Warning: the following blog contains my personal opinion...you know: the one I'm entitled to. So please no comments about defamation etc.
If there is any company guilty of heavily leaning on it's laurels and not being willing to go with the times then it is Asics.
No matter what outlook a company has the general movement has been towards less weight.
Some has gone allout and pretty much slapped the thinnest sole to the thinnest upper and left it at that.
Others have spent millions in developing new compounds that have the same cushioning and durability but weigh as much as 30% less than EVA and other foams used normally.
Asics though has stuck with the same gel formula since 1992 and as far as I can figure out the only change in midsole material they've made was from duomax to dynamic duomax in the medial posting of their stability shoes.
Dynamic duomax is certainly lighter than duomax but it's not new it's just a case of not having been used much before because it's softer and less durable.
Another gripe I have with Asics is that they've stuck to the 12mm heel like cocaine addicts to the white stuff.
Instead they've shaved frontfoor cushioning to make their shoes lighter.
My tibia thanks you Asics...incase you didn't catch that it was sarcasm...
Saucony you are pioneers.
By keeping the stack height of the heel the same and making the stack height in the front more they've lessened the profile to a max of 8mm throughout their range.
I can see Asics smirking and commenting that that move makes Saucony shoes heavier since they've got more midsole.
Bring on the scales though and a totally different story is told by the needle.
Want to know why?
Because Saucony's midsole foam haas been continually improved over the years...they didn't stop in 1992 like some other companies.
Recently though I was quite surprised when I came accross an article related to a new shoe in Asics' 33 range.
It's called the Electro33 and immediately I fell in love.
The upper wasn't Asics' typical overlay on overlay of thick mesh which left your feet hot and sweaty after even short runs in the cold.
This looked qiite simmilar to Nike's flyknit type uppers.
The profile is about 8mm, which is perfect in my opinion, and the stability is of the wedge type not the medial wedge variety I hate with a pashion second to none.
Furthermore it's light as a feather and also incorporates the exciting Fluidaxis technology.
Has Asics finally seen the light?
At a local dealer I ran into a Asics rep who'm apparently is also in the know at Asics SA.
When I enquired about availability of the Electro33 he got a sour look on his face asif I asked him to supply me with a pair of Nikes and then continued by basically breaking down the whole 33 range, saying that even Asics themselves thought it wasn't a great range and simply brought it in to try and stop the flow of Asics clients streaming to other, more forward thinking manufacturers.
After a lengthy conversation about what I wanted in a shoe and about Asics either not providing or importing the right model he proceeded by asking me what made the Electro33 different from what was available.
After I explained that I needed stability but that the Super33's upper was a nightmare he proceeded by asking whether I actually considered running in a 33series shoe.
There was a look of incredibility on his face when I said yes.
"But the 33's aren't serious running shoes" he answered.
According to asics it 's the type of shoe you should wear on a short run maybe once a week just to give your feet "a change of scenery".
"It's impossible to run Comrades in a pair...not even a marathon. It's simply too far. You'd get injured. Rather get a pair of Nimbus or Kayano if you need stability."
Funny how opinions differ.
I've spoken to a few people who use the lyte33 2, read several reviews and personally know a person who is about to do her 2nd Comrades in a pair.
People coming from "traditional" running shoes generally feel the lyte33 2's are too little shoe while people who mostly run in minimalist type shoes feel they are too plushy and unresponsive for anything but long gentle runs.
General consensus is that it is a n excellent alround shoe though.
Now in my opinion, and this comes from reading several other people's opinions on the Electro33, is that it would be a great shoe for me.
Maybe not a marathon or ultra shoe but still great.
It's basically the upper of the lyte33 on the sole unit of the super33.
I've tried on both and though I loved the Lyte33 I fear that it's just a bit too unstructured for me, beimg a overpronator.
The Super33 has stability though but I absolutely despise the upper.
Even when just walking in them the upper creases on top of your toes and even though it's sure to soften up a bit I still think I'll never like them.
I always love new shoes then that love slowly turns to hate the more I run in them.
How would that go if I hate them from the start...
On 2nd thought though I must admit I hated my Newton Gravity shoes too especially after my first halmarathon in them, but after retiring them recently I must admit that through all we've been through together I've had no other pair of shoes I've loved more...or rather hated less.
Over +/- 20km they never really gave me any trouble even though I overpronate and they offer no support.
But I'm looking for the perfect "middleground" shoe...the one that will rule them all.
Not a shoe that's comfortable on the longrun but slow because it's too heavy because of all the cushioning and not a shoe that rocks the shorter speedy runs because it weighs nothing but kills your feet and legs on longer runs because it lack cushioning.
The shoe I'm looking for needs to be comfortable on the longruns but not so heavy that it tires you over ultra distances or when pushing the cadence on shorter runs.
So basically my perfect shoe has stack heights of 18-20mm in the front, 24-28mm in the back, weighs about 9oz, but no more than 10, and uses a wedge system for stability as it is needed.
The upper should not have any unnecessary overlays especially over the toebox, but a proper midfoot fit, something like what is achieved by Nike's flywire or Brooks' pureproject supportband thingy.
A floating heel counter like Nike uses would be perfect for keeping your heel in place.
Furthermore a flat outsole like Puma's Vaas range and Nike uses is another unnegotiable feature.
So if Nike and Mizuno are reading this please contact me because I can design the perfect nike shoe but I need access to some u4ic foam.
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