NorthernRunner.com Blog

The Topo Athletic Phantom 3 is Topo Athletic’s everyday neutral training shoe. It is versatile enough to be used for everything from those easy morning recovery miles, your first few miles as a new runner, through to Sunday’s long run. That even includes some faster running. If you just want one shoe for all of your road running then the Topo Phantom 3 would be well worth considering. If you need a bit of pronation support then we would suggest considering the Topo Athletic Ultrafly 3, which has similar features... Read More

We review the latest edition to the Scarpa trail running shoe line up, specifically designed for UK conditions, the Scarpa Spin ST. “Designed for UK conditions” means they are a shoe designed to give good traction on wet and muddy ground and flexible enough to take the curvature of the ground beneath you, to maintain traction even when contouring. Often this type of shoe is labelled as a ‘fell running shoe’, but as we are lucky enough to have lots of public footpaths that give us access to many open... Read More

Shortly after a much-anticipated launch, we’ve finished up our Altra FWD Experience review. Altra came into the running shoe market around thirteen years ago with an ethos to fix the wrongs of the running shoes that were on the market at that time. Altra running shoes are designed to let your feet function as nature intended, giving them the space to do so. All styles including the Altra FWD Experience have a broader, rounded toe box (three varieties) and up until now had previously all been 0mm from heel to... Read More

Hoka is renowned for making shoes that offer very soft, thick midsoles in combination with a rocker to help improve your running economy. Their shoes have been so successful that a lot of brands are now following by making shoes of this type. However, Hoka have recognised that a high stack height shoe with a soft midsole isn’t the best combination for every type of running, and they do make some shoes that are more flexible with a firmer more responsive midsole. The Hoka Zinal 2 is one of those... Read More

The Clifton 9 is Hoka’s most popular neutral, cushioned running shoe and has been part of Hoka’s road running range for over 14 years. Northern Runner has already reviewed the Hoka Clifton 9 with the ‘standard’ mesh upper here. The Hoka Clifton 9 GTX is in effect the same shoe with a waterproof upper. However, having run in the Clifton 9 GTX for a few hundred miles now I have found that they are a bit different and decided that the Hoka Clifton 9 GTX warrant’s its own review, to... Read More

The New Balance 1080 is now in its thirteenth edition and this week, thanks for our friends at New Balance getting us a test pair early and ahead of product launch, we’ve finished up our New Balance 1080v13 review. The popular shoe has been designed for use during your everyday runs and longer runs. The cushioning is soft offering a plush, luxurious ride to help nurture tied legs after hard sessions or reduce impact related soreness from longer runs. There is a bit of a change in the feel of... Read More

The Altra Paradigm 7 is a maximum cushioned road running shoe designed to offer some anti-pronation assistance, should you require it. As a result, the Altra Paradigm 7 can be used by neutral runners who like a stable ride as well as mild pronators. A few of us have ran in the Paradigm 7, so here’s our review. Zero Drop Like all Altra running shoes (a low drop shoe is actually coming soon), the Paradigm 7 is Zero Drop. Some customers found that confusing at first. It doesn’t mean it’s... Read More

This week we review Karhu’s entry into maximal cushioning road running shoes, with the Karhu Mestari Run 1.0. Karhu has been making running shoes for over 100 years. In that time, they have learnt that a good running shoe is not made of bouncy cushioning that makes you go up and down with every stride. In stead a good running shoe should push you forward and allow a smooth natural running motion. That way you are lighter on your feet, and you move faster with less stress on the body.... Read More

Many Brooks customers have been looking forward to our Brooks Cascadia 17 review. The Brooks Cascadia 16 was very different to the previous generations. The Cascadia 17 has kept many of the changes that were made to the 16 but they have been tweaked a bit. Depending on your foot shape and the terrain that you are running on, these changes could be positive or negative. The fit has changed. A snugger, more locked in fit has been created by a reduction in volume in the forefoot of the Cascadia... Read More