The Cumulus 23 has the right amount of everything. You don’t have to worry about durability or fit issues with the Cumulus 23, or about getting injured from too much softness or not enough. It does however feel well-rounded, well-built, reliable and luxurious. It also doesn’t feel like an exciting shoe. In a world where daily trainers have carbon plates and super foam midsoles, the dependable ASICS Cumulus 23 still doesn’t feel like a boring shoe. Its midsole is not overly soft so there isn’t much lean bias and foot strikes feel very planted. The Cumulus has always been known as a stable neutral trainer and the Cumulus 23 is no exception. These hexagonal shapes in the midsole act like pillars to allow the midsole to compress more in those zones which increases softness. 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 Cumulus 23 now has 3D Space Construction which are these small hexagonal shapes that look like honeycomb which are etched onto the top layer of the midsole. When I tested the Nimbus 23, I felt foot fatigue on longer runs because of how soft and spongy its forefoot is but the Cumulus 23 has just the right amount of cushioning to feel efficient on long runs. The high versatility of the Cumulus 23 means that it can handle easy runs, recovery runs, steady runs and it even has enough cushioning for long distances of 40+ kilometres. 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. The Cumulus is supposed to deliver a soft ride- and it does. The firmer wedge of Flytefoam has been moved closer to the foot, above the gel pocket. The bottom layer of Flytefoam is now a continuous, single-density piece of foam, so ride transitions are smoother. What used to be a really firm, unforgiving foam only suited for fast runs, has now become softer, more lively and more versatile. Asics Gel Cumulus 23 Sole Unitįlytefoam has come a long way. This is because of a big difference in density between the midsole foam and the outsole rubber.Īfter that first impressive 10 kilometer run, I was excited to test the Cumulus 23 on a variety of different runs and paces. I did notice that I could feel the edges of the outsole lugs through the forefoot and it felt slightly lumpy. My first run was a 10km steady-paced run and I was surprised how well it performed when I increased the pace.Įven at tempo speeds of 4.25 minutes per kilometer, the Cumulus 23 didn’t feel like it was out of its comfort zone. Walking around in the Cumulus 23, I could feel that the layer directly underfoot was less spongy than the Nimbus 23 with less of a sink-in sensation. When I held it in hand, the upper mesh felt noticeably better than the previous version: softer and more premium. When I first saw pictures of the Cumulus 23 online, my initial thought was that it looks very similar to the Nimbus 23. It weighs 280 g (9.9 oz), 16 g (0.6 oz) more than the Cumulus 22 but maintains its 10mm drop and price of $120. It now has a softer upper, 3D Space Construction zones in the midsole and a full-length, bottom layer of Flytefoam.
While the Nike Pegasus, New Balance 880, Saucony Ride and Hoka Clifton receive upper-only updates every other year, you can expect the Cumulus to get a brand new upper, midsole and outsole every year. Of the three ASICS stalwarts, the Kayano, Nimbus and Cumulus, the Cumulus is the most budget friendly, the lightest and the most versatile.Ĭompared to other mid-priced, neutral daily trainers from other brands, the Cumulus receives the most updates annually which keeps things exciting and fresh. 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.
The problem with exciting shoes is that they’re still new so you never know what you are going to get and if it’s going to work for you. Recently, ASICS has been pushing the boundaries of innovation and has launched some very exciting shoes. It’s a multipurpose, do-everything shoe which is why it’s been such a crowd pleaser for over two decades. That’s because the Cumulus is the textbook definition of a comfortable, daily trainer with a versatile ride character. 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.
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