I know what you’re thinking; “Asics makes ball shoes?” Yes they do, and it’s called the Naked EG03.
While Asics is known for their wide array of running shoes, they do make on court models…overseas at least. This model, dubbed the Naked EG03, looks like it takes a simplistic approach with its design in the aesthetic department, but looks to be packed with technology even though tech specs cannot be found in English. All we know from the video above is that the Naked EG03 has “high rebound cushion” that you have to imagine is carried out by Asics GEL formula. Overall, I wish I could tell you more about the Naked EG03 but since they are only available overseas, my impressions will have to serve as the closets replacement to facts we can get right now.
What do you guys think of the Asics Naked EG03? If they were to see a North American release would you give these a shot? Let us know in the comments section below.
Via Kenlu
This looks pretty interesting. I wish I could find a pair to test here @ the PH. That traction pattern looks similar to the adidas howard 2/3’s! ? ?
I love products like this. exactly what I want in a basketball shoe. pure performance. no shiny pieces of plastic all over the shoe. its been way too long since theres been products like this in the US and honestly they probably wouldnt sell that well. bc everything is about brand and hype here. last time I remember Asics w/ a shoe available here it was the crossover, I believe and that was several years ago. adidas used to make some good non-flashy kicks like the Bromium line. Cons was good as well in the 90s. since then its all gone to the hypebeasts
I’d love to try them out. I had mentioned in a past post about the 02 being pretty cool but these seem to have better support. Their running shoes are so well engineered I can only imagine these being performers.
I agree.
Yeah, I think I responded to that post of yours. I was trying to find a pair of the Naked EG02 for a while now, but couldn’t find them for sale anywhere.
Is there any Japanese posters on this site? I’m thinking there might not be many because they don’t really need to buy any US Basketball shoes. Asics have some killer Basketball shoes for sale over there in Japan.
If there are some Japanese readers/posters here at Weartesters, are the Naked EG series easy to get in Japan? I’ve bought a few pairs of Asics Basketball shoes from Rakuten the past year and a half and they’re some of my favorite Basketball shoes. For some reason though, I can’t find the Naked EG series for sale on Rakuten. I’m wondering if they’re hard to get?
I agree with every word you put up there. I really want to try ball shoes made by Asics and Mizuno alike. Both companies are tech pioneers and their tech is real shit not some gimmicks like , Adiprene, Adiprene +, AIR, shallow Zoom AIR bags etc.
I want to try these badly
The ankle portion reminds of the Rose 1.0
I just got the retro Asics Gel Onitsuke Tiger spotlyte and their so dope. I hope they release this in the US.
why is it naked?
These could be really good actually. I have run in quite a few Asics and personally I think that their gel cushioning is one of the best combinations of impact protection and responsiveness on the market. I hope they use the same sort of cushion in these.
I’ve got three different models of Asics Basketball shoes that I’ve bought in the past year and a half (they’re all new performance models) and Asics don’t seem to use Gel cushioning in the forefoot like they do in their runners. Their Basketball shoes only have GEL in the heel. Not sure why as some of their Volleyball shoes have it in both heel and forefoot. I guess it might be a stability thing? or maybe they’re still going old school thinking you mostly need cushioning in the heel for Basketball? They use their SpEVA foam for the forefoot cushioning, which I still find pretty good anyway.
This Naked EG series seems to have less tech than some of their other models. It seems like a minimalist type of shoe. I guess maybe that is why they call it ‘Naked’?
I’d highly recommend checking out some Asics performance basketball shoes.
Man… looking through Rakuten, I had no idea asics made so many basketball shoes. Some of them look like they’d play excellent.
Might be worth taking a chance and ordering a pair to give them a try. There are about 1100 shoes to scroll through though and no faster way to see if the naked eg pairs are on the site haha…
Yeah, they’ve got a few models man. Check out the Japanese Asics website to get an idea of the names of the models.
Edit : just had a look and it looks like they’ve updated the site and taken away the pages of the older models.
As for what I have, I’ve currently got three pairs right now.
GelBurst RS 2
GelHoop V6
GelLegend 5
I think they’re all really good. If you wanted to try a pair (depending on your foot size as anything bigger than 11.5US is hard to find), I’d recommend seeing if you can get a pair of GelBurst RS 2 as the new model RS 3 has just come out, so you might be able to find a pair of RS 2s at a decent price on Rakuten. They also have a low top version of the GelBurst RS 2 called the RS 2 Z.
If any of you guys are actually interested in buying a pair of their new model performance Basketball shoes, you can get them from http://global dot rakuten.com/en/ (replace the dot with .). I can’t find any of the Naked EG series there though, but most other models they do have at Rakuten. It’s a huge Japanese shopping website with different merchants selling products there. They have a rough English translation on the English pages, good enough to understand and order.
You can also go the Japanese Asics website and check out their models there before searching for them on Rakuten. I use the page translator in Google Chrome or a Firefox translator extension to be able to read the pages on the Japanese Asics website. The translation isn’t great, but at least you can get an idea of what they’re saying. The main issue is that Asics have updated their website and they don’t list all the tech specs of the shoes like they used to.
I’d highly recommend the Gel-Burst RS 2 or 3 series as it seems to have their most tech in that shoe. The RS 3s are the new model that has just come out. I have a pair of RS 2s that I bought last year and I think they’re pretty good.
There is also one other drawback – sizes available. They don’t seem to make anything bigger that a US size 12.5. The sizing is also .5 cms different to Nike, UA, Adidas, so if you’re a size 11.5US like me, then you need to get 29cm in Asics. With Nike that would be 29.5cm.
I found two pairs of EG02 on ebay, but they were size 14. Too big for me…
OMG! Gel cushioning hop shoes? I want to get my hands on em!
Chris YOU GOTTA review them!
Man I hope Asics brings their basketball footwear to the US and in the NBA again. Asics has been producing models like the GelHoop and Naked EG for years exclusively for Japan. They stopped making basketball shoes for the US back in 2004 or 2005. I really want to try out a pair so I could rock it out on the courts.
This is really interesting, wish we could see more performance kicks from different brands with less hype~ If I remember correctly, Isiah Thomas and James Worthy used to rock Asics in the NBA!!!
These are very very interesting!! It’s nice to see other companies besides the usual suspects (Nike, Adidas, Reebok) to make shoes for basketball purposes!
must cop, anyone know how you can cop a pair?
No idea how to get the Naked EG series, but I do know where you can get other models from. I’ve posted about it above, but the comment is awaiting moderation.
btw, I would like to get a pair of the Naked EG02 or EG03 series if anyone here that reads this knows how to get a pair, please do tell us.
I got my hand on a pair of Asics RS-Z, it’s a decent mid – prize range basketball shoe, has the same sole pattern as these sneakers. Wore them on an outdoor court for some 4 months, daily, lasted good. Although the ankle support seemed inadequate, on wearing for a while I realize the support was perfect, and that the shape of the sole edges made sure you never twist your ankle, incase the angle with court surface became too inclined, you would simply slip but not twist your leg.