Asics has launched a new road running shoe with its softest and lightest ever gel and extra foam for improved comfort and shock absorption.
The midsole of the Asics Gel-Nimbus 25 contains a new material called PureGEL, where it absorbs the impact of each foot strike, and provides a smoother transition as your foot rolls. This is paired with masses of soft FF Blast Plus Eco foam – 20% more than previous Gel-Nimbus shoes. Rather than relying entirely on plastics, this material is made using at least 20% waste from sugar cane processing.
The tongue and collar are made from a soft, breathable knit material, which makes it easier to step into, and adapts to suit the unique shape of your foot, not unlike a sock.
More foam and softer gel sounds good in theory, but to determine whether it was actually comfortable in practice, Asics commissioned Dr Chris Bishop PhD from The Biomechanics Lab in South Australia to conduct an independent study. The aim was to determine if the Gel-Nimbus 25 was more comfortable than four other competing road running shoes.
A hundred runners (male and female) were recruited to take part in the study, which took place over the course of eight weeks. The five pairs of shoes were disguised to look identical, and the participants were asked to run on a treadmill at a speed of 10km per hour for three minutes wearing each pair.
After trying each pair of shoes, the participants were asked to rate them based on criteria including heel cushioning, forefoot cushioning, shoe stability and forefoot flexibility.
Three minutes is quite a short time for assessing the feel of a pair of running shoes, and isn't long enough for longer-term problems like rubbing at the heel to become apparent, but the Gel-Nimbus 25 ranked top when it came to comfort, which is a promising sign.
The Gel-Nimbus 25 will be available from February 1, 2023 for £175 (about $210).
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