5 Best ASICS Running Shoes – My Top Picks

1. ASICS Gel Nimbus 26 - Daily Trainer for Cushioned Easy/Recovery Runs

Also Available at
Zappos ; Holabird Sports ; ASICS

The ASICS Gel Nimbus 26 is a very competent daily trainer with a focus on plusness and protection to cater brilliantly for the easier end of your weekly mileage – the 80% low heart rate, slower efforts where the real magic happens.

From the first step-in, the Nimbus oozes plush comfort and solid security, with big, highly padded heel collars, tongues and wrapping knit uppers that cocoon your foot without being cramped. If you’re looking for guaranteed, easy-cruising comfort in a highly cushioned, neutral daily trainer – that’s also a big mileage workhorse – this is one to consider.

Soft, cushioned comfort on easy-paced or recovery runs is what the Nimbus 26 does best. The cradling footbed takes almost all of the road out of each footstrike. Though you’ll have to enjoy heavier, bulkier shoes because all that cushion and plushness comes at a weight cost. And the Nimbus 26 is a bit of a beast.

Read the ASICS Nimbus 27 Review Here

The general heft also limits the versatility somewhat. Most runners will want something lighter, snappier and more agile for their faster pace runs. But if you’re a beginner you can certainly lace up the Nimbus 26, confident it’ll take care of the majority of your early miles.

2. ASICS Gel Kayano 31 - Best Stability Shoe for Daily Miles

Also Available at
Zappos ; Holabird Sports

The ASICS Gel Kayano 31 shares a lot of design DNA with the ASICS Gel Nimbus 26. In fact, you could think of the Kayano 31 as the Nimbus’ more stable, non-identical twin.

The Kayano 31 offers a similar set-up with big padded heel collars and tongues for premium plushness and excellent fit security. The midsole uses the same combination of super soft FlyteFoam Blast Plus Eco foam and PureGEL technology heel inserts to create softer, more cushioned landings and soak up more impact.

However, the Kayano 31 has some stability enhancing features. That includes a lower midsole stack with 2mm less foam at the heel and 4mm less under the forefoot and ASICS’ 4D Guidance System, with a more pronounced heel bevel, a sculpted midsole, and additional medial foam that guides your foot on landing. This combination of elements support the foot each time it hits the ground for better stability.

The Kayano 31’s stability is quite subtle, though. It’s natural enough that if you’re a ‘neutral’ runner who wants a shoe that’s a shade firmer and more supportive, you can choose it, too. The other strength here is big-mile durability. The Kayano 31 is built to last.

3. ASICS Novablast 5 – Best Workhorse Daily Trainer

Also Available at
Zappos ; Holabird Sports ; ASICS

From generation to generation, the ASICS Novablast is one of those shoes – a bit like the New Balance 1080 – that shuffles from being softer, more cushioned and more protective, to being stiffer, more responsive and more capable on the faster efforts. The latest incarnation, the ASICS Novablast 5 is definitely tuned to offer more upper pace potential.

The ASICS Novablast 5 is the only shoe in the ASICS current range that has a big stack of FF Blast Max in the whole midsole and ASICS says it offers around 8.5% more energy return than the Novablast 4. Something you feel underfoot.

What you get is a nice smooth ride that responds well on toe-ff and feels springy but controlled. When you’re feeling good, running with good form and pushing the pace, the Novablast 5 feels energetic. But it’s also cushioned enough to accommodate slower paces. Though sometimes on heavier legs it can feel a bit soggy.

Regardless, there’s versatility here that puts the Novablast 5 into a group of excellent all-rounders that can cope with most of your daily training miles. It’s not a million miles off the Superblast 2. In fact in some ways you could see it as a more affordable Superblast 2.

The ASICS Novablast 5 would be an excellent weapon for anyone training for a marathon and a good option for beginners and experienced runners alike.

4. ASICS Superblast 2 – Daily Trainer All-Rounder With a Faster Edge

Also Available at
 Holabird Sports ; ASICS ; Zappos

The ASICS Superblast 2 is hands down one of the most versatile, capable all-rounders you can buy right now. It’s one of my best favourite shoes of the year. It’s livelier than the Novablast 5 and right up there with the Saucony Endorphin Speed 4 as a brilliant option for covering almost any run.

The Superblast 2 packs a massive stacked, wide dual foam midsole with a mix of Flytefoam Blast+ Eco and Flytefoam Turbo+. But it’s surprisingly light for a whopping great shoe and offers big, cushioned comfort that’s soft but not too soggy. There’s good leg-sparing energy from the bouncy but controlled midsole and, like the Novablast 5, it gives back what you put in.

It can be a bit soggy at the slowest pace and I find there’s too much shoe for my all-out efforts but for everything in between, it’s truly excellent. The watchword here is consistency, particularly at cruising pace, where this shoe really excels. It certainly has enough range to tackle most of your marathon training sessions. I’ve even run marathons in them.

Not all runners would want to race a marathon in this shoe but I think many runners could, safe in the knowledge that it’ll feedback the energy you put in. But more importantly, the Superblast 2 will also look after you if everything goes wrong.

It’s another shoe that’ll cover an entire training and racing block for a marathon. It’s about as close as you’ll get to having one go-to shoe that can almost replace your whole rotation.

5. ASICS Metaspeed Sky Paris - Best Carbon Plate Shoe for Racing up to the Marathon

Also Available at
Zappos ; Holabird Sports

The ASICS Metaspeed Sky Paris is a carbon race shoe that competes with the very best carbon-plate shoes out there. I’ve run 5km and marathon PRs in this shoe which is designed to deliver speed from 5km to the marathon.

It offers a wonderfully energetic, snappy and fast returning ride that balances cushioning, stiffness and spring. There’s ground feel but just-enough protection to avoid foot fatigue over the marathon distance. It’s light and agile enough to lace up for the shortest race, too.

The narrower midsole makes it more precise and nimble than slime wider carbon shoes like the Nike Alphafly Next%3 and the Adidas Adios Pro 4. Plus, there’s a stiffness and spring here that’s somewhat reminiscent of the Nike Vaporfly Next% 2.

With everything stripped back and designed for attacking your runs, the Metaspeed Sky Paris delivers best when you’re moving with good form. Some might find the midsole platform a little too narrow for their stability needs. But right now there aren’t many shoes that offer the performance of the ASICS Metaspeed Sky Paris. It’s a fantastic shoe to go chasing your fastest times.

My ASICS Shoe Rotation

Id’ usually choose three shoes in a rotation: one fast racer, one daily for tempo miles and one softer, more cushioned for recovery runs. But if I was picking my current ASICS shoe rotation, I’d probably pick just two shoes.

I’d select the ASICS Metsapeed Sky Paris for racing and sparing use on my shortest, fastest training sessions – think track intervals. Then it’d be a toss up between the ASICS Superblast 2 and the Novablast 5 for the rest of my weekly miles.

That’s a massive complement to the versatility of the ASICS Superblast 2 and the Novablast 5. For my style of running, both shoes offer enough all-round capability to cover everything outside of my fastest miles. From the easiest slowest runs up to my tempo efforts.

I don’t mind a stiffer shoe, so I can run my easy miles in the Novablast 5 and Superblast 2 quite happily. But if you want supreme softness, the Gel Nimbus 26 offer the most cushioned comfort from the ASICS running shoes I’ve tested.