Asics Gel Kayano 30 Wide 'Illusion Blue Glow Yellow'
Colorway: Illusion Blue/Glow Yellow · Style code: 1011B685-400 · Release date: May 31, 2023 · Price: $2682 · Availability: Available now
More colorways: ASICS Gel Kayano 30 Wide 'Triple Black' (1011B685-001) · Asics Gel Kayano 30 Wide 'Black Sheet Rock' (1011B685-002) · Asics Gel Kayano 30 Wide 'Black Glow Yellow' (1011B685-003) · Asics Gel Kayano 30 Wide 'Carrier Grey' (1011B685-020) · Asics Gel Kayano 30 Wide 'Carrier Grey Illuminate Mint' (1011B685-022)
Thirty years separate this shoe from the first Gel-Kayano. Toshikazu Kayano designed that 1993 original after studying the stag beetle, whose shell protects it without costing it speed, and ASICS put his name on the shoe partly because it would carry well in English-speaking markets. Naming a running shoe after its designer was unusual then. He went on designing the line through its thirteenth version.
The anniversary generation is also the one that broke most sharply with everything before it. Medial posting was dropped for the 4D Guidance System, a softer foam element beneath the arch meant to adapt as fatigue changes a stride, and PureGEL took over cushioning duty in the heel at lower weight than the GEL it replaced. The midsole carried around twenty percent more FF Blast Plus Eco foam than the previous version, raising the stack by roughly four millimetres.
Illusion blue with glow yellow gives this wide-fit pair the brightest palette in the launch group, a long way from the muted greys the line spent most of its life in. It released at the end of May 2023.