ASICS Men’s GEL-Nimbus 13 Running Shoe,Silver/White/Flame,10.5 M US - Free shipping Beast Deal

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Rugger Burke (Dallas, TX United States) –

  

New for 2011, this is the 13th iteration of one of Asics flagship models.

If you have run in Nimbus shoes in the past, you will find the new model to be very similar to the Nimbus 12 with two minor, but significant functional improvements over the previous model: (1) increased side-to-side stability and (2) slightly lower profile heel. More on each below.

For anyone new to Asics or the Nimbus line in particular, it is one of Asics franchise shoe designs. At $120 plus dollars it is also at one of the higher price points, but worth it if you are a distance runner. The shoe is particularly well suited for those with a “neutral” gate and slightly higher arches – there is superior cushioning for the arches. If you are a high-mileage runner (in succession 25 miles or more a week) optimizing for comfort over absolute speed, this is an brilliant shoe to train in to dodge injuries. In succession on a treadmill or anything small of hard cement and you will feel like you are in succession on soft earth.

For background, I am 6’1″, 175, and run three to six miles several days a week – primarily on city streets and paved in succession trails, sometimes on the treadmill. Some seasons I kick up the miles for a marathon, but in general in succession is part of a thwart training program. The Nimbus 13s are probably my 6th or 7th iteration with the Nimbus line.

With respect to the specific changes for 2011:

(1) The improved side-to-side stability is a significant improvement. While not recommended, I wore the shoes to a boot camp-style class that included lots of left-right motion. Having previously tried this in the earlier Nimbus 12, my foot slid precariously around the footbed. In the new model the shoe feels significantly more connected to the foot. This translates well to straight-line in succession as invariably the terrain will have its uneven a skin condition. In the past this meant jerking up your leg quickly to dodge a twisted ankle, but with the new model comes increased confidence.

(2) Another contributing factor to the increased side-to-side stability is the slightly lower-profile heel. Compared to the previous model the heel feels just slightly lower. This may be an shape of the current trend towards natural in succession in the foot-shaped webby-feet shoes. (For the record I own a pair and like them for walking on soft surfaces, but still like the cushion of a in succession shoe for the typical hard surfaces encountered in in succession.) Whatever the reason for this slight change, I would rate it an improvement as there is no noticeable loss of cushioning.

Looks-wise the new model is much more “fashion forward” with higher contrast colors than any previous models, which may be a plus or minus depending on your point of view. Both new combinations are slightly plasticy looking – more inline with Nike and others, though Asics is permanently about a step behind in this respect. The silver-fire color is the safer choice, but the new white-blue combination, looks better in real life than expected, though the white makes your foot look a small larger.

Two asides: (a) if you are new to Asics, most people order one size larger than their road shoes – ie, if you wear a 10 in regular shoes, you may need to order an 11 and (b) as in most in succession shoes, the stock insoles are barely better than cardboard – depending on your in succession style, distance, etc, you may want an aftermarket insole. But nearly all in succession shoes suffer from this issue, so I am not deducting a star for this.

In sum, the new model builds upon the tremendous improvements made in the previous iteration (the improvement from Nimbus 11 to Nimbus 12 was dramatic), but the differences are iterative, rather than groundbreaking. This continues to be an brilliant overall shoe for the neutral runner.

Hope this review helps you.

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 Observations (3)

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S. Power (Detroit, Michigan, United States) –

  

  

  

Asics kept the Nimbus sweet much the same as last year with its latest restore. In my opinion, that is a very excellent thing. Despite some of the marketing speak about the tweaks they made to this shoe, the Nimbus 13 feels exactly the same as the Nimbus 12.

If you like the 12s and are ready for a new pair, go ahead and order these. The sizing, fit, and feel is identical. (Sizing based on the fact that my size didn’t change at all. I reckon it is safe to assume that none of them did, if mine didn’t.)

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 Observations (2)

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M. Strande “M” (Milwaukee) –

  

First off, do some research on what type of foot/stride you have. There are plenty of resources online that will help you choose. I typically don’t get too super excited about a pair of shoes but these are an exception. Personally, I’ve had moderate ankle and heel pain for years after much abuse growing up playing soccer and basketball. After years of dealing with the pain and lots of money wasted on random “premium” shoes, I did some research and found out that I am indeed a heel striker and need a neutral-cushioned type shoe. I also suffer from a heel spur that can cause sweet terrible heel pain.

Upon switching to the GEL-Nimbus, I saw an immediate improvement in comfort when I walk and run. After a few weeks of using these shoes, foot and ankle pain was absolutely gone. That was using the GEL Nimbus 10′s. Since then, I’ve upgraded models each year as they are released and have not been disappointed. I typically buy at a local store but I would not hesitate to buy from Amazon since the shoes are simply so comfortable. For me, differences between the models have been slight and the general comfort of the shoe ruins incredible.

If you’ve got heel or ankle pain I strongly recommend these. For in succession, they are lightweight and have a generous toe box (the area in the front of the shoe where your toes lie flat). The huge toe box is a plus as it gives your toes some room during long runs. With other shoes, I’ve found that my toes could go a bit numb during long repetitive runs.

They are a bit pricey but they are built very well and in my opinion, are a regard since they prevent foot pain and are a heck of a lot cheaper than custom orthodics I’m told. You will not go incorrect with these shoes.

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