Asics Novablast 'Smoke Grey'
Colorway: Smoke Grey/Smoke Grey · Style code: 1201A133-021 · Release date: November 2021 · Price: $2545 · Availability: Available now
More colorways: ASICS Novablast 'Metropolis' (1201A133-020) · Asics Novablast 'Light Steel' (1201A133-400) · Asics Novablast 2 SPS 'Smoke Grey' (1201A483-020)
This is the shoe that changed what ASICS was known for. Released globally in February 2020, the first Novablast paired a tall midsole of FlyteFoam Blast (a new high-rebound, low-density foam the shoe existed to introduce) with an outsole geometry the company itself explained through a trampoline analogy. It was the softest and most responsive thing the brand had made at a point when its reputation rested on structure and support rather than bounce. Reviewers were enthusiastic and specific about the faults: an unstable heel, a forefoot short on cushioning, and an upper below the standard of the ride, all of which the second version addressed. Smoke grey on smoke grey is the most subdued way this model was ever sold, and it draws attention to the sidewall geometry rather than away from it.