Asics GlideRide 3 Performance Review

The Asics GlideRide 3 is the best daily neutral running shoe released so far this year. It’s almost perfect with one small flaw that’s easy to ignore. It’s one of the rare shoes where buying multiple pairs to stock for future use is advisable. Let’s dig into why I like it so much and why it made our list of the best running shoes for high arches as well as our overall Best Running Shoes, Best for Men, Best Road Running Shoes, Best Neutral Running Shoes, Best for Long Distances, and Best Asics Running Shoes.

Pros

Soft and Bouncy

The Asics GlideRide 3 features two layers of foam cushioning with a forefoot plate. The result is a shoe that’s super soft as your foot lands and then ultra bouncy as you toe-off into your next stride. This year we’ve seen FF Blast+ as the primary cushion on the flagship Asics Gel-Nimbus 24 and FlyteFoam as the midsole of the Asics Gel-Nimbus Lite 3. FF Blast+ is great alone but FlyteFoam is kinda meh when left alone. But together with that plate? Awesome.

The cushion setup handles any type of run up to high double-digit long runs. And it saves your legs while doing it. On top of that, the foam is resilient and after 100+ miles it hasn’t lost either the softness or bounciness. I’m bullish on the long-term durability of this dual-layer midsole.

Smooth Rocker

The Asics Guidesole technology adds a super smooth rocker motion to the soft and bouncy midsole setup. The Asics GlideRide 3 feels like it just rolls from the heel or midfoot landing zone to the toe and then off the ground again. When you get into a groove wearing the GlideRide 3 the effect is wheel-like. I was moving fast but the effort needed to maintain my pace was low. In that way it sort of mimics the Asics Metaspeed Sky+, which is Asics top of the line race day option. Any time your daily trainer makes you feel as efficient as the much lighter and bouncier shoe you wear for races, it’s a big win.

Extremely Comfortable

The jacquard mesh upper is plush on foot. The tongue and heel collar feature ample padding that, when paired with that midsole, surrounded my foot in softness. The semi-gusseted tongue didn’t move while I ran making sure the comfort stayed put throughout my runs. While the upper make look plain, it’s one of the more comfortable uppers available.

Stability

The base of the Asics GlideRide 3 isn’t super wide but it’s highly stable anyway. The shoe’s midsole is built so the bottom FlyteFoam layer juts out wider than the rest of the shoe creating a natural outrigger around the entire foot. It doesn’t push out enough to look odd or ungainly but still gets the job done. Sharp corners, fast turns, or the occasional misstep never caused any instability. On turns, my foot sank slightly into the softer FF Blast+ but the wider FlyteFoam layer engaged every time and made sure I didn’t get too off my axis.

The added stability pays dividends, especially on days where a hard workout the day before has your legs feeling a little rickety. The soft and stable midsole helped my tired legs feel less thrashed by taking care of the impact protection and doing some of the stabilizing so I didn’t have to exert extra effort.

Cons

Breathability

I struggled to find any cons with the Asics GlideRide 3 but the breathability could be better. Asics doubled down on the comfort of the upper but in doing so used extra layers of mesh. Those layers don’t allow a ton of air to pass through. On cooler mornings, I didn’t have any issues. As the morning temps started to creep into the high-70s here in Georgia, I could feel that my feet weren’t getting as much air as I’d like. Is it a dealbreaker? Heck no! In fact, it’s pretty easy to ignore given how comfortable my fee were otherwise. It’s just a little thing to note in case you’re the type that prefers shoes with massive airflow.

Asics GlideRide 3 Summary

As I said at the beginning of this review, the Asics GlideRide 3 is one of the, if not the shoe of the year for me. The combination of comfort, cushion, stability, and an ultra-smooth ride just makes me wear it as much as possible. When I don’t have a shoe to test, I’m constantly reaching for the GlideRide 3. While I got lucky that Asics sent this first pair for testing, I’m definitely going to grab one or two more of the other colorways currently available.

The Asics GlideRide 3 is a “buy multiple pairs” type of shoe. And in the running shoe world, there’s no greater compliment.