Sonicblast 2 vs Neo Vista 3

Fordy Runs calls it a big step up from the first version, and the spec sheet backs that up. The Sonicblast 2 keeps the layout of the first version (FF Turbo Squared on top, FF Blast Max underneath, a Pebax plate between them) but the plate is now forked, and reviewers say it's noticeably lighter and bouncier than before. It's a plated super trainer for tempo sessions, marathon-pace long runs and the odd race, not a soft shoe for recovery days.

Doctors of Running graded it A-, and another review's three testers liked the ride too, though all of them found it firm at easy pace. The catch is price. At £170 RRP it sits right beside the Superblast 3, which is still the better choice if you want one shoe for easy days as well as fast ones. If most of your running is at tempo or marathon pace, the Sonicblast is the sharper of the two, and it gets easier to recommend once it drops below full price in the table.

Mizuno trimmed the Neo Vista this year instead of making it bigger. Our spec sheet has the 3 a little lower than the Neo Vista 2 at heel and forefoot, at much the same 266g, and the RRP comes down to £150. The change reviewers noticed first is the fit: the heel now holds your foot properly, and the length complaints about the last version have gone. Underfoot it's still a big, soft max-cushion super trainer with no carbon plate, and most testers liked it more than the 2. Where they part ways is pace. Some found real spring for uptempo finishes, while one lab measured only modest energy return and called it bulky once you push. Doctors of Running graded the performance highly but marked the fit down hard, mostly for thick heel padding that bothered a tester's Achilles. We'd buy it as a long-run and recovery running shoe and leave the intervals to something lighter.