Asics Gel Kayano 29 'Black Electric Red'
Colorway: Black/Electric Red · Style code: 1011B440-006 · Release date: December 31, 2022 · Price: $348 · Availability: Available now
More colorways: ASICS Gel Kayano 29 'Triple Black' (1011B440-001) · ASICS Gel Kayano 29 'Black White' (1011B440-002) · Asics Gel Kayano 29 'Black Electric Blue' (1011B440-003) · Asics Gel Kayano 29 'Black New Leaf' (1011B440-004) · Asics Gel Kayano 29 'Black Sun Peach' (1011B440-005)
For twenty-nine years the Kayano had controlled pronation the way most stability shoes did: a firmer wedge of foam along the medial side, sold as Duomax, pushing back against the inward roll of the foot. The 29th version, out in 2022, removed it.
In its place ASICS put LiteTruss, a support structure built into the midsole rather than posted alongside it, with no density change a runner can point to. The intent was to stop the shoe from feeling as though it were correcting anything. At the same time the midsole moved to FF Blast Plus, which ASICS puts at roughly 22 percent softer than conventional EVA and about 19 percent lighter than standard FF Blast.
What reviewers described was a stability shoe that no longer announces itself, comfortable across long easy distances and not much interested in speed work. It was the largest structural change the line had made in years and set the direction later versions followed. This pair came at the end of 2022 in black with red.