Asics Noosa Tri 15 'Avant Garde - Blue Bliss'
Colorway: Blue Bliss/Restful Teal · Style code: 1011B609-402 · Release date: May 31, 2023 · Price: $2682 · Availability: Available now
More colorways: Asics Noosa Tri 15 'Avant Garde - Lime Burst' (1011B609-301) · Asics Noosa Tri 15 'Avant Garde - Aquarium' (1011B609-400) · ASICS Noosa Tri 15 'Avant Garde - Illusion Blue' (1011B609-401) · Asics Noosa Tri 15 'Avant Garde - Waterscape' (1011B609-403) · Asics Noosa Tri 15 'Avant Garde - Electric Red' (1011B609-600)
Noosa Tri is the shoe ASICS lets its designers be loud with. The line comes out of triathlon, where the run leg starts with wet feet and a clock already running, so the practical details are quick entry and fast drying: pull tabs at both the heel and the tongue, a thin breathable mesh upper, and a collar loose enough that the foot slides in without adjustment.
The fifteenth version ran a FlyteFoam midsole with the brand's Guidesole rocker geometry, at roughly 27mm heel and 22mm forefoot for a 5mm drop, and weighed around 227 grams. There is no plate and no arch structure. Testers described it as an aggressive, unsupported ride better suited to strong feet than to runners who need help underneath them. The recurring criticism was wet traction, which several reviewers found poor on damp surfaces.
The Avant Garde treatment is where this pair separates from the rest of the range. Blue bliss and restful teal are laid on in a painterly, brush-stroke pattern rather than in blocks, closer to a graphics project than to a colorway, and reviewers reached for comparisons to gallery painting and to street murals in the same breath. It came out on 31 May 2023 at a hundred and thirty dollars.