Winflo 12 vs Ride 18

At £99.99 the Winflo 12 is one of the cheapest ways into a high-stack Nike running shoe, and it's a very different shoe from the Winflo 11. Nike piled on foam, taking the heel to 40.9mm and the forefoot to 30.3mm with a 10.6mm drop. The result is a soft, stable daily training shoe for easy miles and long runs. It isn't built for speed, and at 305g it's heavy, which is the complaint that keeps coming up. RunRepeat rated it highly, mostly for how much protection you get for the money. Fordy Runs was cooler, calling it a decent budget shoe but pointing serious runners to the Vomero 18, which costs £45 more at RRP. We sit somewhere between the two. If your budget stops around £100 and most of your running is steady, it makes a lot of sense. If you want a shoe that can also handle tempo work, pick something lighter.

The Saucony Ride 18 is a do-everything daily training shoe, the kind of neutral road runner you buy once and reach for on most days of the week. It is not trying to be fast, plated or exotic. It is trying to soak up your easy miles, your commute jogs and your steady long runs without drama, and it does that well. At 266g in a UK men's sample with an 8mm drop, it sits right in the middle of the daily-trainer class: cushioned enough to feel protective, not so soft that it wallows. The ride is smooth and predictable rather than exciting, with a rocker that keeps you rolling forward at conversational pace. At £130 RRP it is priced fairly for the category. If you want one honest, comfortable neutral trainer for the bulk of your week, the Ride 18 is an easy shoe to recommend. For genuine pace work you will want something snappier, like the Nike Pegasus 42 or a dedicated tempo shoe.