The worst running shoe brands?

Mizuno.

Karhu.

It amazing they are still in business

Roos

hmmmmmmmmm wrote:

Mizuno.

Mizuno shoes have great quality. The ride may not be for everyone, but they sure have a strong following.

I've run in the Rider, Sayonara, and now the Sonic, and they all had/have a great, secure fit and very good build quality and durability.

I actually forgot about Karhu. I honestly didn't think they were still making shoes in the US. They seem like New Balance from the early 90's.

Mizuno makes good shoes they sell in Asian markets only. Their us shoes are crap.

Brooks seems to have the worst products including footwear. They make less successful versions of whatever is selling well lately.

Brooks has the worst approach to Running Shoes . They will continue to build clunky Shoes for walking/running. They are spectators for technical innovation , will only respond to what Nike develops.

I always found the non-name brands like Hoka and Altra lack quality control. I stick with the namebrands.

As far as major brands, Brooks seems to be about 10 years behind everyone and their shoes are ugly. ASICS shoes that are sold in America are ugly, narrow and heavy. I wouldn’t call them bad, but they haven’t done much recently. I recall they came out with a carbon plate $250 shoe a little while ago. Called the meta run. It was actually a nice ride.

At Boston expo, there was some startup jammed the corner that tried to get me into his shoes with no heel. They were absolutely awful in every respect. OnRunning has consistency issues with durability. Hoka are just recently getting durable and reliable. Up until 2 years ago, they had terrible build quality.

converse

Got recommended some Brooks ghost whatever in my local shop for easy/steady runs.

They’re my first pair and I find them awful. Less stable than my Bostons and less comfortable than my Hokas, and really hot even in winter.

Lots of Brooks haters on here. For me, Brooks has been just fine. I like them and have had good success with them for training.

I have grown to hate Brookes, I enjoyed their t7 racer, but overall not a fan of their shoes for running. I find their shoes can feel comfy as in store for walking around but it doesn’t translate at all for a good running experience. Unresponsive, kinda heavy and and their foams go dead far too quickly. Every shoe brand sells a portion of trash shoes though so it’s always dangerous buying anything new.

Brooks make a lot of bad shoes but they make some half decent ones as well.

the worst for me has to ASICS but i haven't tried any of their new generation of shoes which have been getting some positive reviews.

I've enjoyed the Brooks Ghost immensely and have recommended it to several other runners who've enjoyed them. Ghosts are the only Brooks I've had though. To each their own.

I had a pair of Mizuno many years ago and remember picking up stones in the wave plate all the time. Quit them then.

Easy. Brooks. I've been running for 45 years and have tried all the brands. The ones that seemed to work for me:

Saucony

Nike

adidas ('80s)

New Balance ('70s & '80s)

Hoka (recently)

Asics

Converse Equinox only ('80s)

Brooks suck.

Never tried Puma or Reebok

I've given Saucony their fair shake over the years (have tried several of their flagship models from the Kinvara, to the Triumph, to the Freedom), and I'm always left feeling that they're incredibly cheap and low quality. I've never felt like I got what I paid for with their shoes.

Asics have kind of fallen behind. They are not BAD. They just do not take advantage of modern advances like the others do.

Besides non-running brands like Under Armor,

Quality:

Saucony

Nike

New Balance

Adidas

Brooks

Solid:

Hoka

Mizuno

Sketchers

Reebok

Asics

On seem gimmicky. I have never tried them.

I left out the trail brands, as I am not so familiar with them. I think they tend to have have lower quality products with occasional winners (Altra Escalante).

My Votes:

Asics

Sketchers

Mizuno

Asics makes a great shoe that has some outdated technology. Fine for an everyday runner. They may catch up soon.

Sketchers uses basic production and happens to have made 1 or 2 winners.

Mizuno has one gimmick that really only suits the heavy hobbyjogger.

New Balance are POS ..wore a new pair just a few times through slush and the soles fell off.