Best Daily Running Shoes: Kieran's top running shoe picks for everyday training

Hey people, welcome to The Run Test. It's Kieran here and it's my turn to reveal my daily trainer top picks. I've selected my favourite running shoes from the past 12 months or so, chiselling out a handful of big hitters from the huge array of daily trainers that we've seen land. There's been some real stiff competition in this particular section. There's a lot of good shoes out there nowadays. Now in the time it takes you to drink a cup of tea, I'm going to walk you through the everyday mileage shoes that I really love. I'll break down how I use them, why they fit my slightly non-conformist training and running approach. There might be the odd surprise in there but hopefully this will help you find a pair of shoes that are going to work for you. Or at least it'll give you something to complain to me in the comments about. Feel free to do that if you think I've got it wrong. And of course if you've got your big favourites, let us know as well down in the comments. We'd love to hear what you're lacing up day in day out for your regular plods. Otherwise without further ado, let's get into it. Before we batter headlong into the list of shoes, I thought it'd be good to paint a little picture of my running at the moment. Followers of the channel will know that I tend to run everything from sort of 5k's right up to 100 miles. I run road, I run trail, though most of my weekly training miles are on a mix of kind of roads, pavements and really light off-road river paths, kind of park paths. Nothing, you know, crazy trail. I just wander off roads. I like taking the few off the tarmac. I do a lot of easy miles averaging as close as I can to 50 miles per week. I don't tend to follow regimented training plans quite as much as Nick or Tom. So I don't do quite structured workouts in the same way. I just run a lot and I mix it up. I'm pretty much always marathon fit and I will do sort of slightly unorthodox sessions like I'll try and run sub seven minute miles until I can't run sub seven minute miles anymore. I'll also sometimes obviously do solo marathons around the streets of London as some of you may have seen on the channel as well. So yeah, not the sort of most structured way of training. But when it comes to daily training, I look for two things above everything else. The first is instant no fuss comfort. Shoes that almost vanish on your foot the moment you put them on. Disappearing, effortless, minimal interference, easy area uppers, shoes that let you go about your business without having to make themselves known. You know, I don't want shoes to be part of the conversation if I can help it. The second is versatility. I really love shoes that can do it all. Offering enough cushion, enough protection to cover the slower stuff, but not so big and heavy and soggy and too squishy and laboured and too bulky that they can't work at faster paces too. That tends to mean kind of mid-weight, 10 ounce, 280 grams or below for me. I also tend to favour shoes that aren't, they don't feel too much like too much shoe on the foot, bulky on the foot. They can be big stack, but I don't want to feel like I'm carrying around too much heft or waiting for a shoe to come with me out of my foot strike. I talk a lot about agility and precision in our reviews from the foot strike and that's something I really look for. I want to feel nimble and light on the feet, even if I am dragging out recovery miles. I don't tend to go for the soggiest, squishiest, kind of most trampolini mid-soles. Those ones that really sink underfoot. I prefer something firmer, snappy and maybe more rockered and responsive rides. Okay, so that is me and now in no particular order, let's get into my shoes. So first up, I've got the Sockney Endorphin Zero and maybe this shoe trails a little bit in the wake of the Adidas Evo SL for that kind of more affordable, non-plated kind of daily trainer that can be used for a lot of things. But what you're getting here is like a hugely versatile, light, lively, fun, well-fitting daily trainer that's got that kind of do-it-all swagger that I really love in my day-to-day shoes. It's offering up ample cushion and support with a slightly softer edge than the Stiffer Speed 5 from Sockney as well, the Endorphin Speed 5, but it still sort of bounces you out of each footstep with an energy that's not far off the speed, I don't think. There's not as much kind of stiffness there. Now I know some people have questioned why there's no Incredi-Run foam in this shoe, but I think the Azura delivers a ride that works without it. It fulfills its brief as a kind of lively, fun, free-flowing running shoe that I'll eat most of the runs in a marathon training block. I can run really easy in this shoe, I don't need that kind of super soft Incredi-Run in there, the super soft and sort of bouncy foam, it's just nice and controlled for me. It's priced to go toe to toe with the Evo SL and I think it represents really good value. It's a cracking running shoe that I think will have broad appeal. I'd say it's ideal for runners who want something softer than the Speed 5. It's got quite a nice accommodating fit and it's just an easier shoe to run in. Next up, the Hoka Mac X3. Basically this shoe has added more comfort to the kind of Mac X franchise with improved fit and some softer edges that improve the long mileage potential. It traded in a bit of weight for that, it's a bit heavier, but you know it's not all out as kind of racy as the past gen and I think it makes it a little bit more kind of democratic when you think about the runs you can use it for. It's still speedy, poppy, energetic. They're powered by a high stack of punchy, fast returning, dual density kind of midsole foam. You've got a top layer of bouncy Peeba up there, that's the same that's used in Hoka's carbon racing shoes and a Peebax plate in there for added propulsion. I love the Mac 7 as well but I think this is a step up on the pacey performance for fast training sessions. It could be an alternative I think to the Rocket X3, Cielo X1, 3 as well as a potential racing shoe or a training partner racing shoe for somebody who doesn't want something that's a bit kind of full all out. It can handle easy paces well I think with enough protection underfoot to cover the plodding miles. It's maybe not geared as well to the easy paces but I think it can handle those with enough protection underfoot to cover all but the kind of heaviest most plodding kind of miles and it's a strong pick I'd say for everything up to faster training efforts and races where you know like I said you might be looking for guaranteed comfort over the all-out aggression. Now this shoe is getting long in the tooth but the Sock & Endorphin Speed 5 remains a favourite for me and another shoe that I think is a genuine all-rounder. It offers a lively kind of nicely cushioned ride that feels light and full of energy without any harshness or fussy business. It's now looking kind of more streamlined and agile and a bit firmer a bit snappier compared to some of the bigger softer more compressive trampolini daily trainers that we've got but I do think it kind of pairs easy comfort with a propulsive ride that you know it's it's more like a sort of carbon racer in a fast light snappy and well balanced shoe with a natural fit easy kind of speedy feel. It uses a full length nylon plate got Sock & Endorphin Power Run PB foam. The uppers are light and breathable flexible all of those things that you want but you know there's enough padding here to the heel collars to offer comfort and the kind of longer miles as well. You know it might not be the bounciest springiest daily trainer on the market now but I really love the snapback and the rocket energy you get from it and I find this kind of smooth punchy but still connected to the road underfoot and yeah I can do quite a lot of miles in this. A lot of people might not sort of want to pick it for the very slowest but I don't mind a firmer shoe for that stuff. Now with this next pick I'm going to go out on a limb and if you write if you sort of think of daily trainers as really kind of soft and easy this is not your shoe this is sort of does something different and it definitely didn't seem to set off the kind of running hype machine but if like me you don't mind doing lots of miles across the pace ranges in a snappier sort of quicker feedback ride that's less spongy this is the ASIC Sonic Blast. I think it's a cracking shoe it's lightweight and responsive there's stiffness and pop and it's really kind of my shoe for that kind of rapid returning rocket and sort of snappy ride. You know it's got a fast feel and it's probably more geared to sort of tempo runs on the faster end of your sort of daily training but I think the shoe if you don't mind that kind of sort of firmer ride it's a shoe that could probably do it all. It's fun, it's easy to get comfortable in, it strikes almost the perfect balance I think of spring and energy with cushioning control. I found the grip to be excellent and yeah you've got this kind of mix of Flightfoam Blast Max and Flightfoam Turbo Squared Foam that I think delivers a good balance of cushioning with pop and you've got a Peevax Plate Sandwich in there that adds some extra snap and propulsion to the proceedings. That is the kind of ride I like, cushioned and energetic you know not over soft and sinky rapid returning but you know I don't know and not everyone's going to like that. If you like it kind of a bit more soft and you need a bit more cushion in your daily shoes this one probably isn't going to fit the bill but I really like it. Now this next shoe definitely sits at the kind of super trainer faster end of the daily trainer spectrum but the Kip Run Kip Storm Tempo is one of my shoes of the year. I absolutely love this just based on the performance and the value that you're getting. I think Kip Run has worked magic here packing in bucket loads of Asics Mega Blast rivalling performance into an excellent all-rounder that's under £100 in the UK which is an absolute steal. The Tempo nails the comfort with a unique kind of neoprene-esque stitched in bootie tongue that wraps and locks your feet and I really like that. Holds without feeling caged. The ride here is bouncy and high energy maybe not quite at the level of the sort of Trampolini Mega Blast but it's still punchy and fun. There's a snappy edge that stops I think the midsole being overly soft and sinky. The landings offer plenty of protective cushion though but that midsole kind of kicks back quickly with a fast high energy return, good responsiveness and an effective rocker. It's a winning package for me that bridges the gap between like a comfortable daily trainer and a race day shoe. Not as propulsive as a plated racer but for long Tempo and marathon pace miles this is a truly excellent and incredible value shoe. Now moving down into the sort of more comfort cruiser end of things I have flip-flopped on the 1080 for a long time but I think the latest update to the 1080 V15 is a real winner. Injects new energy into this. It has a ride now that's comfortable and natural as well as sort of being more energetic and exciting but importantly it still does what the 1080 I think does best which is deliver cushioned comfort on the easier miles. It's a more refined shoe with added versatility. I could do like a long run with marathon pace intervals in this shoe. I can also just go and run long and slow in it. You've got a package I think that's just more enjoyable all around. It's really easy to sort of pick as an all-rounder. It could make a good beginner shoe as well and I think it's you know a decent versatile shoe to add to rotation. It's probably the most excited I've been by a 1080 for a long time maybe ever. The bump in price puts it among the pricier daily shoes and that is a bit of a downer but for an easy comfort cruiser that you can wear day to day and I think it's a winner. I also think the Kip Run Kip Ride Max deserves a quick mention because it's kind of 1080 in performance but at a better price just I find it a little bit less agile. Then I've got the Nike Vimera 18 and this is sort of filthy. You could see how much mileage I've done in this. The updates to this from the 17 to the 18 I think transformed this shoe and it completely hooked me. I can do a range of runs in it. You know the combination of the Zoom X and React Foam is sort of for me it's soft enough. It's super easy. It also has like a hit of response to it so not being dragged down I can happily move up to marathon pace in the shoe maybe even a bit beyond though it is a bit heavy to get too pacey. You know this is an excellent shoe to stick in a suitcase if you can only take one with you when you're traveling or going on holiday. I really like the kind of big stack 46 mils in the heel. It doesn't feel like a big bulky shoe. There's still like a nice little amount of control to this shoe. There's still an agility to it. There's still a smoothness in the ride. I like that it's got like a narrower platform than some of the bigger daily shoes. That brings a little bit of precision and helps with that feeling of kind of it being nimble and I think that contributes to why I don't notice the weight as much. 140 pounds I also think it offers pretty good value. I've done hundreds of miles in this shoe and it's still going strong. So honourable mentions and finally I wanted to give a shout out to some other shoes that I think are commendable and capable. They're just not my very top pick. Some of these are last gen shoes that you can get on deals now too. So here goes Asics Nova Blast 5. Toned down Mega Blast. Almost half the price but great for a wide range of training. The Hoka Max 7. It's a great shoe if you want energy consistency in a slightly firmer rockered ride. For mild stability with a package that's not blocky and bulky. The Arahi 8 and the Socony Guide 19 are two shoes that I've really enjoyed as well. So there you have it. That's been a guided tour of my top daily trainers. I hope you found it helpful. Don't forget to drop me a comment. Tell me where I got it badly wrong or maybe even if you feel I've got some right. Share your top daily trainers in the comments as well so that other viewers can see what's working for other people out there. Don't forget to tell them why you chose them. What kind of running you do. If you like the vid, we'd love a like, a share, maybe even a subscribe if you're not already. If you're interested in daily trainers, I'm going to put up our run testers top picks video. That's like one that we all voted on. That's going to go up right now. Otherwise, thank you very much for stopping by. Until next time, happy running people.