Japanese sportswear brand ASICS has commissioned an independent test by The Biomechanics Lab in South Australia on its latest pair of sneakers, Gel-Nimbus 25 running shoes.
The research spanned an eight week period and included 100 runners (52 male, 48 female).
ASICS global footwear senior product manager Laura Bolgen said the new pair of runners utilise athlete wear testing and biomechanical research.
“For the development of the Gel-Nimbus 25, we set the bar very high,” Bolgen said. “We knew that our ambitious goal of 'creating the most comfortable running shoe' was one that would require even more design and development work as well as internal and external testing and consumer validation.
“As a team, we’re incredibly proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish throughout the 18+ months of tireless development work, and we hope that every runner will feel the difference that this uniquely comfortable Gel-Nimbus model has to offer.”
ASICS Global commissioned Dr Chris Bishop PhD from The Biomechanics Lab in South Australia to design and deliver an independent study to compare the comfort of the new shoe against three leading competitor shoes and its predecessor, the Gel-Nimbus 24.
Bishop is a podiatrist and adjunct research fellow at the University of South Australia.
The research study explored three primary research questions, including: Is the Gel-Nimbus 25 a more comfortable running shoe than the four comparator shoes tested?
Study participants ran in all five pairs of shoes which were made to be completely unrecognisable, so no brand or design biases came into effect.
The test participants had to run on an instrumented treadmill at a pace of 10km/hour for three minutes, and were asked to rate the comfort of each shoe based on various comfort related criteria, including heel cushioning, forefoot cushioning, shoe stability and forefoot flexibility.
An independent statistical analysis of the results using three different measurement models was conducted.
“Comfort is a perception factor which is not a biomechanical variable and it’s not the same for every individual,” Bishop said. “However, the results of this study were conclusive: the Gel-Nimbus 25 was statistically the most comfortable running shoe tested .”
The new pair will be available for men and women from ASICS retail, online, and specialist running outlets globally from February 1, 2023.