Asics Gel Kayano 28 Black Red Men S Running Shoes Sport: A nylon-based foam and carbon-fiber plate make this marathon racer light and snappy.
- One of two new speed shoes from Asics
- Designed to help you take longer strides
- Runs about a half-size short
Price: $250
Type: Road Racing
Weight: 6.8 oz (M); 5.5 oz (W)
Drop: 5 mm
Ronnie Fieg x ASICS EPC Galen Rupp Spodnie Asics Cena od 200 do 299 asics tiger mexico schuhe 66 black% and captured bronze in the Olympic Marathon, nobody outside Nike knew the footwear revolution to come. The Vaporfly upended the sport and, since then, most running-shoe companies have rushed to catch up to Nike and release their own super shoe for road racing. For what it’s worth, the same equipment gap opened on the oval during this Olympics cycle, too—zapatillas de running ASICS hombre constitución media ritmo medio talla 41 to wear any competitors’ track spikes Asics DD Trainer.
On the roads, however, brands are closing in on Nike and are now making shoes that lead to sizable PRs for their athletes.
Pros
- Fast
- Lightweight
- Excellent marathon racing option
Cons
- Runs about a half size short
The Sky is Asics’ top model and, based on the results of elite runners like Sara Hall and what we’ve seen in our own testing, it’s one of the fastest alternatives to the Vaporfly so far.
Join Runner's World+ for unlimited access to the best training tips for runners
Sky is the first model available in a two-shoe collection from Asics—the other is the MetaSpeed Edge.
Why two shoes? Asics believes there are two ways runners can go faster—you either take longer strides or you take more steps. The Sky is built for that “stride” runner. With a 5mm drop and almost uniformly thick midsole from heel to toe, it helps those runners increase their stride length while making them roughly 3 percent more economical—runners use less energy to cover a given distance.
The Edge, by comparison, has an 8mm drop and a more gradual rocker under the forefoot. Asics claims the design helps “cadence” runners to be more efficient by reducing the number of steps they’d otherwise take (Asics reports a reduction of 750 steps over a marathon).
Solebox and ASICS debuted the | It Starts With the Foam
Before this era of super shoes, midsoles were commonly made from EVA, the standard white foam that was acceptably soft, durable, and cheap for general use. The Vaporfly ushered in Pebax, proving that a lightweight midsole compound could be exceptionally soft but also springy and explosive. Other brands are using Pebax now, while some are experimenting with different compounds that they hope deliver similar performance gains. Asics found its answer in nylon, dubbed FF Blast Turbo, which has properties similar to Pebax.
Nylon, like Pebax, compresses easily when you land, so it feels really squishy and soft upon foot strike yet firms up for toe-off. But the key difference from EVA is that it springs back to its normal shape, so you get consistent cushioning with every stride.
A Stiff, Smooth, Rolling Sole
Buried deep in that foam block is a full-length carbon plate. It’s curved to reduce ankle flexion, so you expend less energy from the joint. This is something Asics has tried on shoes like the MetaRide, claiming its “Guidesole” construction reduces energy loss at the ankle by 19 percent. In that shoe, Asics uses an extreme rocker so when you land, your foot rolls directly forward to toe-off, rather than requiring you to stabilize your footstrike.
Does it Match the Vaporfly?
sabata de trail running per a dones Asics—and even sound—quite a lot like the Vaporfly. There’s plenty of comfort and it’s undeniably faster than most other shoes we’ve tried, thanks to a good mix of cushioning and responsiveness. We put it on the feet of 10 wear-testers to get a sense for how it performs.
Asics Gel-Lyte III GL 3 'Christmas Pack' 2017 Nike ZoomX Vaporfly Next% and Hoka One One Bondi, Perfil de runneante de las ASICS GlideRide.
“My longest test run was 20 miles, which was also my longest run ever,” Andy said. “The Sky isn’t as fast as the Vaporfly—the snap isn’t as snappy. I feel pushed forward more in the Nikes.
"The toebox felt generous when I first put them on. It’s wide around the sides, but at the front it gets really narrow so they fit tight.”
On a recent Saturday-morning group run, I noticed that Andy is a true forefoot runner, which exacerbated his issues with the toebox fit—he was sore after that 20-miler.
Our recommendation: Head to your local running store and try on the MetaSpeed Sky before you buy a pair—or, if you can’t, go up a half size.
Its probably best to avoid the Asics Gel Pulse 11 if Runner's World, guiding the brand's shoes and gear coverage. A true shoe dog, he's spent more than a decade testing and reviewing shoes. In 2017, he ran in 285 different pairs of shoes, including a streak of 257 days wearing a different model.
