Asics NovaBlast 2 vs 1 Comparison Shoe Review
Josh reviews the Asics NovaBlast 2, your go-to neutral running shoe with soft cushioning to crush your everyday training and an energetic feel to tackle the occasional tempo run. The original Asics NovaBlast earned plenty of praise from the running community and this second generation is due to follow in its footsteps.
The full ground contact outsole with a wider base creates a stable platform and protects the asset of the running shoe, being the FlyteFoam Blast midsole. It provides a combination of compression and responsiveness to coast over the pavement while FlyteFoam Blast runs the full length of the shoe, offering a consistent trampoline-like sensation.
With strategic changes to the engineering of the foam, Asics put you on a fractionally lower heel-to-toe drop of 8mm without compromise to the shock-absorbing yet lightweight cushioning.
Asics have updated the upper, featuring a gusseted tongue and internal heel counter that work together to provide a supportive lockdown. Wrapping your feet in engineered jacquard mesh, it delivers breathability to keep your feet in cool, fresh conditions and the strength to clock up daily mileage.
Check out the review with full transcript below.
Hey guys, Josh here from Sportitude Running and it's shoe review time and we're going to be talking all things Asics NovaBlast 2. This shoe has just landed in the warehouse and there's some exciting developments on top of what Asics had with the first Asics NovaBlast through the front half of 2021 to the back half of 2020.
In today's review we're going to talk about the outsole, midsole and upper. We’ll profile the foot type or the runner that could be considering this shoe. We’ll give you all the information you need at home to potentially throw this into your shoe rotation. Make yourself a cup of tea and let's get stuck in.
Runner Profile
Before we dive into the engineering of the Asics NovaBlast 2, let's talk about the foot type that could be considering this shoe. It is a neutral shoe so there's been no strategically placed medial posting or support system on the midsole.
When this runner comes through their gait cycle, makes contact with the ground and transitions through that midstance phase of their gait we don’t tend to have a bias towards the medial side, so they won't overpronate too much.
More often than not when we're putting someone in a NovaBlast, we're looking for that neutral gait so more of the pressure is going to go through the central part of the shoe.
If they happen to have a little bit of a lateral tilt with a bias towards supination that's still OK. That being the case, I am a mild overpronator and I have very much enjoyed version 1 of the NovaBlast and my experience did not change with the NovaBlast 2.
I’ve had my pair for 6 weeks and put in about 40km in them. That was for four 10km runs and so far so good. Let's get stuck into the engineering of this shoe and what it is all about.
Outsole
First things first, let's talk about the outsole. As you can see with the naked eye underneath the foot nothing that has changed at all. There's been some early feedback that the rubber might be marginally thicker in the Asics NovaBlast 2 but from an experienced perspective running in them, I don't think there's been a change with the rubber. It is the same thickness and same material that protects the wall of this midsole.
As you transition around the whole outsole you can see there is a part of the shoe that has been placed to offer protection for that midsole and keep that foot nice and stable on top of the ground.
There is a decoupled vertical line as you come through to the forefoot. That offers a little bit more cushioning and more release when you go through that exit strategy of your gait cycle.
The decoupling line at the back half works in conjunction with the midsole to offer a bit more compression but as you come through to that forefoot you get more feedback through the release of your toe-off and that's strategic. It’s due to the pod which sits on the forefoot so it's almost like a reverse met dome for those of you that know what a metatarsal dome is in an orthotic.
Midsole
As we come through to the midsole this is where we start to talk about the changes within the Asics NovaBlast 2. We'll talk all things stack height first because there has been a change with regards to the offset.
Last year we were running in a 10mm heel-to-toe drop. This year we're running in an 8mm heel-to-toe drop, so a 2mm variance between both models.
It's the same stack in the forefoot. In the men's model Asics are running with 30mm in the heel and 22mm in the forefoot and they used to run 32mm in the heel and 22mm in the forefoot so you might think there's less cushioning on offer underneath the heel with regards to the NovaBlast 2.
That is not the case at all because of the change regarding the foam architecture. That’s a fancy way of saying of saying Asics have changed the cutaways with regards to this concave and convex setup around the medial and lateral component of this heel.
When you come down and you hit the ground first, be it heel striking or midfoot striking, you get a little bit more compression underneath the shoe or underneath your body. That's purely and simply because of the way they have cut away this midsole. It's a very clever way to offer more cushioning without providing more stack.
They're using their FlyteFoam Blast technology and that is full-length, heel right through to forefoot and lateral and medial side. It’s a very consistent transition the whole way through your gait cycle.
Being a neutral shoe as we touched on earlier there is no strategically placed arch support underneath the arch itself on the midsole. It is a neutral design with regards to the engineering.
Upper
The other small changes come up in the upper of this shoe. The first thing I'll call out is the biggest change and that's the fact that the tongue is now gusseted. You have a piece of material that runs from the tongue down the medial side of that midsole and the same thing with a piece of material from the tongue to the lateral side of that midsole.
There was a small piece of criticism which I personally found with the Asics NovaBlast version 1, and I don't want to be harsh because I've really enjoyed that shoe. However, I found that I lacked a little bit of extra support on top of the midsole. The midsole was fun, I enjoyed that and what that shoe gave me underneath the foot but the upper just lacked support.
What I found with my 40km so far in the Asics NovaBlast 2 is my foot sits so much nicer on this midsole and that's purely and simply because that gusseted tongue just locks it down nicely.
It has jacquard engineered mesh with plenty of breathability. It’s nice and strong with regards to the materials used through that forefoot but again, not compromising weight and breathability.
Coming back to the heel counter, it’s a small adjustment but we have an internal heel counter on offer providing plenty of support for the back of that heel calcaneus region.
There is a TPU strip on the lateral and the medial side which comes up around the external part of the heel counter which provides a little more support. It’s a small thing but a big thing for me.
I love when brands nail the execution of the memory foam inside and without going into too much detail, the NovaBlast 2 is everything I want in an internal heel collar and more. It’s very comfortable.
The Wrap Up
The Asics NovaBlast 2 in my opinion has delivered on expectations with the Asics NovaBlast version 1 having such a great 12 months, being the first of its kind to market. There was a lot of runners that really enjoyed that lightweight, soft ride underneath the foot.
The great thing about Asics is the adjustments that they've made in the NovaBlast 2 will make the shoe more comfortable and more runnable. It’ll probably hit a wider demographic of runners that are searching for a lightweight, cushioned shoe for daily training and also some tempo runs.
To touch on the major changes, essentially the running shoe has dropped 2mm with regards to the heel-to-toe offset. Previously it was a 10mm but now an 8mm heel-to-toe drop. It is a 265 gram size 9 for the men's model and a 225 gram size 7 in the women’s model. It’s not the lightest but not the heaviest running shoe. It’s a nice, lightweight fit and feel underneath the body.
The other thing to call out is it can be used for daily training. It's not going to be as durable as your Asics Gel Cumulus and your Asics Gel Nimbus, that just needs to be called out.
It's certainly something that you can throw into your shoe rotation to complement your mileage running when you want something a little lighter on your foot and that's going to provide plenty of cushioning at the same time.
If you have any questions about the Asics NovaBlast 2 please contact our Sportitude shoe experts. If you happen to be an Asics NovaBlast version 1 user and you loved it or you hated it or you weren't sure we would love to hear your feedback.
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Until next time stay safe, be kind to one another, happy running and we'll see out the road. Take care.
FEATURES
Asics NovaBlast 2
- Support: Neutral
- Upper: Mesh
- Midsole: Asics FlyteFoam Blast
Men
- Heel Height: 30mm
- Forefoot Height: 22mm
- Offset / Drop: 8mm
- Weight: 265g / 9.3oz (US 9)
- Width: D (standard)
Women
- Heel Height: 29mm
- Forefoot Height: 21mm
- Offset / Drop: 8mm
- Weight: Weight: 225g / 9oz (US 7)
- Width: B (standard)
Asics NovaBlast