymore. There's just a load of really, really good shoes. And every brand pretty much now, maybe with the exception of Brooks, has delivered a top-class racing shoe that can really compete at the top level. And for now, I think a lot of this now comes down to personal preference. I think we actually all have quite a similar preference, which suggests that shoe actually maybe is still a bit a cut above. But overall, if you find a shoe from the brand you like and it's a carbon-rate racing shoe, you're probably going to get a pretty good shoe these days. so Excellently said. Okay, so the ah the winner for this category was by far and away the the the the
Best Race Shoe: Asics Metaspeed Sky Paris
00:47:38
Speaker
the winner. It was the it got a lot more um votes than anything else and that was the Essex Metaspeed Sky Paris. why Why do we love that shoe so much?
00:47:47
Speaker
PBs. PBs, we love it. That's right. Kieran and I have got marathon PBs. Kieran's got at least one other PB in it. I've got a half marathon PB in it, and it just works. It's the full package. Like I can say, it's it's under 200 grams in my size. It is a full stack shoot. It is comfortable over any distance. I've run the London marathon in the net, did my half marathon PB in it recently, and It's just great. It's just really great, Tom. I don't know what to say. It's also been a bit more durable than I expected. I'm about 250K into my pair and it still feels just as bouncy even if the heel is deteriorating a little bit, as you expect from our six super shoes where they don't cover the heel if you're a heel striker. And that's what I mean. It's like a... fully modern super shoe in that you're getting that protection, you're getting that bounce, you're getting that propulsion, but it's super light. So at the end of the race, when you start to feel a bit heavy legged, the shoe is not adding any weight there. It's just a bit of everything. And yeah, it just works really well. And it's not outrageously expensive for a super shoe, but like with some coming out this year have just pushed the price higher and higher. That's exactly stuck to their previous models pricing, which is quite a nice little change.
00:48:45
Speaker
Excellent. Now, the and the runner up for this category, what is I'm really pleased that this shoe's the runner up ah because I've been banging on about how good it is and Mike has as well. It's the Puma DV8 Nitro Elite 3, which it's that that shoe line, um i've ah we've all said it in the past, that they're good, the Puma DV8 Nitro Elites and the and the two, but they're not quite up there with some of the top tier car and plate races.
00:49:10
Speaker
Now, the the new Elite 3 really is. It's such a fantastic shoe. You get a lot of bounce out of it. It feels really, really fast. I used it for Manchester Half. I might use it for Manchester Half as well. I think we both agreed that it was just a really, really good shoe. So it's nice to see Puma really getting getting to grips with the the... I think it's down to the foam really in that shoe and it really makes a ah big difference in that.
00:49:32
Speaker
um other And they bumped up the stack, but made it lighter. So again, you're getting everything. You're not picking between weight and bounce or anything these days. It's just, you just get everything. It's great. And it's under 200 pounds. So I've got a tricky choice ahead of me for Valencia because I've got like three shoes to pick now. And the first, the first of the runner up are both in there. And the other one is the Hocasilo X1.
00:49:57
Speaker
which is one of our shortlisted picks. So as well as the Hakusido X1, Cielo X1. Yeah, Cielo. There was there' also the Nike Outfly 3. They added us Adios Pro 4, although to be honest, I don't think that's entirely fair because we haven't all tested that, so that might have got higher if we'd all tested it.
00:50:14
Speaker
and the the on cloudwind strike LS, which again, might've been higher if we'd all tested it, but they were the shortlist for best race shoe. First year, neither the winner or the runner up is a Nike shoe. I mean, the Vape fly three wasn't in contention, but I think wouldn't have been in our top two anyway.
00:50:42
Speaker
Okay, so the final award we picked is the brand of the year. who's not done the yeah Mike, you've you've only done one of these. yeah Do you want to explain how we picked brand of the year? I think this is a pretty self-explanatory one, but I think this is probably going to be the brand that is ultimately, I think in terms of launches, I would say probably in terms of innovation. I would say in terms of, particularly talking in terms of shoes, you know,
00:51:06
Speaker
you know, evolving and enhancing existing lines and making them, you know, better shoes as well. So I think there's a lot that can kind of contribute to what, you know, we would consider, you know, brands having a good year in 2024. And there's definitely been, you know, i I think we all kind of agree there's been a couple of brands that have ah really kind of stood out for us in that space that's kind of represented in who we've picked as our winners.
00:51:28
Speaker
Yes, um and the winner for the best brand, the brand of the year, 2024, is Hoka this year. Why have we gone for Hoka? I mean, I think for me, i could I think from the beginning of the year to the end of the year, the the launches have been consistent in terms of, you know, back, you know, back from kind of the Cielo to the Skyward, we've had existing lines like the Mac 6, new shoes like the Skyflow, so there's been I think ultimately, for me, I think a hocker has brought new lines, brought new innovation, brought really very fun and shoes fundamentally, from a performance point of view, really kind of deliver. And I think a mix in terms of those launches, in terms of improving existing lines and just having very good shoe launch year, I think that's for me, that's kind of how I see it. They've certainly had a lot of shoes people are talking about this year. I mean, previously we'd talk about like the Hoka Mac 5 and things, but then it was a bit of a big spag because we weren't massive fans of the Mac X, but this year it seems like every release you guys are talking about constantly, because I'm not tested with that many of them. But I've just been testing this, the CLO X1, and I'm really enjoying that shoe. Okay, and the runner-up in this category was Asics, which, you know, they've done some fantastic, they've had some fantastic releases this year, which, what are the big shoes from Asics this year? Super blast, I mean, the best, honestly, they just released loads of great shoes. I mean, they're meant to be to go Paris as our top racing pick. Super blast, a top all-rounder. No blast five really started liking that. And it's less of a surprise, some of the, because a lot of them were continuations of shoes that were already great. So I guess maybe that's why Hoka had a bit more.
00:53:06
Speaker
Yeah, I suppose in this category, you do sort of need to see a bit of change there as well. Like what what brands are really up and really making big big differences in in what in what they're developing. Whereas ASICS has been quite consistent. You've got things like the gel Keanu range, which is really solid, but they had, you know, gel Keanu 30 last year. It was fantastic as well. So great year for ASICS. And then other brands that propped up in this category were Suunto, New Balance and Saucony.
00:53:38
Speaker
Okay, so the final award is the the big one, the Audience Shoe of the
Audience Shoe of the Year: Asics Super Blast 2
00:53:45
Speaker
Year. Now this is, we basically open up the that this category to all of the audience on um YouTube, on Instagram, and we ask for their top shoe of the year. And we get quite a lot of people voting in this. It's like 300 people comment on on these posts and we get a lot of stuff. So I sit and go through all of them and tally them all up and work out what is the most, the biggest shoe. And I don't think you're going to be surprised and you you why you won't because you saw some of the comments pop up as they came in. But ah Super Blast 2 was the resounding winner on this one and by a long way. People absolutely love that shoe and a lot of comments from people saying they can't get that shoe in the corner. Everyone who got it managed to vote for it. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, so that's that's a good sign. um So, so well done for that one. And then the runner up in this category was the fuel cell Rebel V4, which is quite a nice surprise, because that's a shoe that we haven't mentioned yet in this video. Well, very loosely mentioned, but that's a really good shoe that it's good to see getting some attention for this year. There were a lot of shoes as you guessed from about 300. Go through them, Tom. I'm not going to go through all of them. Go through all the comments. but I mean most most of them are the ones that we've mentioned already in this video so yeah a wide a wide range but ASIC Superblast 2 gets it this year. Right so great year for the award some excellent shoes some excellent products all around. Kieran has disappeared because he's so happy that the ASIC Superblast 2 won the Audience award.
00:55:13
Speaker
He's gone for an easy run in it. He's gone for an easy run in it, and then I think he's going to go on some champagne to celebrate. um So that's it for of the year of the awards. Thanks a lot for watching or listening to this, if you're listening to the podcast version of it. And ah we'll be back very soon with another review video probably on the channel. Yeah. Catch you guys later. Bye.
00:55:34
Speaker
This episode of the podcast was presented by Tom Wheatley, Kieran Algar, Nick Karatreyi and Mike Saw. The podcast was produced by Tom Wheatley. The music was by Fear of Tigers.