Gel-Kayano 31

Asics hands down! So many shoes to fit everyone's needs! I personally have the Kayano 31s for easy/recovery and SuperBlast 2s for everything else👌

I walk 15km a day including some running, and therefore go through a pair every few months. I juggle multiple pairs of Asics Gel Kayano 30 (don't like the 31 or 32). If you want insane cushion, go for Hoka Bondi 8 but you will compromise on stability. If you want cushion and stability, either go for Asics Gel Kayano 32 or Asics Gel Nimbus 28. I am not a big fan of Nike Vomero plus (which I also own) because the cushion has a steep fall from heel to toe, which I find uncomfortable. PS I bacially \*live\* in sneakers because I also wear them at work.

A bit delayed with when I wanted to get this out, but finally getting around to this. Be warned, this is fairly lengthy, going into my history with different running shoes before I got the MBs. **Stats** \- Easy Pace = 5:45-6:10/km MP = 4:30-4:45/km Size - UK9/US10. **My Background** \- I have been primarily into S&C with running as an occasional hobby that I indulge in for the most part of my adult life. Started running longer distances back in 2015, and would race the occasional 10k once or twice a year. I never had any structure of program for my runs and would just lace up and go out without much thought into what I would do on the run. Unlike a lot of other runners, I got quite irregular with running during the pandemic and it was only last year, early 2025, that I decided to take up running again primarily for improved cardio vascular health. I had decided to start with some easy runs and build up mileage for the initial few months and then branch out to doing other types of workouts - intervals, tempo, threshold etc. **Shoe History** \- Back in 2010 I was diagnosed with a chronic case of Shin Splints. My physiotherapist recommended I pick-up shoes that provide some stability and arch support since I had flat feet and tended to overpronate when I ran. This led me to picking up the Asics Gel Kayanos 16, a pair of shoes that were prohibitively expensive for broke me, but thankfully I had family support. Since then I have stuck to the Gel Kayanos faithfully, switching from the GK16s to the 24s a few years later (2018). At the start of last year I was still running in the Gel Kayano 24s - which goes to show how little I had run in the 7 years prior - but I also knew I wanted to branch out and try other shoes. After a few months of getting back into the groove of things, and having done enough reading and watching on what shoes I could potentially experiment with, I went with the following pairs: * Gel Kayano 31 - For continued support and stability on easy days. * NovaBlast5 - For faster runs * RebelV4 - An alternative to the NB5s. (Turned out to be a damp squib for me) I ran in the first two for about 5 months, racking in \~550kms in total between the two. As I got closer to my Half-marathon prep in late October 2025 I realized that the NovaBlasts weren’t great for long runs, and the Kayanos were too heavy/felt leaden when I tried to run longer distances and they sucked all joy out of running when I ran in them. I was contemplating getting the Superblast 2’s but by then I had seen enough reviews of the Megablast for me to give that a try. They definitely felt bouncier, more energetic than the SB2 though a lot less stable. I was unsure if these were the best shoes for me, considering the instability, but the practice runs I did at the store felt very good so I took a - very expensive - gamble. **First Run impressions and Break in** \- The first run impressions were anything but good. The shoes felt blocky, uncomfortable and I didn’t feel any sort of energy return that I was hoping from them. I had seen others state the same and that they had to run about 50km before the shoes felt broken into, so I knew my experience wasn’t unique. However, the very next day I felt a huge difference in my run. The bounce/energy return was amazing, and while it did feel unstable, it wasn’t as bad as I thought I would be. Every subsequent run I went on had the opposite effect of buyers’ remorse - I knew I had made the right choice. **Pros** \- ***Variety*** \- In the 4 months since the purchase I’ve racked up over a 1000kms in them, and I have used them for a variety of runs - Easy pace, Sub-threshold, Threshold, Speed/Intervals, Long runs, and even ran a HM in them; they were fantastic for all of these runs. It truly is a terrific all-rounder. ***Legsaver*** \- ‘Sagasu Running’ uses a term called ‘Legsavingsness’ and I must say that this ranks very high up there on that front. I have done multiple runs in excess of 20kms and very rarely have my legs been dead or tired at the end of those. There was some fatigue, of course, but I felt good to go the next day, and the shoes played a major part in that. ***Midsole*** \- I am not going to spend more time on the midsole since I have nothing new to add to what’s already been said multiple times before: it is truly fantastic. ***Durability*** \- Even though I had hit well over 900kms, the shoes/midsole still felt pretty great. Not as bouncy of course, but still plenty of energy return allowing me to do my long runs with little to no discomfort. **Cons** \- ***Width*** \- The width on this shoe is a bit of a bummer. I personally love the race-fit upper, but the narrow fit at the forefoot has caused insane blisters on my pinkies, and is definitely the biggest con of this shoe. If the fit/width was the same as the NB5, then this would be an even better shoe. **YMMV** \- ***The price*** \- Yes, it is an extremely expensive shoe, but given the variety of runs you can do in them, and how many kilometers they seem to last, I think the price is justified. ***Biomechanics*** \- As I mentioned at the start, I have flat feet and tend to overpronate. I ignored these issues and continued to enjoy my runs but the lack of foot and arch strengthening has caught up in the last weeks when I was diagnosed with Posterior Tibial Tendon dysfunction (PTTD), so if you’re someone who has arch/foot issues, do ensure you work on those simultaneously and not take things for granted, especially if you’re considering these - or other non-stability - shoes. **What next** \- I contemplated getting the Puma Velocity Nitro 4, or the Superblast 3 as my next pair but after having run in both, I decided to stick to my MB and get another pair instead. I might still get the VN4 to add to my rotation in the future since I liked the practice runs I did in them at the store. **TL;DR** : Great shoes. Ran a 1000kms in them. Would recommend.

A bit delayed with when I wanted to get this out, but finally getting around to this. Be warned, this is fairly lengthy, going into my history with different running shoes before I got the MBs, so that p **Stats** \- **Age**: 35, Male **Height**: 170cm **Weight**: 64-66kg **Easy Pace** = 5:45-6:10/km **MP** = 4:30-4:45/km **Size** \- UK9/US10. **My Background** \- I have been primarily into S&C with running as an occasional hobby that I indulge in for the most part of my adult life. Started running longer distances back in 2015, and would race the occasional 10k once or twice a year. I never had any structure of program for my runs and would just lace up and go out without much thought into what I would do on the run. Unlike a lot of other runners, I got quite irregular with running during the pandemic and it was only last year, early 2025, that I decided to take up running again primarily for improved cardio vascular health. I had decided to start with some easy runs and build up mileage for the initial few months and then branch out to doing other types of workouts - intervals, tempo, threshold etc. **Shoe History** \- Back in 2010 I was diagnosed with a chronic case of Shin Splints. My physiotherapist recommended I pick-up shoes that provide some stability and arch support since I had flat feet and tended to overpronate when I ran. This led me to picking up the Asics Gel Kayanos 16, a pair of shoes that were prohibitively expensive for broke me, but thankfully I had family support. Since then I have stuck to the Gel Kayanos faithfully, switching from the GK16s to the 24s a few years later (2018). At the start of last year I was still running in the Gel Kayano 24s - which goes to show how little I had run in the 7 years prior - but I also knew I wanted to branch out and try other shoes. After a few months of getting back into the groove of things, and having done enough reading and watching on what shoes I could potentially experiment with, I went with the following pairs: * Gel Kayano 31 - For continued support and stability on easy days. * NovaBlast5 - For faster runs * RebelV4 - An alternative to the NB5s. (Turned out to be a damp squib for me) I ran in the first two for about 5 months, racking in \~550kms in total between the two. As I got closer to my Half-marathon prep in late October 2025 I realized that the NovaBlasts weren’t great for long runs, and the Kayanos were too heavy/felt leaden when I tried to run longer distances and they sucked all joy out of running when I ran in them. I was contemplating getting the Superblast 2’s but by then I had seen enough reviews of the Megablast for me to give that a try. They definitely felt bouncier, more energetic than the SB2 though a lot less stable. I was unsure if these were the best shoes for me, considering the instability, but the practice runs I did at the store felt very good so I took a - very expensive - gamble. **First Run impressions and Break in** \- The first run impressions were anything but good. The shoes felt blocky, uncomfortable and I didn’t feel any sort of energy return that I was hoping from them. I had seen others state the same and that they had to run about 50km before the shoes felt broken into, so I knew my experience wasn’t unique. However, the very next day I felt a huge difference in my run. The bounce/energy return was amazing, and while it did feel unstable, it wasn’t as bad as I thought I would be. Every subsequent run I went on had the opposite effect of buyers’ remorse - I knew I had made the right choice. **Pros** \- ***Variety*** \- In the 4 months since the purchase I’ve racked up over a 1000kms in them, and I have used them for a variety of runs - Easy pace, Sub-threshold, Threshold, Speed/Intervals, Long runs, and even ran a HM in them; they were fantastic for all of these runs. It truly is a terrific all-rounder. ***Legsaver*** \- ‘Sagasu Running’ uses a term called ‘Legsavingsness’ and I must say that this ranks very high up there on that front. I have done multiple runs in excess of 20kms and very rarely have my legs been dead or tired at the end of those. There was some fatigue, of course, but I felt good to go the next day, and the shoes played a major part in that. ***Midsole*** \- I am not going to spend more time on the midsole since I have nothing new to add to what’s already been said multiple times before: it is truly fantastic. ***Durability*** \- Even though I had hit well over 900kms, the shoes/midsole still felt pretty great. Not as bouncy of course, but still plenty of energy return allowing me to do my long runs with little to no discomfort. **Cons** \- ***Width*** \- The width on this shoe is a bit of a bummer. I personally love the race-fit upper, but the narrow fit at the forefoot has caused insane blisters on my pinkies, and is definitely the biggest con of this shoe. If the fit/width was the same as the NB5, then this would be an even better shoe. **YMMV** \- ***The price*** \- Yes, it is an extremely expensive shoe, but given the variety of runs you can do in them, and how many kilometers they seem to last, I think the price is justified. ***Biomechanics*** \- As I mentioned at the start, I have flat feet and tend to overpronate. I ignored these issues and continued to enjoy my runs but the lack of foot and arch strengthening has caught up in the last weeks when I was diagnosed with Posterior Tibial Tendon dysfunction (PTTD), so if you’re someone who has arch/foot issues, do ensure you work on those simultaneously and not take things for granted, especially if you’re considering these - or other non-stability - shoes. **What next** \- I contemplated getting the Puma Velocity Nitro 4, or the Superblast 3 as my next pair but after having run in both, I decided to stick to my MB and get another pair instead. I might still get the VN4 to add to my rotation in the future since I liked the practice runs I did in them at the store. **TL;DR**: Great shoes. Ran a 1000kms in them. Would recommend.

I have tried the Evo SLs only once and I didn't them comfortable to run in, so I can't comment on them. These are similar to the NB5 but has more cushioning/stack height, and therefore will likely feel unstable. FWIW, I only felt it initially but in these 1000km+ that I have run in, I have had little to no issues despite constantly turning on my runs and running a U-bend (horse-shoe style) repeatedly on almost all my runs. If you're worried, try them out before you purchase them.

I had read online that the blistering was an issue, and even when I wore them at the store I felt that the shoe had a very snug fit compared to the NB5 or the SB2, so I was slightly concerned. I didn't feel the effects of it until my first long run in them, post which my right pinky had a blister like an inflated hot air balloon over Cappadocia. What I've also realised with the newer pair of MB's that I've bought is that this occurs only when I go with the runners knot. When I tied my laces like I would a normal shoe, I felt I had a lot more space in my forefoot and could spread my toes out.

No issues with plush, but I need ankle support! I've researched a lot of shoes, and I find the Gel Kayano 31/32s (even though they are for pronators) work well for me. I like soft, cushioned, but supportive shoes. I've run a couple of halves and a full marathon in them!

Thank you! Just curious as i use the kayano 31 as well, but am just a casual runner. Might aim for some 5k pb’s in future though!