Glycerin 23 vs Invincible 3

The Glycerin 23 is Brooks at its plushest: a max-cushion daily training shoe built for the soft, unhurried side of your week. This is not a shoe chasing a personal best. It is the one you reach for on recovery days, easy miles and long relaxed runs when you want your legs coddled rather than told to work. The DNA Tuned midsole is deep and forgiving, with a tall 38mm heel stack and a moderate 8mm drop that suits heel and midfoot strikers alike. At 300g it is not light, and it never pretends to be fast, so if you want a snappy tempo shoe look elsewhere. What you get instead is comfort you can rely on, mile after mile, in a neutral running shoe that feels like it was tuned for pure cruising. If you want the same plush ride with a touch of support, the Glycerin GTS 22 adds guide rails. We rate it as one of the most dependable soft daily trainers going.

The Nike Invincible 3 is Nike's big, bouncy neutral trainer, a max-cushion running shoe built to eat up easy miles and keep your legs fresh for the next session. This is not a race shoe and it is not trying to be. The stack is tall, the foam is soft and springy, and the whole point is protection over distance. You get a rolling, energetic ride that flatters recovery runs and long steady efforts. At a 9mm drop it sits in familiar territory for most runners, and at 310g it is on the heavier side, which you feel if you try to push the pace. In our view this is one of the best daily training shoes for a neutral runner who wants maximum comfort and does their speed work in something lighter. If you want a similar soft ride at a lower weight, the Nike Vomero 18 is the leaner sibling. Priced at 180 pounds it is a premium buy, so it earns its place as your dedicated cushioning workhorse.