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The HOKA Rocket X 3 is a decent, very stable racer with a soft ride that’s best suited to the marathon distance; however, it suffers from outsole durability issues due to its midsole being too soft. Version 3 has a softer ride and a more flexible carbon plate, resulting in a slower, more relaxed ride than its predecessor. It also has a plusher upper with better comfort.

The Adidas Adistar 4 is an excellent, versatile daily trainer with a durable build. It has a stiff forefoot and a rocker that creates fast and energetic transitions. It also has a deep, decoupled groove on its underside that enhances bounce and energy return.

The Metaspeed Sky is a carbon-plated racer designed specifically for stride runners who rely more on stride length over cadence to increase their speed. It has a design where the flat plate is situated closer to the foot than in the Edge version. The Sky Tokyo is the 4th version in the series while the Sky Paris is the 3rd version. There are some significant differences between these two versions and this comparison will tell you which version is better suited to you.

The Mizuno Wave Rider 29 is a very soft daily trainer best suited to relaxed running. It has a nitrogen infused Enerzy NXT midsole which gives it an exciting ride but it has a really flexible forefoot that makes it difficult to pick up the pace. The biggest difference between version 29 and previous versions is the new 10 mm drop and the much softer ride.

The ASICS Metaspeed Sky Tokyo is a firm-riding racer with a stiff carbon plate that's best suited to half marathons or shorter races. The Tokyo version is slightly softer than its predecessor but a lot less stable due to the new layer of FF Leap in the bottom of its midsole. The softer bottom layer also makes it more difficult to engage the carbon plate so it doesn’t feel as fast as previous versions.