I recently had a minor setback with my foot and decided it was time to get new shoes prior to the upcoming Shamrock Half Marathon. The Newton Aha’s were the second pair of shoes I recently purchased, the others being the Altra Instinct 3.0, which I will review later.
I went back to the running store looking for a second pair of shoes that would be a minimalist and a higher drop than the Altras (zero drop), and I had read some Newton shoes had a 6mm drop – perfect to alternate with my Altras. After looking at several Newtons with 6mm drop, I purchased the Aha.
I own another pair of Newtons – the Distance IIIs (see archives for review). I did not really get used to the Distance and for me they cause ankle and arch pain. The lugs on the distance are POP1, which are the largest of the lugs, and the Aha has the POP3, the smallest lugs. Newton’s latest shoe models all have 5 lugs (to my knowledge) instead of 4 lugs in earlier models (like the Distance III). The lugs on the Aha seemed not as noticeable as the POP1, and Newton considers this a transition shoe for those that eventually want to run in the POP1 lug shoes. The shoes are very light, although my Altras are about a 1/2 ounce lighter. The box toe is large and allows for toes to splay. There is enough cushion that seems just right – not too much, not too little. The shoe well put together, and I love the material the upper is made from and how uniform it is.
I ran in these shoes a couple times now (2 miles, 8 miles), and I really like them. My legs are not feeling tired, and my foot has not been hurting since I started wearing Aha. Although if you really want to feel the lugs, you probably want to go with a different Newton, but the POP3 are noticeable, just not as pronounced as the others.
I will update this review after I run a few more times in them, but for now, I am giving these shoes an 8.5/10.