Just picked up some Grosso Mids because Jeff is a legend and they look great. Nice shoe but they have the Ultracush 3D insole in them? Its like i have gone back to 2018, and getting plantar fasciitis flashbacks from the TNTs! Did they have a few boxes of old 3Ds lying around and thought “these will do, the oldies won’t notice”. The listings on vans websites all say Popcush as well. Hey Vans!!! What is this shenanigans!?
I think everything has been covered - from what I have seen all Grosso Mid shoes have the 3D insole - for which most of the people who have them either don't notice or have thought they worked well for them. Personally they are a little too stiff for me, but I change out the insoles for others anyway.
As to what is on websites, I have long thought what I read on some of the listings is from someone copy and pasting general information or some marketing crap that is either misguided or completely incorrect, in some cases.
Vans websites are no different, but I guess the intimate knowledge of which shoe has which insole options can really only be learned by being around the shoes, trying them on, or at the very least pulling up the insole to see which one is being used in which shoes, whenever a new style comes into a shop.
Eg the Chukka Low (both versions - no side stripe and side stripe) have the old Rowley preferred insoles, which are more the flat foam versions, thinner than any popcush or ultracush, but work well, especially with another flat foam insole under them for me.
A few other shoes also had the 3D insole, including the Chima shoe, which has been discontinued, or the TNT Advanced Prototype shoe, as mentioned.
The Skate versions (checkered tag) all have quite a few upgraded features including a thicker gum sole with a thinner insole, when compared to previous versions.
I guess the unfortunate thing here is if someone prefers a certain insole, but gets something different depending on which shoe they buy, there is no swap options, but I do find my insoles last multiple pairs of shoes, so I can recycle insoles from older shoes, especially for new shoes, but then when shoes are a lot thinner and well worn, using the new insoles helps to give shoes another lease on life, so to speak.
If you alternate between Sk8 Mids and something else, you could give this a go, or just not use the 3D insoles at all.