In a world of carbon-plated supershoes, this model has gone under the radar a little.
Even ASICS themselves haven’t promoted it too much, and I guess that’s because of their carbon racers, the Metaspeed Sky+ and Metaspeed Edge+.
But the ASICS Superblast offers something a little different that might just make it the race-day shoe you’ve been looking for.
ASICS Superblast – First Impression:
The shoe has a deep stack of cushioning, 45mm in the heel, so when you pick the shoe up there’s a lot there.
But the shoe feels almost impossibly light. At 240g (8.5oz) it’s almost puzzling how it manages to have so much cushioning in such a light package.
The rocker is evident in both the rear and forefoot of the shoe and just standing in it gives a hint of what’s to come.
Once you begin to run the shoe rolls along smoothly and feels responsive, even without a carbon plate.
In your first few strides, you get an idea of how things are going to turn out with the Superblast.
It just instinctively feels like it wants to speed up and almost teases you along hoping you’ll take advantage of the responsive FF TURBO BLAST foam that’s formed into the deep forefoot rocker.
ASICS Superblast – The Tech:
The shoe features ASICS two high-performance midsole material technologies.
FF BLAST PLUS is the same cushioning that can be found in the ASICS Magicspeed shoe. Nowadays this is the second tier of responsive midsole foam, but in this model, it serves to create a stable base for the FF BLAST TURBO foam.
FF BLAST TURBO is the brand’s premium, high-performance midsole. It’s light and highly responsive nature makes it a great choice for racing and fast shoes!
It’s the same midsole material that is used in the range-topping models, the Metaspeed Sky+ and Metaspeed Edge+.
AHAR rubber is used on the outsole to add durability and in this model, there’s plenty of coverage enabling more frequent use.
ASICS Superblast – Road Test:
As is my usual routine, especially with a race or fast shoe, I took to the treadmill for a 5 times 1-mile session.
Starting with a progressively quicker warm up for a mile I set out at around 8minute 30 pace, creeping up to 7min pace.
The shoe felt perfectly happy at the slow end of the scale and all indications were it would get better as things progressed.
I tend to keep these types of sessions fairly evenly paced, simply setting the treadmill speed and leaving it there for the duration of the rep.
At 5min 30second per mile pace, the shoe felt great. I was quickly and easily into my stride and perhaps the absence of a carbon plate made for the easy-going yet propulsive feel.
Sometimes with carbon-plated models, they feel a little stiff, particularly in the early few miles until you’ve settled down, and your gait becomes a little smoother. That’s not the case with the Superblast, it just felt good to go from the gun.
The slightly firmer feel under the forefoot, where the rocker kicks in really seemed to help when at speed, throwing the foot forward onto the toes.
Once the repetition was over my recovery jog was two minutes at 8-minute pace. Here the 8mm drop played its part, with the deep stack providing welcoming cushioning at the slower speed.
My next run in the Superblast was a midweek tempo of 10k. I don’t have any immediate race plans, so have been running a weekly ‘speed’ session as well as a tempo run.
My tempo run is usually at around 6 to 6:30 mile pace and once again the shoe didn’t disappoint. It simply felt instantly at home and probably at its best at this pace.
ASICS Superblast – Conclusion:
The ASICS Superblast doesn’t have a carbon plate and without that, it feels a little expensive.
The advent of carbon plates has been a boom for the shoe brands and since Nike set the benchmark it has been somewhat of a free for all, with £200+ shoes becoming available from most brands.
Carbon plates only add around $5 to the manufacturing cost of shoes, but they seem to have added much, much more at retail.
The ASICS Superblast is a great shoe, but it’s not a £200+ great shoe.
Ok, so price aside the combination of the FF ‘superfoams’ is a perfect blend.
The combination of stability and ‘energy return’ is great and makes the shoe rather unique in providing such a stable and fast ride. The shoe would make a perfect racing shoe for the heavier runner, perhaps if you’ve previously been disappointed by the durability of carbon racers.
It’s a very versatile model, the deep cushioning proves plenty for frequent use and the generous use of the AHAR rubber on the sole also improves durability.
Upper-wise, it’s fuss-free but fits well with no issues.
If you’re lucky enough to be able to afford the shoe it will fit nicely into your shoe rotation, being available for selection for anything from tempo runs to racing and even the occasional longer, steady run where you just want to add a little spring to your step.
However you use it, you’re sure to have a blast!
