Running Shoe Descriptions - What do reviewers actually mean?

[@RowOfMushyTiT]

'Responsive' is the most misunderstood/misused word.

[@SagasuRunning]

I also have a full video on the subject: What makes a running shoe responsive? kzbin.info/www/bejne/hXzOo3mJbp5lobc

[@kgenest100]

You are so right!!

[@RowOfMushyTiT]

@@SagasuRunningAh i didn't know, I'll check it out!

[@jeroen1989]

Was indeed waiting for responsive😂

[@SagasuRunning]

I got a whole video on that word… 🤙🏻

[@Perry-l7m]

You have a way with words, that when you use them really invokes clarity of ideas you are trying to convey. You would have made an excellent university professor. Plus your delivery and tone is pleasant to the ears, very conversational.

[@SagasuRunning]

I appreciate the feedback and kind words. I have mentored and instructed quite a bit within design… so maybe that comes through here too. Regardless, thank you for the support. 🤙🏻

[@01lsw]

Brilliant job, Chris! So clear, crispy, easy to understand. This episode is my "go-to" guide on all those shoe descriptions. Super helpful, especially English is my second-language. Thank you for your thoughtfulness and making this video.

[@SagasuRunning]

I’m glad it was useful. Good luck with your spring racing! 🤙🏻

[@robsnow2099]

Much needed video, channels like the Run Testers will have 4 runners throwing out word salads for 30min. You could easily leave the video exactly where you started, with understanding what the shoe is all about. One thing I had to understand, is when someone says “pick up the pace” or “more speedy runs”. Most of running YT is going an average of less than 7min miles. My quickest for 6 miles, which i try and do 3x a weeks is 8min miles. So their use case and descriptions may not even fit me or most others, because they can’t pick up the pace aka 5 min miles lol in a streak fly… doesn’t mean I can’t or that’s my con like it is theirs.

[@SagasuRunning]

Pace is very relative though. Sure, some shoes do better at faster paces but overall I see it more a… “can the shoe pick up the pace or does it feel like running in mud” when I hear that sort of thing. There are a few faster KZbinrs, who I have context for what their paces are but I can work from there and understand the idea they are trying to communicate. But yes… this is where understanding a bit more about the reviewer helps. It gives context to what they say and how they say it. We are often storytellers, in many ways.

[@sharkymoon422]

Midlife runner a blogger on you tube doesn’t promote shoes, and has a style I like and laugh at.. Equally I think yours are beautifully presented, with depth , art, timeless reviews.. Both of you don’t push shoes, just share opinions with honesty and sincerity, It’s refreshing… Another great video, clarity is never a bad thing, and ya depth is gold.. 🙏🏻❤️

[@SagasuRunning]

I also enjoy Midlife Runner. I appreciate the critique and kind words. I’m glad what I do resonates. That is why o do what I do here. Thank you. 🙏🏻

[@TimGrose]

PS I didn't hear the one I don't like to use too much but often do "Brick" :) Also I am sure I end up saying a shoe is "Responsive" quite often but maybe some use terms like "Direct" or "Nimble". Anyway am not sure if I know exactly what I mean - perhaps a shoe that has some limitations, isn't really a race shoe for my very fastest runs or is somehow "Firm" which often these days is used in a negative way but otherwise allows you some get up and go as it were. Also the other "Descriptions" these days are more a classification of shoe type. Some reviewers seem to go to town on this and have their favourites in all sorts of categories. I kind of largely still think of a shoe has either a race one or not and that is doubly confusing now as many race shoes can feel as cushioned or even more so that shoes designed for other slower purposes.

[@SagasuRunning]

I’ll leave “brick” for you….😂 I think you own it at this point. I generally try to qualify “responsive” with one of the words I described… as on its own it doesn’t mean much to me. I too tend to look at shoes as “trainer” or “racer”… keeps things simple.

[@therunophil]

nice overview, thanks. Of course there is no legal definition but "compliance" I understand as the ability of the foam to compress (which is different from the easy to measure hardness of the surface). The force of the decompression is then often called resilience or energy return.

[@SagasuRunning]

They exactly how I’m using “compliance” in this video. It’s about how the foam compresses on foot strike with the road surface. A shoe will no runner on the outsole feels VERY different than one with a full rubber outsole…. IN ADDITION to the resiliency of the foam itself. For example… running in a high resiliency foam like ZoomX of Lightstrike Pro, with no rubber outsole wouldn’t be very fun… but running in a foam with low resiliency like FFBlast+ with little rubber on the outsole (hello Novablast and Superblast) feels pretty nice.

[@wmgonzalbo]

Quality content, vids like this make this channel stand out from the rest. Always learning valuable insights from this channel. 👌 This channel deserves tripple the current subs and more! Wouldn't be surprise if you reach it in the near future.

[@SagasuRunning]

Thank you for the kind words. I'm definitely working on growing the channel...🤙🏻

[@hrussy]

Hi there! I would like to watch a video defining "Daily trainer shoes", "Super shoes", "Mixed shoes", "Racing shoe" and so on... thanks!

[@SagasuRunning]

Ok. I added this to my content list. I’ve kind of touched on this in my rotation videos… but I’ll work on something outright. Stay tuned.

[@moyolenovo3914]

Nice.

[@SagasuRunning]

🤙🏻

[@limta74]

What is the difference in between firm and stiff?

[@SagasuRunning]

I would use “firm” talking about a foam specifically. I would use “stiff” to talk about how a shoe feels overall… a combination of form, plates/rods, upper material and outsole.

[@tadejdanev5030]

I want a cushinoned fast stable shoe, mission impossible? Hyperion MAX GTS? :P

[@SagasuRunning]

Seems the New Balance Rebel v4 may be just this. We shall see. The Hyperion 2 and Max 2 could also be this for sure. GTS option for the Max 2 if you need the stability features…

[@tadejdanev5030]

thank you @@SagasuRunning

[@Charles-kc2vt]

👍

[@SagasuRunning]

🤙🏻

[@Anza_34832]

Has a “dead” feeling to it.

[@SagasuRunning]

I’ll addd they to v2 of this video I do eventually. But “dead” would mean the shoe has no rebound or no energy return. You step down on it in your foot strike and it gives now further information. It’s just there.

[@Anza_34832]

@@SagasuRunning I appreciate that you define the adjectives you use in your reviews. 100% helpful! If I got that right, you’re a fore- to mid foot striker which is also important to know. You also mention your running pace(s) and body weight which are important to know as well. Cadence can make some difference, too (to a lesser extent though). It allows me to and your viewers to judge how similar they are / how similar their experience will be to yours. I remember some shoes from 5-6 years ago that had mid soles with that “dead” feeling to them - most of the newer shoes luckily are “lively” = having more character to them. Nowadays, only lower line models still have that deadness to them. I even have a pair of “AliExpress” no-name shoes which are quite decent for their price, giving me a cushioned ‘ride’ plus a decent amount of rebound at faster paces. I also very much appreciate your industry insights. Professional expertise that most reviewers don’t really have, and probably will never bother to acquire.

[@SagasuRunning]

I appreciate the feedback and kind words. I do try to set a baseline for myself as a runner in order to contextualize what I say in the channel. It’s important for viewers to identify some type of similarity between my tastes and theirs in order for what I say to have value… or in some cases understand why we have opposing views. That’s definitely how I watch other reviewers…

[@MiracleWarriors]

I like running using different shoes in almost every run. Different drop, weight, cushioning, and stability. What I dislike are those shoes that have a reasonably firm middlesole in the forefoot but also have a too soft and mushy on the rest of the middlesole . Like the 1080v13 , it is extremely soft from the heel and towards the middle of the arches. That makes a really bad, stable shoes and feels like it has a zero or negative drop. On the other hand, Adidas Adios 4, 5, 6 & 7 that I ran for many years , they are softer in the forefoot and firmer in the heel area ! That helps me keep my speed high with better stability that will make me lose less time and energy, supinating and pronating too much. Unfortunately, the New Balance Brand is not the only one that is making shoes with the middlesole half super soft and the forefoot firmernfor stability. I prefer the opposite.

[@SagasuRunning]

I too don’t like an overly “squishy soft” shoe. I prefer a firmer on,e, especially I the forefoot. Luckily the Adios 8 still has that good forefoot feel.. even if the heel is now softer than traditionally. I also rotate a range of shoes with drops, geometry and foams/techs. Though I seem to have found I prefer a 6-8mm drop firmer lower stack shoe over most.

[@edwinduisburg8138]

After the release of Vaporfly 3, I looked for the reviews interestingly some people were saying the shoe felt softer than the previous version and others were saying firmer than the previous version. I never ran in Vaporfly 2 and I wondered what I would feel if I ran in Vaporfly 3 but I never found out. People usually pick one side or another when describing the shoe and maybe we need a new word (if it doesn't exist) to describe shoes neither soft nor firm. I'm trying to remember if I had a running shoe that I would describe as harsh and maybe I can say zoomX foam because it gets annoying if I use them in training for prolonged periods. I also thought compliant meant how well the shoe rebounds when you strike the ground ( the bounce effect). I guess it could be different in English. Edit: Maybe I'm confusing with complaince. I don't know which one is the right one to describe.

[@SagasuRunning]

I found the VF3 foam to be softer, but the shoe relax firmer due to the sculpting and engineering of the midsole. It is an ideal combo for the material in my mind. The most harsh combination for my legs is Asics FFTurbo and an Asics carbon fiber plate. FFTurbo on its own, like in the Superblast, is nice… but those ultra stiff plates Asics’s uses makes it too harsh for me. In engineering terms “compliant” means something that displaces stiffness when under load. So with a foam of the shoe it gives that soft feeling. It’s the opposite of stiff in this case. Rubber outsoles can be levels of stiff (depending on how kucbrunner and how stiff the material is) which can cause some issues in certain applications. The bounce effect you are describing “resiliency” of a material… how quickly a material rebounds when unloaded… I.e. “bounce back”.

[@edwinduisburg8138]

@@SagasuRunning Maybe I could say the same thing about FFTurbo foam if I didn't return them after a few runs. I had issues 'Bulkiness' of their shoes. Never felt natural to me. Thanks for the correction. So many words to remember.

[@fantasmasd]

Hi, great content! I have an idea for your shoe reviews: you could use a handful the words/descriptions in the video above to make a profile for each shoe, using scores from 1 to 10. For instance: Shoe XYZ: Softness 7 Bounciness (resilience?) 8 Aggressiveness 3 Stability 4 Smoothness 4 Etc. Over time you could build a "database" of shoes and make it possible to compare between shoes.

[@SagasuRunning]

Thank you for the kind words on the channel. You know, when I designed this channel and wrote my initial content strategy I considered a rating system/scale for my review format. I even designed one. However, I choose not to use it as I find them very subjective and meaningless after a certian point. I'd rather communicate how the shoe feels, what my impressions are and the product design and technical reasons for why it is how it is. I find that more valuable and useful. Plus no one else was approaching running shoe reviews like that. Plenty use an arbitrary scale. Oddly, I do have a running shoe database I use for my own reference. However, it has no rating scale. Just product metrics and my impressions.

[@fantasmasd]

I fully agree with you. Please note that my suggested “scores” are not a rating system, just a way to describe your personal impressions of the shoe to create a profile

[@SagasuRunning]

Got it…. Still think words are easier, which is why I made a video. Any type of number score is going to be expected to be tallied up, either by me of a viewer, for a “final score”. I want to avoid that at all costs.

[@jazgrc692]

I think you can make a matrix for foams/shoes with x-axis: softness and y-axis: energy return/bounce.

[@SagasuRunning]

I’ve done this for superfoams….here; kzbin.info/www/bejne/eIqYd6ysqqaBhpYsi=ByCRjuPIxRieuEEr But I think I need to add some new super foams to it and do one for training foams. I’ll add it to my content plan for this year. 👍🏻

[@jazgrc692]

@@SagasuRunning nice!!

[@kostaspapazoglou2851]

Because of your nuanced and unambiguous knowledge, you avoided the inevitable and obvious contradictions and pitfalls but, nevertheless, every word used contains a semantic "elasticity" that renders it subjective and with a degree of vagueness. In the same way that you claim "responsiveness" as a descriptor is "meaningless", so can be any of the descriptive terms every reviewer uses! A pejorative connotation for one person can equally be a positive one for another. I listen to selected reviewers mainly for their technical information, up-dates and explanations, rather than their subjective assessment of the shoes. I'm involved with high-end hi-fi and apply the same principle......Just like I trust my own ears to evaluate a component, so I trust my own feet for shoes! A good, sincere reviewer may, at best, be a valuable guide in highlighting worthwhile shoes to consider but reviewers are ultimately governed by their own prejudices and preconceptions and, some, even by their macro and micro vested interests and financial gains! What sets you apart is that you combine science with art and clear articulation with an almost calming, transcending demeanour! Cheers from Melbourne.

[@SagasuRunning]

I appreciate the feedback here. I completely agree on the level of subjectiveness in the space. Ultimately it is about your own feet, as you said. Part of how I’ve always looked at the review space, especially for running shoes, is to find those who I generally agree with (same taste in shoes) and/or completely disagree with (totally different taste in shoes) and work from there. I find those people and come back to them time and time again to get a basic sense of what I’m about to get into if I choose to buy said shoe. But ultimately…. It is my feet that decide and often they overrule my chosen reviewers AND my own mind. I hope to be a steady and educational resource in this space… which over time will have a body of work and opinions that offer a consistent point-of-view. I do find videos like this useful though as extra detail around what I do. I don’t expect everyone to watch them and they are not pre-requirements to understand my content… but for those who already follow me they give just a bit more context and detail for the channel.

[@Ckwon117]

this is such quality content. not just spamming shoe reviews. Its hard to make content like this i think. Thank you

[@SagasuRunning]

I appreciate the kind words. Thank you. 🤙🏻

[@bhimashisoraganvi2814]

Nike Voperfly Next 2 vs Adidas adizero adio 8 for best ride for 1.6 kilometers fast running

[@SagasuRunning]

Both will do well… and as much as the Adios 8 is one of my favorite shoes at the moment… I’d still pick the Vaporfly 2 for an all out 1.8k run…

[@bhimashisoraganvi2814]

@@SagasuRunning which is fast for 1.6 km in these two shoes which comes comport, easy,fast, Energy return

[@SagasuRunning]

@@bhimashisoraganvi2814 Vaperfly 2…. 💯

[@bhimashisoraganvi2814]

@@SagasuRunning I am from india sir.. thanks for response god bless you ❤

[@femaciel]

'Forgiving' foams and shoes?

[@SagasuRunning]

Not a term I use to describe a running shoe… but what I’d considering “forgiving” is either: 1). A shoe that has a large sweet spot, from design/geometry to the foam. Meaning it works for alot of foot strikes and is the type of shoe you can just put on and go. 2). A shoe that has a foam in it that is very leg saving, helps in recovery and is easy to run in.

[@moyolenovo3914]

I adore soft foams in any brand. But prefer firm Pegasus over mushy Vomero. I hate firm, harsh and dead NB More v3 and really love soft, springy and bouncy NB Rebel v3)

[@SagasuRunning]

As do I. The Vomero 17 is a great shoe… but I’ll take a Pegasus 40 over it any day.

[@moyolenovo3914]

Thanks for your response. Love the channel. Best wishes from Ukraine)

[@SagasuRunning]

@@moyolenovo3914 Thank you for the support! 🤙🏻

[@barburrito5130]

You deserve more subs

[@SagasuRunning]

Definitely working on it! Thank you for the support. 🤙🏻

[@TimGrose]

Funny as these days I would say virtually every shoe is "soft" compared to what they were even 5 years ago - even the ones like say a Pegasus 40 which many now would call "firm". Still watching ...

[@SagasuRunning]

Agree… that’s why started there. It’s the most overused word for running shoes at the moment… unless you like the Adidas Adizero line only…