Asics Gel Kinsei Blast LE 'Lake Drive Hazard Green'
Colorway: Lake Drive/Hazard Green · Style code: 1011B332-400 · Release date: April 29, 2022 · Price: $127 · Availability: Available now
More colorways: Asics Gel Kinsei Blast LE 'Shocking Orange' (1011B332-800) · Asics Gel Kinsei Blast LE 2 'Island Blue' (1011B592-400) · Asics Wmns Gel Kinsei Blast LE 'Clear Blue' (1012B178-401) · Asics Gel Kinsei Blast LE 2 'Lime Zest' (1011B592-300) · Asics Gel Kinsei Blast LE 2 'Olive Oil' (1011B592-301)
The Gel-Kinsei was an ASICS flagship in the mid-2000s, a maximal shoe positioned above the Kayano and the Nimbus and priced accordingly. The name went quiet for years before returning in August 2021 as the Kinsei Blast.
The rebuild kept the maximal approach and modernised everything else. A Pebax propulsion plate runs through a midsole of FF Blast Plus, GEL still handles shock at the heel, and the geometry is rockered rather than flat, at roughly 39mm at the heel and 29mm at the forefoot. The knit upper takes its structure from samurai armour, protective across the top of the foot while leaving it free to move.
It launched globally at $180. This limited edition, a lake blue with hazard green, came in spring 2022; LE builds like it usually differ in materials and colour rather than in construction. Plated maximal trainers were still unusual outside racing when the Kinsei Blast appeared, which is the part of the shoe worth remembering.