The working shoe trade is continually evolving, and the Japanese model ASICS continues to guide the cost. On Friday in Tokyo, the Canadian Working editorial group attended the worldwide launch of ASICS’s newest innovation—the Metaspeed Ray, the lightest and most performance-driven shoe within the model’s racing lineup.
ASICS’s design philosophy begins with the athlete. The Metaspeed Ray was born out of direct suggestions from ASICS-sponsored runners who wished a super-lightweight racing shoe that may assist them really feel quicker and extra assured on race day—and in the end assist them obtain private bests on the world’s largest phases.
The specs:
Class: Racing
Weight: 129 g
Stack: 39.5 mm/34.5 mm
Drop: 5 mm
Lifespan: 300 km
Launch: early August 2025
Value: US$300
The higher
Essentially the most noticeable characteristic once you first decide up the Metaspeed Ray is its featherweight really feel. Its higher is constructed of Matryx, a skinny, monitor spike-inspired knit made from polyamide and Kevlar yarns. The seamless design is breathable, extremely sturdy and engineered to maintain toes dry and funky—even in high-pressure race environments.
The midsole
Whereas the Metaspeed Ray shares a primary identify with the Metaspeed Sky and Edge collection, it diverges considerably in construction. The midsole is 15 per cent lighter than the FF Turbo+ foam used within the Sky and Edge fashions. As an alternative of a full-length carbon plate, the Ray incorporates a shortened plate from midfoot to forefoot, designed to optimize power return for forefoot and midfoot strikers. (Heel strikers might not expertise the identical stage of bounce and stability present in fashions just like the Metaspeed Edge.)
Outsole
Constructed with pace in thoughts, the outsole makes use of a strategically positioned, thinner rubber to cut back weight whereas sustaining sturdiness. ASICS has examined the Metaspeed Ray’s sturdiness to round 300 km, although some athletes utilizing prototype variations have reportedly logged greater than 700 km in them.
If you wish to get your fingers on a pair of the Metaspeed Rays to your fall marathon, you’ll have to attend patiently—the shoe is about to launch on Asics.com and at North American retailers in early August.