Ranking the Max Cushion Running Shoes from Each Brand
Below we are ranking the max cushion shoes from each brand based on the comfort, stability, and quality of the options. We will take a look at the ASICS Gel-Nimbus 27, Puma Mag Max, Nike Vomero Premium, Adidas Prime X 3 Strung, Mizuno Neo Vista 2, Brooks Glycerin Max and more from Saucony, On, Hoka, and New Balance.
We graded every shoe brand’s max-cushion lineup. The comfort wars are heating up—ASICS, Puma, and Hoka came through with balanced builds that mix plush foam and real stability for long-haul comfort. New Balance and On tried to go big but ended up feeling more gimmick than glide. Meanwhile, Brooks, Saucony, and Mizuno sit comfortably in the middle—steady options that get the job done without stealing the spotlight.
ASICS: A
The Gel-Nimbus 27 is a best-in-class max cushion cruiser, perfect for recovery days, and the Glideride Max, a plastic-plated dual foam cruiser, is criminally underrated.
Asics Gel-Nimbus 27
Asics GlideRide Max
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On: D
The land of the firm and the home of the bricks. On's "max cushion" shoes are way firmer and lower than those from any other brand. Their slim-pickings lineup includes the Cloudsurfer Max and the Cloudmonster 2, which is supposed to be their max cushion daily trainer.
New Balance: C+
The 1080V14, a cushioned daily trainer, and More V6, a max cushion offering, are soft, comfortable options from New Balance, but they lack the energy return runners expect in their max cushion, recovery shoes in 2025.
New Balance More v6
Hoka: A
Hoka continues to remindus that they pioneered the max cushion category. The Bondi 9 is a fantastic, supportive max cushion cruiser, and the Skyward X, the first dual foam plated behemoth, is still one of the most fun, bouncy shoes out there.
Hoka Bondi 9
Adidas: B-
The Prime X 3 Strung is a fun, fast, max stack behemoth, but in terms of pure max cushion cruisers, Adidas' offerings aren't top tier. The Adistar 4 is their supportive max cushion shoe but we found the QA to be horrible, with the foam in the left and right shoes feeling completely different from each other and the fit being very snug and the Supernova Prima 2 is a forgettable max cushion workhorse.
Adidas Prime X 3 Strung
Adidas Adistar 4
Adidas Supernova Prima 2
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Saucony: B+
The Hurricane 25, a stability max cushion shoe, and Endorphin Trainer, a plastic-plated dual foam long run shoe released this year, are excellent shoes, but we had to dock points because of the outdated Triumph 23, Saucony's legacy max cushion shoe.
Saucony Triumph 23
Saucony Hurricane 25
Saucony Endorphin Trainer
Nike: B+
Nike has the most creative and exciting max cushion lineup on the market, but sometimes it feels like they've hit the point of diminishing returns with all that stack and tech underfoot. The Vomero Plus is a bouncy, cushioned daily trainer that encourages you to pick up the pace a little more than you might want for recovery runs. The Pegasus Premium is a heavy, unstable, floaty max cushion shoe with a lot of tech underfoot and the Vomero Premium has the highest stack of foam we've ever experienced in a performance running shoe, along with dual Air Zoom units.
Nike Vomero Plus
Nike Pegasus Premium
Nike Vomero Premium
Brooks: A-
The Glycerin Max is a legend in the max cushion category at this point, but the Glycerin 22, Brooks' max cushioned daily trainer, is what comes up when you look up "mid" in the dictionary.
Brooks Glycerin 22
Brooks Glycerin Max
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Mizuno: A-
Mizuno quietly has the highest average stack height of any brand. The Neo Zen is a soft, bouncy, max cushion daily trainer and the Neo Vista 2 is a highly underrated max stack long run shoe with dual foams and a plastic plate. The Wave Sky 9 is Mizuno's more traditional max cushion daily trainer.
Mizuno Neo Zen
Mizuno Neo Vista 2
Mizuno Wave Sky 9
Puma: A+
The MagMax is a max cushion icon and the Magnify Nitro 3 is a candidate for cushioned daily trainer of the year.
Puma MagMax Nitro
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Puma Magnify Nitro 3
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