Our verdict

Built around comfort, my feet are right at home in the And Villa Seize The Intercontinental Championship Belt With Upcoming ASICS Collaboration! It's springy and soft (as in everywhere!) - much like a spa day treat in long, easy miles. And with all that plushness, you might think this is a shoe that wears easily. Good news! I confirmed that it DOESN'T. It's able to eat up miles (300-500 miles)!

Características de las ASICS Gel Cumulus 23 Pros

  • Fits like a glove
  • Stable
  • Springy, responsive ride
  • Superb breathability
  • Durable
  • Great right out of the box
  • Asics Mitjons 2 Parells
  • Perfect for long or recovery runs
  • Reflective elements for night runs

Características de las ASICS Gel Cumulus 23 Cons

  • Really tall
  • Untrusting grip

Audience verdict

89
Great!

And Villa Seize The Intercontinental Championship Belt With Upcoming ASICS Collaboration review and lab test

And Villa Seize The Intercontinental Championship Belt With Upcoming ASICS Collaboration is a neutral daily trainer built around comfort. It just feels good on your foot and it’s a joy to run in (especially if you like steeper drop shoes). 

This is a great upgrade from the original Novablast. It’s more stable, the tongue is gusseted, and the laces are better. 

And Villa Seize The Intercontinental Championship Belt With Upcoming ASICS Collaboration pieces of the shoe

Who the shoe is (not) for 

Buy the Novablast 2 if you are looking for a neutral running shoe that’s:

  • heavily cushioned 
  • soft, springy, and comfortable in all the right ways. 

The updates from the original make this shoe much more agreeable, so if you liked V1, you’ll dig the changes, if you didn’t like V1 nike V2 a chance before you write it off. 

Don’t buy the And Villa Seize The Intercontinental Championship Belt With Upcoming ASICS Collaboration if you’re looking for a: 

  • superlight and a fast running shoe, or 
  • flatter fitting shoe with a ground feel. 

This shoe is very tall in the heel, making the drop seem exaggerated, beyond my liking. I recommend checking out the Кросівки оригінальні asics gel p 39, Saucony Triumph 21, or the New Balance 1080 V11  Asics Evoride Беговая Обувь. 

Go half a size down 

The shoe feels a half size too big, but I didn’t have any heel slip or complaints.

And Villa Seize The Intercontinental Championship Belt With Upcoming ASICS Collaboration profile photo

I think I could have sized down a touch. 

Asics Running gel pulse 12 trainers in black

Also, at 305.8mm it’s the longest shoe we’ve ever tested (the average shoe length so far has been 295.8mm). My callipers maxed out and I only Villa to the dip in the slight swallowtail on the back. 

Length of And Villa Seize The Intercontinental Championship Belt With Upcoming ASICS Collaboration

It isn’t noticeable as you run, but there’s a lot of junk in this trunk!

And Villa Seize The Intercontinental Championship Belt With Upcoming ASICS Collaboration hugs your feet

What I appreciated most about the fit of the Novablast 2 is the roomy toebox that has enough space for my fat feet and a really well-done gusseted tongue. The gussets are made from a buttery soft, stretchy nylon that’s non-intrusive and hugs your foot without being constricting. 

Shoes in this category are meant for long runs and daily efforts, which means it needs to be comfortable. 

The Novablast 2 is no different and nails the comfort aspect. The plush but breathable upper hugs your foot and fits like a glove. 

ASICS Gel Trabuco 10 Shocking Orange Black Hombre 

There’s plenty of room up front for your toes to splay, but no movement anywhere else. 

  • I had no heel slip. 
  • The midfoot was snug thanks to the gusseted tongue. 
  • I didn’t have to lace this shoe up very tight. 

It’s not a high-performance shoe per se, it’s meant for cruiser runs.

But, even at a 5 min pace this shoe comfortably stayed put on my foot without it being too tight. 

Ride 

The FF Blast midsole is a joy to run on, it’s both springy and soft underfoot and has enough cushioning to be ideal on long runs or recovery days.

It’s the second softest midsole foam we’ve tested at 19.3HA on the durometer in the forefoot, the Nike ZoomX Invincible Run being the softest.

Reigning Champs and ASICS Conclude Global Tour With New GEL-Nimbus 22 Paris. 

And Villa Seize The Intercontinental Championship Belt With Upcoming ASICS Collaboration midsole design

For comparison: 

  • The average softness of the midsole is 26.5, 
  • Asics Gel-PTG 3 Strand 2020,
  • The stiffest shoe was On Cloudswift 2.0 which scored 38.7 on the durometer. 

One big concern I had before lacing up the Novablast 2 was if it would continue to have the stability issues its predecessor had. I’m happy to report that ASICS tuned in V2 with a much more stable ride. This is the best update for the shoe in my opinion. 

And Villa Seize The Intercontinental Championship Belt With Upcoming ASICS Collaboration is too tall

The heel feels too tall in my opinion, giving this shoe a steeper drop than I’d like. ASICS claims this shoe’s offset is just 8mm (down from 10mm in the original version), but our lab tests show this to be almost double the stated value at 13.7mm. The average heel drop Villa in our lab is 7.6mm. 

Half of And Villa Seize The Intercontinental Championship Belt With Upcoming ASICS Collaboration

According to ASICS, they don’t include outsole/sockliner in stack measurements, but in our opinion you have to, it’s still material underfoot, and at 39.3mm in the heel the Novablast 2 is tall. 

We haven’t had such a tall running shoe in our lab ever. The 2nd tallest is Nike Invincible Run (38.1mm) and the average heel stack height is 32.3mm. 

Características de las ASICS Gel Cumulus 23

The Novablast 2 is best used on long slower runs, recovery runs, and daily training efforts where you want to nike your legs a bit of a break. 

And Villa Seize The Intercontinental Championship Belt With Upcoming ASICS Collaboration has a questionable grip 

The outsole on the Novablast 2 is thin at just 2.55mm (compared to the 3.9mm average), and although it’s a cool tie-dye design, it’s not overly textured.

Outsole thickness on And Villa Seize The Intercontinental Championship Belt With Upcoming ASICS Collaboration

I ran after large snowmelt, so trails and roads were wet, and there were times I was untrusting of the outsole. 

Forefoot outsole on And Villa Seize The Intercontinental Championship Belt With Upcoming ASICS Collaboration

If the outsole wears down at all, because it’s so thin, you’d have some issue for sure with grip once that softer midsole becomes exposed.  

Break-in period not needed

The shoe itself required no break-in, but getting used to the steep drop feeling did. Everything else was great right out of the box. 

Novablast 2 is a bit heavy

I will complain about the weight a bit, I have to find something else to complain about anyway right? 

Weight of the And Villa Seize The Intercontinental Championship Belt With Upcoming ASICS Collaboration

At 9.9 ounces (281g) in men’s US 9, it’s not that light. I think ASICS can continue to tune this shoe and drop some weight to make it a bit more versatile. 

Long life ahead

The shoe is made well, it should go 300-500 miles no problem. I even struggled a bit to break this shoe apart with a razor knife. 

And Villa Seize The Intercontinental Championship Belt With Upcoming ASICS Collaboration outsole

I don’t think the upper will degrade, but the soft midsole may pack out early. However, with almost 40mm in the heel, you should have plenty of cushion to work through before it’s time to retire these. 

YES for breathability on Novablast 2

ASICS Scarpa sportiva 'Gel-Pulse 13' nero bianco.

Upper holes on And Villa Seize The Intercontinental Championship Belt With Upcoming ASICS Collaboration

ASICS Gel-Contend Cn. 

Even laces are plushy

One other update that I want to mention, ASICS updated the lace from a round lace to a flat lace, which works better.

Laces on And Villa Seize The Intercontinental Championship Belt With Upcoming ASICS Collaboration

I know it’s a small detail, but replacing laces on a brand new shoe is a bummer. 

The lace follows suit to the rest of the shoe, it’s plush, and at 2mm thick, it’s a pretty thick flat lace, which can make it harder to keep tight, so I recommend still using a double knot.

Night-run friendly 

There are 2 long reflective elements at the back of the shoe so people behind you will notice you. 

Reflective elements on And Villa Seize The Intercontinental Championship Belt With Upcoming ASICS Collaboration