Asics Gel Nimbus 27

What Plush Comfort Means to Me

This is going to be a review about a plush, comfortable running shoe. However, I feel like that means different things for different runners, so let’s open with my interpretation as a bigger, heavier, not so fast runner. I reach for the comfort cruisers for a few types of runs:

• Recovery runs — those easy runs after the hard runs
• Long runs — pace is less of a concern for me on long runs, so I look for something comfortable and protective
• Lacking motivation — if I’m having a hard time getting out the door for a run, I usually reach for the comfortable shoe — something, something, one less thing to worry about

Given those types of runs, what matters and what doesn’t? I certainly don’t care about speed, so I’m not looking for something aggressive or propulsive (but bonus points, I suppose). I want protection, which to me means not a lot of ground feel and that needs to hold up over the run. I want the upper to be plush, not minimal. I want my feet supported and I do not want numbness issues (sometimes a problem for me with shoes that are too soft). Essentially, I want to feel my feet floating along, nothing but bliss. A key thing to remember, though, is that as a bigger runner, the way I experience a shoe is likely to be quite different than a lighter runner — my body is going to push a midsole in different ways.

Enter the Nimbus

As described and placed in the Asics lineup, the Nimbus is the exact plush comfort shoe outlined above. This shoe is targeting the slow, steady, “go easy on me” run — they literally say “feel comfort, find calm” when describing it on their website. From a stats perspective, Asics lists the heel at 43.5mm and the forefoot at 35.5mm (so 8mm drop) of FF Blast Plus Eco, with strategically placed PureGEL under the heel. Asics is certainly not targeting the uptempo run with these shoes, as each shoe in my men’s size 9 in 2E clocks in at 305 grams (10.76 oz) — definitely hefty, but that is the toll to pay for the midsole and upper discussed below.

Cushy, Not Mushy

I can’t tell you what FF Blast Plus Eco or PureGEL mean from a materials perspective, but from an experience perspective as a bigger runner I would say: cushy, but not mushy. The step-in feel of the Nimbus 27 is comfortable without being overly soft and squishy — key to why the shoe works for me. Given my weight, having super soft step-in feel is often a red flag. Over the course of a run, excessive softness ultimately turns into unsupportive mush. I can feel my weight compressing the shoe, I can feel my feet fatigue, I can start to feel the ground through the mush — the run starts in a cloud and ends on concrete. The Nimbus 27 starts and finishes as a comfortable pillow. Maybe it never quite reaches airy cloud status, but it stays incredibly comfortable without giving anything up over the entire run. Additionally, while the shoe is a neutral shoe, the wide platform, especially at the heel, translates into reasonable stability throughout the run.

Upper

That tongue. Maybe a strange statement to make, but the tongue on the Nimbus 27 (as with the 25 and 26, I believe) is probably one of the most comfortable I’ve worn. It is a knit material and extends all the way to the sides of the shoe to form a lovely gusset.

The heel collar is nicely padded and the laces have a little bit of stretch, which combined has led to zero heel slipping issues. The laces grip themselves nicely and I’ve never had an issue with them coming untied. The rest of the upper is described as an engineered jacquard mesh with “advanced ventilation,” but I would say their ventilation needs to be a little bit more advanced, given the material. While the upper is plenty comfortable, it does run quite hot.

Outsole

Asics says the outsole leverages “Hybrid AsicsGrip,” which to me translates to a sufficiently grippy outsole. I’ve noticed it being a little bit slippy after fresh rains, but nothing so severe that I was worried about falling. There is a fair bit on the sole of the shoe, with none of the aggressive cutouts of more uptempo trainers (the upper and midsole mean we’re already not terribly worried about weight).

Wide Foot Details

Asics delivers wide options in many of their more popular shoes, including the Nimbus 27. I am glad they offer a variety of colors, more than many other brands. Unfortunately, they only offer (in my opinion) the ugly, subdued colors relative to their standard fit shoe. I am also upset, in general, that Asics does not offer a wide fit in all of their running models.

I bought the Nimbus 27 in the wide fit, which I find to be generous in both the forefoot and midfoot. The comfort of the width, for me, parallels the comfort of the rest of the shoe.

Dreamy for the Easy

The Asics Gel Nimbus 27 is not a shoe I’m going to reach for when I need to do uptempo or fast runs (and for me, that’s still relatively slow). But for runs when I’m not concerned about pace (daily miles, long runs, recovery runs for beat up legs), it is a go-to shoe that sees a lot of use. The whole shoe delivers comfort, from upper to midsole, and my legs and feet will always be happy. When that is the shoe I’m after, I can’t really find many significant faults in the Nimbus 27.