Shoes-table

Category	Shoe	Full Review	Weight (oz)	Penalty sec/mile	Penalty sec/Km	Drop (mm)	Forefoot Thickness	Heel Thickness	Cushioning	Flexibility	Notes
Minimax	Hoka Clifton	Hoka Clifton Review	8.5	9.9	6.2	6	23	29	8	7	Top pick. A lighter weight version of the Hoka Bondi.
Minimax	Altra Olympus	Altra Olympus Review	11.8	15.1	9.4	0	36	36	8	4.5	Top pick. An evolution of the [Hoka One One]] design: Thick, softly cushioned midsole, but better.
Minimax	Altra Paradigm	Altra Paradigm Review	10.2	12.6	7.8	0	25	25	6	4	Similar to the olympus but not quite as good
Minimax	Hoka Bondi	Hoka Bondi Review	13	16.9	10.5	5	30	35	8	4	A great Hoka, but the Clifton is better.
Minimax	Hoka Mafate	Hoka Mafate Review	13.6	17.9	11.1	6	35	41	9	1	The heaviest, thickest and most cushioned of the Hokas.
Minimax	Hoka Stinson	Hoka Stinson Review	13.2	17.3	10.7	6	32	38	9	2	The Stinson is a little heavier and thicker than the Bondi/Clifton.
Optimal	Altra One2	Altra One2	7.3	8.1	5.0	0	19	19	5	8.5	Top pick. Soft cushioning and lightweight.
Optimal	Mizuno Cursoris	Mizuno Cursoris Review	6.8	7.3	4.5	0	18	18	5	8	Soft, light and comfortable. Still available, but discontinued
Optimal	Saucony Virrata	Saucony Virrata 2 Review	7.3	8.1	5.0	0	17	17	2	8	Top pick. A light weight, zero drop shoe.
Optimal	Skechers GO Bionic	Skechers GO Bionic Review	6.2	6.4	3.9	0	10	10	2	8	Top pick. Highly flexible, zero drop, but firm. Great value for money.
Optimal	Adidas Takumi Sen 2	Adidas Takumi Sen 2 Review	6.9	7.4	4.6	5	17	22	1	6	An unusual Japanese racing shoe
Optimal	Nike Free 3.0 Flyknit	Nike Free Review	7.1	7.8	4.8	4	17	21	2	8
Optimal	Modified Nike Free	Modified Nike Free	5	4.5	2.8	0	17	17	1
Optimal	Saucony Kinvara	Saucony Kinvara 5 Review	7.9	9.0	5.6	8	22	30	5	7	An evolution towards a minimalist design, but it has more drop than the 4mm that Saucony claim.
Optimal	Altra Torin	Altra Torin Review	9	10.7	6.7	0	20	20	2	7
Optimal	Brooks PureCadence	Brooks PureCadence 3 Review	9.4	11.3	7.0	5	17	22	4	7	A good level of cushioning, but it needs to be lighter.
Optimal	Saucony Hattori		4.4	11.8	7.3	0	15	15	0.5	9	Very light, with minimal cushioning. No laces unless you get the LC version.
Optimal	Adidas Energy Boost	Adidas Energy Boost 2 Review	10	12.3	7.6	7	14	21	6	6	A new type of foam produces a better shoe than you'd expect. Figures are without insole.
Minimal	Mizuno Wave Universe	Mizuno Wave Universe 5 Review	3.2	18.2	11.3	2	11	13	0	9	A radically light weight racing shoe.
Minimal	NB Trail Minimus		6.5	23.3	14.5	5	10	15	0
Minimal	NB Road Minimus		6.2	22.8	14.2	0	11	11	0
Minimal	Merrell Trail Glove		7	24.1	15.0	0	10	10	0
Minimal	Merrell Road Glove		6.9	23.9	14.9	0	11	11	0
Minimal	Vibram FiveFingers		4	19.4	12.1	0	5	5	0
Minimal	Vivobarefoot One		7	24.1	15.0	0	3	3	0
Not Recommended	Hoka Rapa Nui 2 Tarmac		10.7	13.4	8.3	4	26	30	2		Uses Hoka's RMAT foam which is overly firm.
Not Recommended	Hoka Conquest	Hoka Conquest Review	11.9	15.2	9.5	4	28	34	2	3	Uses Hoka's RMAT foam which is overly firm.
Not Recommended	Hoka Huaka	Hoka Huaka Review	9.9	12.1	7.5	5	21	26	4	6	Uses Hoka's RMAT foam which is overly firm.
Not Recommended	New Balance Fresh Foam 980		9.1	10.9	6.8	4	21	25	2		Less of a drop than a traditional running shoe, but too firm.
Not Recommended	Brooks Transcend		11.8	15.1	9.4	8	22	30	4		Brooks claim it is "the Ultimate Plush Ride", but it's not much thicker and it's overly firm.
Not Recommended	Skechers GOrun Ultra	Skechers GOrun Ultra Review	9.8	12.0	7.4	14	26	40	8	7	Tries to be a $80 Hoka, but fails. (Without insole the midsole is 24/34mm
Not Recommended	Patagonia EVERlong	Patagonia EVERlong Review	9.2	11.0	6.8	9	16	27	4	6	More drop than the claimed 4mm, but no other flaws. However, other shoes do it better.
Not Recommended	Asics GT 2000		10.9	13.7	8.5	9	20	29			A shoe that almost defines 'traditional', included for comparison

• Cushioning. Shoes vary in the mount of cushioning they provide. There is reasonable scientific evidence that higher levels of cushioning increase stresses on joints and have higher rates of injury. However, cushioning is also one way shoes provide protection from stones (the other is inflexibility). Cushioning can also reduce foot soreness on longer ultramarathons.
• Weight. The weight of a shoe makes a big difference in the energy cost of running. Even small changes in weight can make a big difference in how fast we run. The weight in parenthesis is my measurement, which is size 9.5-11.0 depending on the shoe. This helps compensate for shoes that claim to be lighter by making their shoes small for any given size.
• Performance Penalty. Most studies show that for each 3.5oz/100g of shoe weight performance drops by 1%. However, there is also good evidence that cushioning can improve performance, so some allowance is made for the padding. The figures here are based on 4 hour marathon pace, which is 9:09 min/mile or 5:41 min/Km pace.
• Drop & Sole thickness. The drop is difference in sole thickness between the forefoot and heel. Larger drops can interfere with natural running form, and may increase the probability of heel strike. Numbers in parenthesis are without the insole.