Are Expensive Running Shoes Really Better for You?

When buying anything, a general rule of thumb is that the more expensive a product, the better its quality. However, a recent study seems to have reached the opposite conclusion, at least within the realm of running shoes. Performance footwear comparison website RunRepeat recently put together a survey of 134,867 customer reviews on 391 running shoe models across 24 brands and crunched the numbers, ultimately coming up with the surprising finding that inexpensive running shoes are often better rated than more expensive models. As the result of a plethora of factors, including everything from R&D and marketing budgets, market perception (minimalist shoes very much being the current trend) and very subjective customer reviews, the study’s conclusion should be taken with a grain of salt, but the cash-strapped may be glad to hear that price is not the ultimate indicator of quality after all.

Take a more in-depth look at the results of the study here.