Best Cushioned Running Shoes Right Now: Nike Vomero Plus, ASICS Blast Range and More

Introduction

There is a lot happening in the cushioned daily trainer space right now. Nike has quietly restructured its Vomero line, the Invincible Run 3 is still on sale, and ASICS is about to flood the market with three new shoes from its Blast range. This roundup pulls together what matters most: what each shoe is for, what it costs, and who should actually buy it.

A word of caution first: plenty of “best running shoes” lists online are closer to affiliate showcases than genuine recommendations, often assigning one shoe per brand per category regardless of whether it truly earns the spot. It pays to cross-check any recommendation against what you actually need from a shoe.

Nike Vomero Plus

The newly launched Vomero Plus slots into the middle of the Vomero family, sitting between the standard Vomero 18 and the upcoming Vomero Premium. It uses a full ZoomX midsole with a 45mm heel stack, more midsole than the Invincible Run 3, and it functions in practice as a soft, bouncy max-cushion daily shoe. Multiple colorways are available, including a black upper on a white midsole, an orange and mango option, and an eye-catching vault and red version.

Pricing is the interesting part. It undercuts the pricier Vomero option while offering more stack, which makes the more expensive tier hard to justify for most runners. Street pricing can go lower still, with discounts bringing pairs down to around £135, a much easier number to stomach for a daily trainer.

Nike Vomero 18

The Vomero 18 remains the established max-stack option in the line and is still frequently cited as the go-to for maximum cushion. The one caveat: with the Plus now on shelves and the Premium on the way, the 18 sits in a lineup in transition, so it is worth comparing all three before committing.

Nike Invincible Run 3

Nike is still selling the Invincible Run 3 on its own site at £175, with custom design versions at £200. If you want a lower-stack ZoomX shoe and do not want the Vomero Plus, this remains the alternative. The upside of the newest launches is that the ZoomX placement is now actually visible on the midsole, something earlier models made harder to identify.

Nike Pegasus Plus

The Pegasus Plus often gets labelled a best daily trainer, and it has genuine appeal: it is light, nimble, reasonably durable if you are a little careful, and offers a slightly wider fit than many other Nike models. At £165 retail it is on the expensive side for a daily shoe, though, and there are cheaper alternatives that arguably deliver more for the money.

ASICS Novablast 5

At £135, the Novablast 5 is a strong daily trainer pick. It offers a good weight, good cushioning, and decent durability with solid outsole grip. For many runners it represents better value than more expensive Nike daily options, and it deserves its place on any shortlist.

ASICS Sonic Blast

The incoming Sonic Blast looks like a plated tempo trainer, positioned to rival the Nike Zoomfly 6 with a bit more pep. It is expected to use FF Blast Max foam, the softer compound found in the Novablast 5 and GT-2000 v14, which is a little softer than FF Blast Turbo with more bounce and return. A layer of the new FF Blast Turbo 2 foam sits closer to the foot for responsiveness, and a plate, likely plastic or nylon, is mounted in the midsole. Expect a stack in the region of 46mm in the heel with an 8mm drop.

This is an interesting proposition for longer runs with speedier interval sections bolted on, and it extends the Super Blast concept into genuinely faster territory.

ASICS Mega Blast

The Mega Blast appears to share the Sonic Blast’s midsole stack but drops the plate, has a slightly less prominent ankle height, and comes in a bit lighter. That positioning suggests a softer, un-plated big-cushion option for runners who want Blast-range comfort without the structure. Retail pricing looks to be around £210 in the UK, which is a significant ask, so it will live or die on how that foam stack feels underfoot.

ASICS Super Blast 3

Early images of what appears to be the Super Blast 3 suggest mock-ups rather than final product, but the talk is of an even taller heel than the Super Blast 2, with FF Blast Leap as the main midsole technology and a slab of FF Blast Turbo Plus closer to the ground. That will either excite you or put you off entirely.

Fans of the original Super Blast love its insane durability and value, racking up mile after mile without the shoe ever feeling dull, even at a premium price. Detractors found the denser, firmer feel hard to live with. The softer FF Blast Leap on the top layer may be a little too plush and bouncy for some, so this is one to watch rather than pre-order blindly.

Buying Advice

If you want a max-cushion daily shoe today, the Vomero Plus offers the most compelling recent package, especially at discounted street prices. The Novablast 5 remains one of the best-value daily trainers available. If tempo speed matters, wait for the Sonic Blast before spending on a plated trainer, and keep an eye on how the Super Blast 3 actually turns out. The Invincible Run 3 and Vomero 18 still make sense at the right price, but the newer stack options give you little reason to pay full freight for the older models.

Conclusion

The cushioned trainer market is crowded, but a few clear picks emerge: the Vomero Plus for Nike-leaning max-cushion daily use, the Novablast 5 for value, and the incoming Blast trio for runners building a rotation around softness and speed. As always, match the shoe to the runs you actually do rather than to a listicle’s category labels.