If you happen to’ve ever needed a brilliant shoe, however knew that the $300 kinds merely weren’t made to your stride, excellent news. ASICS has been onerous at work creating the Asics Sonicblast to fulfill the wants of the on a regular basis runner who desires one thing just a little quicker.
ASICS actually discovered a brand new life for the model when creating the blast line up of footwear just a few years in the past. We beforehand outlined the variations within the Megablast vs the Sonicblasthowever needed to offer you just a little extra suggestions on this PEBAX plated coach right here.
Who’s the Sonicblast good for:
- Broad Ft: Common match, probably not designed for broad ft.
- Heavier Runners: Good foam set as much as deal with affect and stop bottoming out.
- Lengthy Runs: Designed with larger miles in thoughts.
- Entrance of the Pack: It could actually deal with some quicker paces, however is designed for the center of the pack.
4 hour marathoners searching for a coaching and race day shoe are going to have some enjoyable right here.
ASICS Sonicblast Overview
A big contingent of runners have been asking ASICS for a Novablast with a plate, aka one thing mild with good cushion that may go only a hair quicker. As an alternative of simply inserting a plate, they got here up with this new foam and put in a PEBAX plate to make it extra broadly accessible and usable than the carbon plated race day footwear.
The three/4 size PEBAX plate (referred to as an Astroplate) goes to be extra versatile, which is necessary because the gait of a 4 hour runner is completely different than a 3 hour marathon runner.
Most of the entrance pack race footwear are too stiff for on a regular basis athletes and will contribute to decrease leg accidents.
Let’s speak a second extra in regards to the plate as a result of it’s necessary. We don’t need to run in a carbon plated shoe day by day, however PEBAX and comparable supplies are displaying up in day by day trainers for a purpose. It’s mainly a extremely compressed foam to create a firmer plate-like construction. And it looks like being extra versatile it permits for extra utilization with out situation.
Whereas the Megablast is totally the brand new Flyte Foam Turbo Squared, the Sonicblast stored the identical backside layer because the Superblast (FF Blast Max). That is the place we begin to perceive how completely different foams give us a distinct really feel and velocity in a shoe.
Personally, I loved the journey of this shoe extra. I believe it’s totally associated to that backside layer of froth that’s additionally used within the Novablast. I really assume that heavier testers have gotten a extra bouncy really feel and benefit from the Megablast extra.
The Sonicblast has an instantaneous really feel of a shoe that’s prepared to choose up the tempo.
Not a bouncy tremendous shoe, however a shoe that’s going to really feel actually good for a 4 hour marathon. Sure, that is the cheaper of the 2 footwear which is shocking because it has a plate, however once more exhibits you that foam makes a distinction.
I’ve used this shoe for a few simple runs and a few tempo runs. It carried out properly in each, however was very nice on that slight choose up. I might fortunately take it out on longer miles with purpose paced efforts realizing that it’s going to nonetheless really feel wonderful on these simple miles in between.
Even with the large stack peak, this one by no means felt like a max shoe to me. That’ s an excellent factor.
Coach Mary Johnson: The Sonicblast felt extraordinarily agency but additionally quick–its rocker geometry was very noticeable and pushed me on my toes from the very first step.
The draw back: it’s a lot heavier than the Megablast–the load could be very noticeable when you have got every shoe in your fingers. The heaviness didn’t appear too distracting whereas operating; nevertheless it’s not a shoe I’d attain for in a race. It’s a shoe that I’d personally restrict to exercise days, making it not probably the most versatile plated companion shoe available on the market proper now.
The Sonicblast is night-and-day completely different to the Novablast, and is clearly designed to be the Nova’s exercise companion shoe. The higher is easy and efficient and the forefoot doesn’t really feel as sloppy/clunky because the Novablast 5.
The marginally quicker shoe is at a barely lower cost, that may shock a few of you! It’s nonetheless a properly rounded shoe, however possibly much less day by day coach as a result of we simply don’t want a plate on a regular basis.
- Very drop: 8 mm
- Stack: 46 mm
- Weight: 7.8 oz girls’s, 9 oz males’s (be aware precise weights are coming in lighter than specs listing)
- Accessible in 3 colours
- Not accessible in Broad
- Accessible on Asics.com $180
Fast Take
- Light-weight cushioning
- Designed for gait of mid-pack
- Feels very steady
- Feels higher when selecting up the tempo
- PEBAX plate (not everybody desires plated on a regular basis)
- A little bit agency in midfoot

Asics Sonicblast Match
Oddly or sadly they didn’t lengthen the textured laces to this shoe, however I really feel like that might be the following replace which may also drop a tiny quantity of weight. In any other case, no points with the match.
It’s true to my regular size and with girls’s sizing, it goes again to a bit extra slim match. Wouldn’t complain in the event that they discovered a approach to improve the toe field in each footwear, however I additionally didn’t have any points with rubbing.
The tongue is skinny and hooked up, whereas the higher feels extraordinarily breathable. That makes me need to take this out for some onerous summer season miles feeling like my ft would keep cooler, but additionally may swell a bit and really feel wonderful. Proper now 8 miles is my longest run in them.
Coach Mary Johnson: The Sonicblast is extra of a pure match for my slim heels, and I had no sliding or match points whereas operating. As a Novablast lover–I appreciated the lighter higher with the Sonicblast, giving the shoe a efficiency really feel. And whereas I’ve heard folks complain in regards to the VERY broad toebox of the Novablast; Asics tidied that up with the Sonicblast, with a tapered midfoot that also supplies loads of room with out extreme house.
Due to the broad forefoot, the shoe feels steady…nonetheless, at quicker paces (I used to be hitting 5:50s-6:15s in my exercise) the ¾ size Pebax Astroplate plate felt extraordinarily stiff, and nearly too harsh for me. I didn’t really feel just like the FF Turbo foam gave me any further bounce with the toe-off, however this may be as a result of I choose actually bouncy foams and this simply wasn’t it for me.
Related Footwear to the ASICS Sonicblast
All proper, let’s discuss what may be comparable choices with a plate for the center of the pack? We’ve examined just a few that really feel comparable, however completely different based mostly on the model match:
- Puma Deviate Nitro 3 – Related decrease cushion, plated shoe that may work as a day by day coach
- Nike Zoom Fly 6 – Can choose up the tempo just a little extra, extra rocker, just a little extra cushion bounce
- Brooks Hyperion Max 3 – Related excessive stack tremendous coach, however looks like extra shoe and extra bounce
Whereas ASICS doesn’t need to name this a supertrainer as a result of they need it to be seen as a extra approachable shoe, it mainly falls in to that new class of trainers. It’s obtained a plate that’s not carbon, it’s designed for day by day utilization however to additionally choose up the tempo…the place it differs is that some others really feel even bouncier.
And I do know we use the phrase bouncy quite a bit, nevertheless it’s one of the best ways to explain touchdown and feeling a bit just like the shoe is rebounding vs sinking in to a cushion.
Have extra questions, tell us!
And in case you’ve tried it, we need to know what you thought. Would you alter our ranking?
85%
The Sonicblast is an pleasurable journey and assembly the requests of a number of runners who needed a quicker Novablast. However we aren’t but satisfied it’s totally designed for each simple and quicker runs because it actually feels finest while you choose up the tempo.
