ASICS Men's Gel-Cumulus 23 Trainers

Product Information

I had a little heel slip, but there’s a second lace hole at the top of the patter and the laces are long enough to do a modified lacing technique that solved any issues. A 3D SPACE CONSTRUCTION has been added to the top layer of the midsole to improve cushioning and flexibility. Although the ASICS Gel Cumulus can do many things, it doesn’t stand out among shoes with newer tech and materials. The Cumulus 23 is softer than the Ghost 13, Ride 14 and Pegasus 38 but not as soft as the Clifton 7 so it doesn’t feel like you’re sinking down with every foot strike.

Watch my full ASICS GEL-Cumulus 23 review below or read on to learn more about this shoe’s performance, what I like best about it, and who it’s best for. ASICS GEL-Cumulus 23 Shoe Review: Run Test Review Personal: C+ (I want to like this shoe, but the heel absolutely killed this. These are relegated to work shoes) Towards the rear, you get a traditional rigid internal heel counter sandwiched in ample padding that runs around the heel and ankle.If you were to Google image search “daily training running shoe”, the odds are high that the Asics Cumulus would be one of the first images that pop up. From time to time carriers may deliver earlier or later, or on non working days however this is cannot be guaranteed nor should it be expected. The men’s version only has the Space Construction on the heel whereas the women’s version has it on the heel and the forefoot.

Sam: Agree with Derek above on all points. As with the Ride 13 I do think the Cumulus has a slightly softer and more cushioned ride. As an all arounder I lean ever so slightly towards the more responsive, slightly firmer 880. Derek is in his 30’s and trains 70-80 miles per week at 7 to 8 minute pace in mostly tropical conditions in Singapore. He has a 2:41 marathon PR.

ASICS GEL-Cumulus 23 Shoe Specs

It does not remind of the more perimeter focused longitudinal outsole of the Novablast with its very deep central grooves and narrower midfoot midsole and outsole profile. It also doesn’t feel like an exciting shoe. It does however feel well-rounded, well-built, reliable and luxurious. One of my favorite things about ASICS shoes is their outsoles, and this shoe is no different. The Cumulus 23 features a new AHAR LITE rubber. This is a great rubber that’s lighter than before but doesn’t sacrifice durability. I can see this shoe lasting a long time because of the outsole. This outsole is also grippy and provides a lot of ground feel. If you’re someone who likes to feel connected with the surface you’re running on, then you’ll appreciate this outsole as much as I do. ASICS GEL-Cumulus 22 Versus ASICS GEL-Cumulus 23 The ASICS LITE rubber in the outsole is soft and designed to improve durability in high impact areas.

The significant updates that ASICS made to the Gel-Cumulus™ 22, which made them a massive improvement on their predecessor are now in the Gel-Cumulus™ 23. One of the most significant is the gender specific features. What this means is that the mid sole is different in both the men's and the women’s shoes and provides support specifically for their foot shape. This makes the shoes much more comfortable. Another gender-specific feature is the 3D cloud construction in the midsole. Both midsoles in the men’s and women’s shoes provide support specifically for their foot shape. It gives you that built-for-you feel, which makes this shoe that much more comfortable. Sam: As said above the Ghost misses the forefoot with an overly roomy toe box, an overly soft midsole foam, too much flexibility and an overly firm outsole. Runs awkward and really is not that much more cushioned than the Cumulus. Clear win for Cumulus in this match up.The midsole has ASICS’ FLYTEFOAM™ Propel cushion. While this isn’t the most cushioned ride, it still provides a ton of support, responsiveness, and ground feel. I think this cushion will last a long time and remain responsive, even after a few hundred miles on them. I know I’ve mentioned forefoot flexibility a few times already, but I want to point out that it is not overly flexible to the point of being a little tedious to run in. I had that experience a little recently with the Brooks Ghost 13 where there was too much forefoot flex resulting in forefoot fatigue towards the end of my 6-8milers. There is none of that here. Some combination of the smooth and firm midsole keeps things turning over easily. I’ve had a really good run of testing daily trainers of the more traditional variety lately and this is one of my favourites. That’s because the Cumulus is the textbook definition of a comfortable, daily trainer with a versatile ride character. It’s a multipurpose, do-everything shoe which is why it’s been such a crowd pleaser for over two decades. ASICS has been doing well in footwear design recently. Many of their shoes are now gender specific, meaning the shapes, foam designs and flex grooves are specific to the unique biomechanics of each genders mechanics. There is plenty of evidence that joints, biomechanics, bone structures and overall shapes are different between genders (Ferrari et al., 2004; Krauss et al., 2008; Luo et al., 2009; Wunderlich & Cavanagh, 2001). This is particularly important in the forefoot as the flex grooves need to line up with the metatarsophalangeal joints (toe joints). If this is not lined up well, there may be excessive pressure into the ligaments, small muscles, tendons, bones and the anterior portion of the plantar fascia. So having gender specific flex grooves, shapes and cushioning is important. When ASICS kindly sent me a pair of the new Gel-Cumulus™ 23 it was an easy ask to write a review. These are my sixth pair of Gel-Cumulus™ and they really do just keep getting better and better.

The small updates that ASICS has made to the Cumulus 23 have improved it but have made it heavier too, although on foot, it doesn’t feel like a heavy shoe. The ASICS GEL-Cumulus 23 has many features that make it a staple in any runner’s rotation. Here are my top three favorite things about it: The Simple Comfort Derek: The upper uses a dense but thin engineered mesh as the base material. There is an internal toe bumper up front and laminated ASICS logo provides a little bit of midfoot structure to the upper but otherwise, the upper is pretty simple.You want a budget, lightweight shoe. If weight is your focus, the ASICS Hyper Speed is still budget-minded but almost 2 ounces lighter. The GEL-CUMULUS™ 23 shoe's focus is to provide an even smoother and softer ride while implementing gender tailored technology in the men's and women's models. Continuing to draw inspiration from cumulus clouds, we reimagined this neutral running shoe's upper and midsole formation by applying a more holistic design approach that adapts to the runner's anatomy in motion. I enjoyed the Cumulus 23 most on middle distance runs at easy or steady paces but if I only had one running shoe and it was the Cumulus 23, I’d be very happy with it because it can also handle a variety of different distances and paces. Shop Men’s GEL-Cumulus 23 Shop Women’s GEL-Cumulus 23 How Does the ASICS GEL-Cumulus 23 Perform on the Run? Krauss, I., Grau, S., Mauch, M., Maiwald, C., & Horstmann, T. (2008). Sex-related differences in foot shape. Ergonomics, 51(11), 1693-1709.