Diadora Atomo v7000

First off, find these at a discount if you can. $240 MSRP for a good trainer (even if it IS my favorite-ever trainer) is outrageous, and I only bought these because Dick's had them for $150ish and I was debating between the V7000 and several $150+ NB models. 

The proprietary Diadora foam used in these shoes is astonishingly good. Plush yet responsive, cushioned but not too soft. The uppers are good, not excellent — they're too thick to breathe really well, and tend to get warm on warmer days, and they absolutely could be made thinner without losing any of what makes them good to begin with. But with plenty of tongue and heel-counter cushioning, they're also extremely comfortable all around the foot, even when they do start getting a little warmer than I'd like. 

The midsole and outsole shape has a somewhat rockered profile that feels rock-solid and stable when you're standing around in these shoes, but once you get moving, there's definitely a perfect curve of some kind underfoot that just feels great for stride after stride, mile after mile. No complaints about the outsole rubber use or texture, either; 90% of my miles have been on gravel or dirt, but on pavement (wet or dry) they exceed expectations. 

The one thing (other than warm-ish uppers) that gives me pause with these shoes is the sizing. They're a solid quarter-size smaller than any other brand I've tried, and going back and forth between the V7000 and the NB Rebel V4 (which runs extremely wide/large) gives me some whiplash. My size 11 is a little snug all the way around, but in a way that holds and cradles the foot, with enough plushness from all angles to never bother blister-prone spots and reduce in-shoe foot movement throughout each stride. I just have to be a bit more careful with running steep downhills in these shoes, since there's really no extra room for your foot to slide forward or backward once they're laced up without making contact with the interior of the shoe. Great for heel lock and reducing extra movement overall, just something to note. 

Training/pace notes: These feel best for me in the 6:00-7:10/mile range, and they're more fun to pick up the pace in than other shoes I have which are lighter, more cushioned, or both. The stack height makes them a bit harder to corner in, but for the most part I don't run in a way where I have to worry about that. 

Final notes: these come with excellent laces that have no trouble staying tied, and some subtle reflective details around the upper which I love. My time management isn't always great and I run after dark at least once a week, year-round, so a bit of reflectivity anywhere is welcome.