Asics Gel Nimbus 22 vs 21 Comparison Running Shoe Review

Josh shares his insight on the heel striker-friendly Asics Gel Nimbus 22 running shoes and uncovers the changes that set it apart from its predecessor, the Asics Gel Nimbus 21.

Fitting neatly into the stable neutral category, the new Nimbus 22 caters to neutral foot types or mild overpronators that prefer a more natural and non-restrictive feel in regard to arch support.

Asics have created a lighter and smoother ride for high mileage runs coupled with a breathable, foot-conforming upper to tackle hot weather. This next evolution is loaded with improvements including a shift in stack height but stays true to Asics' prioprietary cushioning, the soft yet responsive FlyteFoam.

Complete with a re-engineered outsole to boost forefoot flexibility, the Nimbus 22 is your answer to coasting smoothly over the pavement.

Check out the review with full transcript below.

Hello everybody, this is Josh from Sportitude and it is shoe review time and shoe comparison review time.

Today we’re doing the Nimbus 22 vs the Nimbus 21, so quite a lot of change. Actually, there is heaps of change in the outsole, midsole and upper. Without further ado let’s get stuck in.

Foot Type

The first thing I’d like to talk about is identifying what runner should be looking at this shoe.

We’re talking neutral foot types. For the classic neutral foot type foot posture wise, you see a higher arch and the navicular sits a bit higher. For that runner that heel strikes and goes from midstance to toe-off, the majority of the pressure is on the outside of that foot, so we don’t tend to see the arches collapse as much.

However, not to contradict what I’ve just said, we have had some success fitting a slightly, mildly overpronated foot type in the Nimbus 22. Reason being is, it’s a stable neutral shoe.

There is still a percentage of runners out there that have a tendency to come through midstance and collapse at the arch area that do not like having any restrictions through midstance. Whether it is a dual density block or some form of arch support inside a running shoe, it just doesn’t feel natural for them.

Enter the stable neutral market. We know that market itself is growing exponentially year in and year out. However, this is the Nimbus 22 and this is Asics’ take on a good stable neutral shoe.

What we’re going to do today is start from the ground and go all the way up, so outsole, midsole and upper, just like all my shoe reviews.

With this shoe here you can see it’s a bit dirty. I have put in about 30 clicks into this shoe and at the moment I am very satisfied. I did enjoy the Nimbus 21 but I think it had some flaws and faults.

Obviously, it was quite well-publicised over 2019, with people coming out saying it’s not the same sort of running shoe it was previously. It’s been a bit stiff, a bit heavy, a bit clunky. I can see where people were coming from and I think Asics had their ears close to the ground as well because they listened.

A lot of the change in this shoe is all about weight reduction. It still provides nice dampening beneath the foot, but with a little more flexibility which will provide a smoother transition through the gait cycle.

I’d like to identify that this shoe is still classically designed for a heel striker. There is a lot of engineering in the back half of the shoe that will cater for that first point of contact with the ground. If you’re a midfoot runner you can still run in this shoe, which I am and I enjoyed it. However, a lot of the engineering is certainly favouring the heel striker.

There is a new shoe we are going to review shortly too in the Nimbus family that is designed for more of a midfoot runner. Asics have obviously catered for that market too. We’ll do that in two ticks but let us get stuck into this shoe.

Outsole

Looking at the outsole in comparison to the Nimbus 21. I don’t really need to do much talking, you at home can see the change with this shoe. Through the forefoot, you can see the extra flex grooves. Complete horizontal flex grooves, which is the first time they did that in the Nimbus 21 as well.

In the Nimbus 21 you’ve got two flex grooves and little slits to provide a bit of flexibility. However, it was a bit stiffer through the toe-off phase for a lot of runners. A lot of runners' feedback was it just didn’t feel as plush or smooth as Nimbus have felt previously, so Asics have listened. In the Nimbus 22 we have five flex grooves and you can see when you bend that forefoot it is a lot more flexible on the toe-off phase.

Coming through to the midstance component, you’ve still got this little beam, this Trusstic device that is going to provide a bit of rigidity for that heel striker. When you come down on the heel and go through to midstance, that Trusstic beam is going to give this shoe some structure and integrity when you’re going through that midstance phase of your gait cycle.

Then coming down to the heel striker component, they’re still running with this horizontal flexibility or flex grooves that in itself will provide extra dampening as well. Cutting away into the midsole reduces the weight ever so slightly but also provides a little bit of extra dampening in line with the Gel cushioning at the back. So, there’s quite a lot of change in the outsole and I think it’s really good change.

Midsole

Coming through to the midsole now, we’re talking all things FlyteFoam. FlyteFoam technology is their patented technology they’ve ran now for a few years. It’s a nice soft foam. It’s also responsive in the areas you need it to be responsive.

Midsole wise, we’re still talking about the Gel component at the back of course. As you come through to the forefoot underneath that first metatarsal, your big toe, there will be a Twist Gel set up to provide dampening as you toe-off.

When we’re talking about the midsole it’s important to note there’s been quite a change in the stack height of this shoe in comparison to what it was last year.

I’m probably going to be in a bit of trouble for saying this but the execution on the Nimbus 21 was not ideal in the midsole. They went for more of a jacked up cushioned version. As I said earlier I didn’t mind it, however the feedback was it didn’t work for the majority of runners out there.

When I say ‘jacked up' version what I’m talking about is the actual amount of shoe underneath your foot. For the men’s Nimbus 21 we had 31mm in the heel, 21mm in the forefoot for a heel-to-toe gradient of 10mm.

In the Nimbus 22 they’ve dropped it by 6mm. That’s remarkable. We’ve now got 25mm in the heel, 15mm in the forefoot. That’s quite a change and to be honest I would usually think that I could feel that change in and underneath my foot, but I didn’t.

The Nimbus 22 still felt really cushioned and elevated off the ground. However, the actual amount of shoe underneath your foot is quite a change. It’s a 6mm variance between what it was in the Nimbus 21 to what it is in the Nimbus 22.

I need to touch on the variance in the ladies. The stack height is different again. It’s 27mm in the heel, 14mm in the forefoot.

Asics true to their previous years with their high mileage running shoes, do change the stack height heel-to-toe for men’s and women’s. Obviously, they’ve done the research to back that up and ladies have a slightly higher heel-to-toe offset.

Upper

Let’s go to the upper. Probably my favourite but cheapest part of this shoe to make. The Nimbus 22 upper is fabulous.

It’s stronger, it feels a lot more pliable on the foot. What I mean by that is it can actually conform to the shape of my foot a lot easier than what I found in the Nimbus 21. Shape and structure wise it hugged me in all the right areas.

The heel component was great. It’s a nice deep heel counter so for those of you that have an orthotic or need orthotics and are looking at a stable neutral shoe to put this in, the sockliner comes out and the orthotic goes in with great success.

It’s nice and deep so it’s going to cater for the variety of heel lifts in orthotics and we know there’s a lot out there. This shoe will cater for a lot of orthotic shapes as long as you do the heel lock lace to get it nice and secure.

The heel counter is a nice and stable internal structure. It’s a really solid set up so when your foot hits the ground it doesn’t feel like it’s moving around at all, it’s nice and secure.

Coming through to midstance, the depth through here was great. With or without my orthotic inside the shoe I felt like I had enough depth. I didn’t have to worry about changing to a thicker or thinner sock. It felt nice and deep and the overlays gave it a nice wrap.

As you come through to the forefoot though, that’s where I found it to be the most successful. I felt like I had enough toe room to get a little bit of wriggle space, but it felt secure and I didn’t feel like my foot was slipping off the platform when it was toeing off.

I touched on before that the upper is stronger. It is a really nice mesh, however lighter and thinner so there's a lot more ventilation. We’re coming into some warmer months in Australia and this shoe is going to breathe really well.

It’s a great shoe, a great contributor and it could be a shoe that is your next purchase. If you have any questions about this specific shoe, please contact our Sportitude shoe experts. If you haven't subscribed already, please subscribe to the Sportitude YouTube channel. 

Thank you very much and as always, happy running and we’ll see you on the road.