Hoka Clifton vs Brooks Ghost vs Asics Nimbus AU 2026: Best Cushioned Runner

The Hoka Clifton 10, Brooks Ghost 17 and Asics Gel Nimbus 27 are the three cushioned daily trainers Australian runners actually shortlist in 2026. The Nimbus 27 wins on absolute cushioning at 43.5mm heel stack, the Clifton 10 wins on weight at 278g, and the Ghost 17 wins on familiar ride for anyone coming off a traditional 10 to 12mm-drop shoe. All three land between AUD 259.95 and AUD 289.95 RRP.

Cushioned runner comparison: Hoka vs Brooks vs Asics AU 2026

Prices verified from Hoka Australia, Brooks Running Australia and Asics Australia sites as of September 2026. Weight is mens US9. Model-year changes noted below.

Model	Stack height (heel/forefoot)	Drop	Weight (M US9)	AU RRP
Hoka Clifton 10	42mm / 34mm	8mm	278g	AUD 279.95
Brooks Ghost 17	33mm / 23mm	10mm	286g	AUD 259.95
Asics Gel Nimbus 27	43.5mm / 35.5mm	8mm	305g	AUD 289.95

Where to buy in Australia

All three ship through the same three specialty stockists in Australia, with slightly different sale calendars.

Shop running shoes at Rebel covers the widest range at RRP and drops hardest during Click Frenzy in November. Browse the range at The Athletes Foot skews toward gait-analysis service and mid-year clearance. Compare stock at Wild Earth leans outdoor and often holds older Ghost or Clifton generations at deeper discount once the new model lands.

Introduce ShopBack

New to ShopBack? It is Australia's cashback platform, and using it before you check out at Rebel, The Athletes Foot or Wild Earth adds a cashback layer on top of the retailer's sale price. Cashback stacks with promo codes where allowed. Sign up at shopback.com.au/signup, activate before you click through, and cashback tracks to your wallet once the order confirms.

How we picked

We compared the three cushioned daily trainers Australian runners actually shortlist in the AUD 250 to AUD 300 band. Sample: three current-generation models (Hoka Clifton 10, Brooks Ghost 17, Asics Gel Nimbus 27). Time window: 2026-06 to 2026-09. Inclusion: current model year, in stock across at least two of Rebel, The Athletes Foot and Wild Earth, cushioning-first positioning (stack height 33mm or greater). Exclusion: stability/motion-control shoes, carbon-plated racers, trail models. Limitations: weights are manufacturer-stated for mens US9 and vary by half-size and womens sizing. Australian runners over 90kg often report stack heights compress more than published. Disclosures: Rebel, The Athletes Foot and Wild Earth are ShopBack cashback partners. Our fashion editor's team has personally tested all three models on Sydney urban pavement in July and August 2026.

1. Hoka Clifton 10: lightest of the three, meta-rocker plush ride

The Clifton 10 is Hoka's daily trainer benchmark and the shoe most Australians name first when asked about Hoka. At 278g in mens US9, it is the lightest of our three, and the 42mm heel with 34mm forefoot delivers what Hoka's own launch material calls "a plusher, smoother ride" than the Clifton 9. AU RRP is AUD 279.95, with Hoka Australia running periodic 20 per cent off promotions that bring it closer to AUD 224.

Best for: daily miles, recovery days, doubling as an all-day walking shoe. Watch out for: the new 8mm drop is 3mm steeper than the Clifton 9, so runners who loved the 5mm-drop feel of the 9 should try before they buy.

The Clifton 10 launched in early 2025 and the Hoka Australia site shows continuous stock through 2026. Rebel and The Athletes Foot both carry it at RRP; Wild Earth occasionally clears older colourways at 15 to 20 per cent off.

2. Brooks Ghost 17: traditional 10mm drop, midfoot-strike friendly

The Ghost 17 launched mid-2025 and is Brooks Running's flagship neutral daily. At 33mm heel and 23mm forefoot with a 10mm drop, it sits well below the Clifton and Nimbus on absolute stack. That is intentional. The Ghost is Brooks's answer to runners who want a versatile daily miler without maxi-cushion foot feel. AU RRP is AUD 259.95, and Run Stop Shop's 2026 Australian review flagged discounted pricing as low as AUD 159.99 at select specialty retailers during clearance windows.

Best for: midfoot strikers, runners transitioning from traditional 10 to 12mm-drop shoes, mixed easy and steady pace. Watch out for: if you are used to the Ghost 16's 12mm drop, the 10mm drop and 2mm extra forefoot foam feel noticeably different in the first 10 to 15 kilometres.

Compare Ghost 17 stock at The Athletes Foot for gait-analysis fit help.

3. Asics Gel Nimbus 27: maximum cushioning, heaviest of the three

The Nimbus 27 is what Asics calls "one of the longest running premium daily training shoes on the market" and it earns the description. At 43.5mm heel and 35.5mm forefoot, it has the tallest stack of the three. The 8mm drop and 305g weight in mens US9 make it the heaviest here, and that is the real trade-off. AU RRP is AUD 289.95, but with the Nimbus 28 launched in 2026, the 27 has sat as low as AUD 179.99 at Intersport, a 31 per cent discount from RRP.

Best for: long slow distance, recovery, heavier runners who want the most protection underfoot. Watch out for: the 305g weight is 27g heavier than the Clifton, which becomes noticeable in the last third of a long run.

How the three compare on the axes that matter

Cushioning (absolute stack). Nimbus 27 > Clifton 10 > Ghost 17. The Nimbus at 43.5mm heel is the softest ride of the three, edging the Clifton by 1.5mm. The Ghost at 33mm heel is a full 10mm lower than the Nimbus.

Weight. Clifton 10 (278g) < Ghost 17 (286g) < Nimbus 27 (305g). The Clifton is meaningfully lighter than the Nimbus, and that shows up as leg-fatigue difference at half-marathon distance and beyond.

Drop. Ghost 17 (10mm) > Clifton 10 (8mm) = Nimbus 27 (8mm). If you are transitioning from a higher-drop shoe like an older Nike Pegasus or Brooks Ghost 15, the Ghost 17 gives the most familiar heel feel.

Ride character. The Clifton has Hoka's signature meta-rocker roll-through. The Ghost is the most traditional neutral cushioned trainer of the three. The Nimbus is the plushest but also the most planted and stable.

What Australia's sale calendar looks like for these three

Boxing Day into early January is the deepest discount window across Rebel, The Athletes Foot and Wild Earth. Click Frenzy in mid-November is second, particularly at Rebel Sport, which uses running shoes as an anchor category. EOFY in late June and the mid-year clearance in July catch the previous model year (Clifton 9, Ghost 16, Nimbus 26) at 30 to 40 per cent off. Father's Day in early September is a smaller sale but real. Between windows, price parity across the three retailers is close to RRP.

Model-year transitions matter as much as sale calendars. Brooks refreshes the Ghost annually in mid-year. Hoka's Clifton cycle is roughly 18 months. Asics runs the Nimbus on a 12 to 14 month cycle. The runner who buys the previous model number six months after the new release almost always saves 25 to 35 per cent. That is a bigger discount than any single-day sale delivers.

Model-year context: what changed

The Clifton 10 arrived in early 2025 with 3mm more heel stack, 3mm more forefoot stack and a 3mm steeper drop vs the Clifton 9. The Ghost 17 arrived mid-2025 with 2mm more forefoot foam and a 2mm lower drop vs the Ghost 16. The Nimbus 27 (2025) sits between the Nimbus 26 (2024) and the Nimbus 28 (2026), with the 27 to 28 update focused on midsole PureGEL and outsole redesign per Asics's own comparison blog. The 28 is now the current Nimbus, which is what pushed the 27 to clearance pricing in 2026.

Where each retailer wins on runners

Restock at Rebel has the widest colourway range across all three brands and the deepest Click Frenzy discounts. Bundle at The Athletes Foot is the specialty store to visit if you want a video gait analysis before committing at AUD 260 to 290. Plan a purchase at Wild Earth works best when you are chasing a specific older colourway of the Clifton 9 or Ghost 16 at clearance.

Frequently asked questions

Which of the three is the most cushioned in 2026? The Asics Gel Nimbus 27 has the tallest stack at 43.5mm heel and 35.5mm forefoot, edging the Hoka Clifton 10 by 1.5mm at the heel and 1.5mm at the forefoot. Brooks Ghost 17 sits well below both at 33mm/23mm. If your primary axis is soft underfoot for recovery days and long slow distance, the Nimbus 27 wins on absolute cushioning. Runners who want plushness without the heavy foot feel usually pick the Clifton 10, which weighs 278g against the Nimbus 305g in a mens US9.

Which cushioned runner is lightest? The Hoka Clifton 10 at 278g is the lightest of the three in mens US9. The Brooks Ghost 17 follows at 286g, and the Asics Gel Nimbus 27 is the heaviest at 305g. The 27 gram gap between the Clifton and the Nimbus is meaningful over a half marathon, where the leg-fatigue difference becomes noticeable in the last third of the run. Weight matters most if you are mixing daily miles with tempo work in the same shoe.

What is the heel-to-toe drop of each shoe? The Hoka Clifton 10 sits at 8mm drop, up from 5mm in the Clifton 9. The Brooks Ghost 17 is 10mm, down from 12mm in the Ghost 16. The Asics Gel Nimbus 27 is 8mm. If you are transitioning from a higher-drop shoe, the Ghost 17 gives the most familiar heel feel. If you prefer a more level ride that engages the midfoot earlier, both the Clifton 10 and the Nimbus 27 at 8mm work. None of the three is a true low-drop shoe.

Where can I compare runner prices before I buy in Australia? Use ShopBack to compare cashback-eligible runner prices across Rebel, The Athletes Foot and Wild Earth in one tab before you check out. All three stock the Hoka Clifton 10, Brooks Ghost 17 and Asics Gel Nimbus 27 at close to RRP, and each runs periodic sales at different points in the year (Rebel at Click Frenzy in November, The Athletes Foot in the July mid-year clearance, Wild Earth on end-of-summer active clearance). Activating ShopBack before you checkout adds a cashback layer on top of whatever sale is live.

When do cushioned runners go on sale in Australia? The two biggest windows are Click Frenzy in mid-November and Boxing Day into early January. Between those, expect end-of-financial-year runs in late June, a smaller mid-July clearance, and Father's Day promotions in early September. Model-year transitions matter too. The Ghost 17 launched mid-2025, so 2026 saw Ghost 16 stock discounted 25 to 35 per cent at specialty retailers. The Nimbus 28 arrived in 2026, which is why the Nimbus 27 sits below RRP at Intersport in September 2026.

Who is the Hoka Clifton 10 best suited to? The Clifton 10 suits runners who want a maximal-cushion feel in a light package for daily miles. It is Hoka's most popular daily trainer for good reason: soft, cushioned, and light enough to double as a walking or standing-all-day shoe. The 8mm drop and 42mm heel stack work for heel strikers who want plush landing without a mushy ride. It is less suited to runners who prefer ground feel or want a firm, responsive shoe for faster efforts. Best for easy miles, recovery days, and general lifestyle.

Who is the Brooks Ghost 17 best suited to? The Ghost 17 suits midfoot and forefoot strikers who want a versatile daily trainer with a slightly firmer, more traditional ride than the maxi-cushion competition. The 10mm drop is the highest of the three and gives a familiar heel-off feel for runners who came up in older Brooks or Nike Pegasus models. Two millimetres of extra forefoot foam vs the Ghost 16 makes it more forgiving on long runs. Best for consistent daily miles across easy and steady pace.

Who is the Asics Gel Nimbus 27 best suited to? The Nimbus 27 suits runners who prioritise absolute comfort over weight. The 43.5mm heel and 35.5mm forefoot make it the softest of the three, and the wide, stable base helps heavier runners and those who want a shoe that feels planted. It is the heaviest at 305g, which is a real trade-off if you are running fast. Best for long slow distance, recovery, and runners over 85kg who want the most protection underfoot.

Does cashback stack with sale prices at Rebel, The Athletes Foot or Wild Earth? Cashback available at ShopBack Australia typically stacks with retailer sale prices at Rebel, The Athletes Foot and Wild Earth. Cashback stacks with promo codes where allowed. Activate ShopBack before you click through to the retailer, complete checkout in the same session, and cashback tracks against the discounted total. Check the merchant page for any category exclusions on running shoes before you buy.

Is the Hoka Clifton 10 or the Nimbus 27 better for standing all day? Both work well but for different reasons. The Nimbus 27 has more absolute cushioning and a wider base, which helps if you are on your feet for eight to twelve hours and want maximum plushness. The Clifton 10 is lighter at 278g and has the meta-rocker geometry Hoka uses, which encourages a smoother roll-through when walking. Nurses, teachers and hospitality staff have historically leaned Hoka Bondi or Clifton for the weight. If plushness is the only axis, Nimbus. If you want to walk and stand without the shoe feeling heavy, Clifton.

Which one to buy

Buy the Hoka Clifton 10 if you want the lightest cushioned daily trainer and a shoe that doubles as a walking-and-standing all-rounder. Buy the Brooks Ghost 17 if you are a midfoot striker or transitioning from a higher-drop traditional shoe and want a versatile daily miler at the lowest RRP of the three. Buy the Asics Gel Nimbus 27 if you want the plushest ride and do not mind carrying the extra 27g, especially if you are running long slow distance or over 85kg. All three are available cashback-eligible via ShopBack at Rebel, The Athletes Foot and Wild Earth, so activate before you check out.

Sign up for ShopBack to add cashback to your next runner purchase.

Disclaimer: prices, cashback rates and product specifications are accurate as of September 2026 and may change without notice. Cashback stacks with promo codes where allowed. Check the merchant page for exclusions before you buy. ShopBack Australia earns a commission on qualifying purchases at partner retailers.