From my own experience, I can report that the shoes are built from sturdy material and are easy to clean. It is a bit lighter than the more plush Gel Nimbus 23, but tips the scales over the lighter and more modern Gel Nimbus Lite 2. One nice feature of the Cumulus 23, is it has a reflective stripe down the heel for runs in low or no light. on our lace slip test, the lace outperformed other recently tested shoes like the Saucony Endorphin Speed 2 which measured in at only 13.

On the flip side of the coin, you get Asics’ “plain” shoes, their bread and butter trainers that are consistent, dependable and give you what you expect. There is a consistent feel through the stack of midsole and outsole, more so in that respect than in the 22.The Cumulus upper is clearly superior to the plasticky awkward fitting (for me) Nova’s and is roomier to boot.

When I ran in the rain, both shoes picked up a ton of weight and I felt like I was carrying an extra 1 kilogram of water weight on my feet. So this is very fixable, but right now this shoe is best for those who tend to land farther forward. The Cumulus 23 may not be as luxurious or as plush as the Nimbus 23 but it’s more versatile, more durable and better value for money.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. Asics is very capable of executing a great bevel (as evident by the Hyper Speed, Magic Speed, METASPEED Sky and more) and I do not see a reason why they have not included here. 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. The FLYTEFOAM™ technology in the midsole is softer than the previous version to promote a pillowy ride. In this case, you are also responsible for the risk of loss or damage, therefore we recommed a postal insurance to cover the value.

They could add a bevel, they could soften the durometer of the posterior lateral foam more so it compresses easier.

With the thinnest possible pen, starting with the heel of your foot start to trace around your foot, you continue until you complete the entire foot (see Fig. Creating a softer feel underfoot, this shoe features updated GEL™ technology unit in the heel that allows your feet to experience cloud-like comfort. This shoe's combination of GORE-TEX™ technology and engineered mesh helps repel water while keeping your feet dry and comfortable.

ASICS are not known for poor durability and it comes as no surprise that even in a mid tier trainer like the Cumulus, there is still plenty of consideration for durability. The outsole pattern along with relatively soft rubber up front, contributes to the softness at the forefoot and an easy flex which instead of having a set flex point is long and gradual. Again, I’d probably opt for the GEL-Nimbus 23 over this one if I just want a shoe for a ton of miles.

There is noticeably less wear on the outsole of the Cumulus 23 than on the outsole of the Nimbus 23 after the same mileage so I’ve been very happy with durability. There is plenty of segmentation of the forefoot blown rubber and that works with the midsole to achieve the excellent forefoot flexibility of the shoe. 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. For trainers and performance trainers, we take them on daily runs, workouts, recovery runs and a long run prior to review (often accumulating anywhere from 20-50 miles in the process). Lastly, a hard-wearing AHAR™ rubber outsole compound has been placed in key contact areas to help the GEL-CUMULUS™ 23 shoe stand up to a ton of miles.