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Best Asics Running Shoes

Best Asics Running Shoes

Asics may not be as popular to the sneaker-loving public as Nike, adidas, and Jordan, but runners know that Asics consistently delivers reliable options. Asics has some of the best running shoes available on the market. You’ll notice several Asics running shoes also featured on our Best Running Shoes page. Asics is most famous for its Gel technology, rightfully so, but with better foam and midsole technologies now available, Asics uses Gel much less. This is perfectly fine because Asics shoes remain top of the line in comfort and cushion. Here’s our list of the Best Asics Running Shoes.

This list does not include all of our Asics running shoe reviews – just the best ones. If you want to see more, you can check out all our running shoes reviews here.

All the shoes mentioned here are at the top of their category within the brand. We tried to make it easy to find the categories that are most important to you. Just click the category you want to read in the table of contents, and you’ll quickly see what we have to say about the best shoe from that category.

Updated: 03.13.2024

Best Neutral Cushioned Asics Running Shoes

Asics Novablast 4

Asics Novablast 4

The Asics Novablast 4 improves almost everything from the awesome Novablast 3 (now on sale) but pulls back a bit on the fun factor in order to give the shoe more mass appeal. It’s more comfortable with improved stability and better traction. It still picks up speed nicely but isn’t as energetic as the original. At $140, it’s a high value do-everything shoe. See the full review.

Fit: True to Size, Drop: 8mm, Price: $140

9/10
Total Score
Buy Men's Asics Novablast 4 Buy Women's Asics Novablast 4

Asics Superblast

Asics Superblast

The Asics Superblast is a high-stack, fun, and versatile neutral running shoe useful for anything from easy miles to workouts to long runs. It’s so light, it feels like a race day shoe. It’s soft but stable, and even without a carbon fiber plate in the middle of all that foam, it’s got a nice pop. You’re getting a shoe with a ride that will make you want to run more often. And true, the price seems high at first glance…but this do-everything shoe is extremely durable and worth the investment. See the full review.

Fit: True to Size, Drop: 8mm, Price: $220

9/10
Total Score
Buy Men's Asics Superblast Buy Women's Asics Superblast

Asics Gel Nimbus 26

Asics Gel Nimbus 26

The Asics Gel Nimbus 26 is almost a carbon copy of the Gel Nimbus 25 (now on sale). It’s a highly padded, luxuriously comfortable, well-cushioned shoe that’s perfect for tons and tons of easy paced running or walking. If all-around comfort is your number one priority, give the Nimbus 26 a try. See the full review.

Fit: True to Size, Drop: 8mm, Price: $160

8/10
Total Score
Buy Men's Asics Nimbus 26 Buy Women's Asics Nimbus 26

Best Asics Stability Running Shoes

Asics Gel Kayano 30

Asics Gel Kayano 30

The Asics Gel Kayano 30 is one of the best-selling stability shoes on the market for a reason. The large FF Blast+ midsole (with a little PureGel in the back) is soft and easy to break in. The 4D Guidance System does its job by providing unobtrusive support that disappears if you don’t need it. Even though the upper isn’t as accommodating as we’d like, there’s a wide version available for wide footers. Finally, on the bottom, there’s a durable AHAR+ outsole that means the Kayano 30 will last a long time on the harshest surfaces. Read the full review.

Fit: True to Size, Drop: 10mm, Price: $160

8/10
Total Score
Buy Men's Asics Gel Kayano 29 Buy Women's Asics Gel Kayano 29

Best Asics Marathon Running Shoes

Asics Metaspeed Edge Paris

Asics Metaspeed Sky/Edge Paris

The Asics Metaspeed Sky Paris and Asics Metaspeed Edge Paris are Asics’ best road racing shoes to date offering a fantastic combination of great fit, comfort, breathability, stability, improved midsole foam, and an impressively low weight.

Which one of the two shoes you’ll prefer isn’t clear, but if you can figure that out, you’ll end up with a high performing shoe that’s trustworthy for road races of any distance. Read the review.

Fits: True to Size, Drop: 5mm, Price: $250

9.5/10
Total Score
Buy Men's Metaspeed Sky or Edge Buy Women's Metaspeed Sky or Edge

Best Asics Speed and Short Race Running Shoes

Asics Magic Speed 3

Asics Magic Speed 3

The Asics Magic Speed 3 is a modern-day racing flat built for speed work, track work, and shorter races like the 5k and 10k. The two layers of FF Blast+ sandwich a full-length carbon plate. You get a similar squish to the Novablast 3 but the extra pop and stability that a carbon plate brings with it.

The upper is super breathable and very similar to the uppers on the Metaspeed series. It’s not perfect, but it accommodates wide footers well and allows a ton of airflow. The outsole is also similar to the Metaspeed series and provides great traction. The Magic Speed 3 feels comfortable on foot and excels on tracks or other surfaces where you can go fast but don’t need much impact protection. Read the full review.

Fits: True to Size, Drop: 7mm, Price $160

8/10
Total Score
Buy Men's Asics Magic Speed 3 Buy Women's Asics Magic Speed 3

Best Asics Running Shoes – Honorable Mention

Asics Gel Cumulus 26

A big Asics Gel Cumulus 26 update follows closely on the heels of a Cumulus 25 that was also a big update. This new update better differentiates the Cumulus line from the Nimbus line.

At $140, it delivers value but is hard to choose over the Asics Novablast 4, which offers a better all around package for the same price and the Asics Gel Nimbus 26, which delivers more comfort and stability for $20 more.

That said, the Cumulus 26 is comfortable (especially that tongue), a soft ride, and has a new Fluidride outsole that’s an EVA and rubber blend meant to increase softness. Durability may be an issue but it’s worth trying on if you’re looking for a soft, comfortable shoe in the Cumulus mold.

Fits: True to Size, Drop: 8mm, Price $140

7/10
Total Score
Buy Men's Asics Cumulus 26 Buy Women's Asics Cumulus 26

Best Asics Running Shoes Now on Sale

Asics Gel-Nimbus 25

Asics Gel-Nimbus 25

The Asics Gel-Nimbus 25 isn’t a snappy shoe, but there’s plenty of soft FF Blast+ cushion underfoot. That, alongside an absolutely luxuriously comfortable upper, means the Gel-Nimbus 25 is ready for a ton of road miles. We don’t recommend using it for any of your speed work, but you can churn out miles in the Gel-Nimbus 25 while saving your legs from harsh asphalt and roads.

As an added bonus, the foam flares out from the foot, creating an incredibly stable platform. Oh, and it’s built to accommodate tons of foot types. Wide-footers, flat-footers, and beginners will all find a shoe that works for them. And for wide-footers that need even more room, Asics sells an extra wide version that may be perfect for you. See the full review.

Fits: True to Size, Drop: 8mm, Price: $160

8/10
Total Score
Shop Men's Asics Nimbus 25 Shop Women's Asics Nimbus 25

Asics Novablast 3

Asics Novablast 3

The Asics Novablast 3 is close to the perfect running shoe. There are many reasons it currently sits atop our rankings as the best running shoe of 2022. The combination of bounce and impact protection provided by the FF Blast+ midsole makes this shoe an extremely comfortable daily trainer that can pick up the pace when needed.

The Novablast 3 is also much more stable than you’d expect for a shoe this soft. In addition, the upper is breathable and comfortable, while the overall ride is super smooth. There are basically no weaknesses, and it doesn’t hurt that the Novablast 3 looks spectacular as well. Grab it and enjoy an extremely good all-around shoe. See the full review.

Fit: True to Size, Drop: 8mm, Price $140

9.9/10
Total Score
Buy Men's Asics Novablast 3 Shop Women's Asics Novablast 3

Best Asics Casual Shoes

Asics EX89

Asics EX89

The Asics EX89 is the reissue of one of Asics’ basketball shoes from 1989 called the Gel Extreme. The EX89 is not meant for basketball, but it does bring comfort and retro style to your feet. Asics even added FF Blast to liven up the underfoot cushion and feel. The traction also has no issues, even in wet and slippery conditions. It’s similarly priced to the Nike Dunk Lows, but the Asics EX89 features better materials, fit, and performance for walking and casual wear. Read the full review.

Fits: True, Price: $110

Buy Asics EX89

Asics Gel-Lyte III OG

Asics Gel-Lyte III OG

The Asics Gel-Lyte III OG, originally released in 1990, features the iconic split tongue configuration that’s still easily recognizable today (though the split tongue actually originated on the Gel-LD Racer). The OG version stays true to the original shape and tooling, including the Gel unit encapsulated in the midsole. It’s a truly classic shoe that’s now available in a ton of different colorways and collab versions. The Gel Lyte III OG can even stand out in today’s crowded retro sneaker scene.

Fits: True, Price: $110-120, $140-150 for collab versions

Buy Asics Gel-Lyte III OG

Thinking of a shoe we should add to the best Asics running shoes list? Comment below or message us on Instagram or Twitter.

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