sabershirou
New User
I share the sentiment that it is overdesigned, especially with that Dynawall making the entire shoe design look so convoluted. It's no longer a simple design that looks and plays sleek.Ended up trying these today, since I could return them (even used) and I’ve long been an Asics loyalist with my favorites being the original Speed 2, Gel Res 5, Court FF (original) and Gel Res 9 (with straps cut). But I just don’t like them. I ordered a half size down from my GR9 size, as reviews indicated, but feel I would have been better off trying my regular size as maybe I’d have liked the wider fit as my wide forefoot barely gets along with the GR9, but just barely. But since it gets along at all and I have a very stubborn foot I decided to go with the suggested half down in this since Rackets and Runners said a half size down was even wider than the half size up GR9. For me, I found them to be the same, and the insoles are exactly the same width and shape to my eyes. Then add the even more stout dynawall all around the shoe, which I really felt at the midfoot, and side comfort as well as upper comfort was definitely less.…
While the heel seems more cushioned, I just felt that the whole shoe felt clunky. Overdone. My heel slipped a bit even with a super tight lace up, and once that super tight lace up was done I was being strangled with dynawall pressure on the sides plus lace/upper pressure from the more stiff rubber up top.
All in all I can only say that by the end of the session my feet were aching to be out of these, or at least aching to be back into a GR9, which is just more nimble, supple, fast feeling and doesn’t have the same heel slippage with lace alterations up top (and in spite of not having that higher medial) — and having all the stability any average rec player could possibly need. I’ll leave the GRX stability level and even greater rigidity for pros and crazy talented movers/sliders who need their shoes to survive a grenade (credit to the poster who wrote that), and I’ll get some more GR9s while I can. In the future I’ll move to the Court FF if I need to. Or something else entirely.
A couple other posters and GR9 fans like AC Tennis had already made me feel this shoe wouldn’t be for me, but needed to confirm it, being an Asics guy. Sad they just overdid this one - at least to me. My two cents.
Put it this way, if I wanted an Asics shoe with all the bells and whistles, I would've bought the Court FF. I've already stocked up on the 9s in the hopes that the 11 will be a return to a simpler design.