ASICS GEL-KAYANO Ace Golf Sneakers – Key Takeaways
- New spikeless shoe from ASICS/Srixon alliance
- Up to date waterproof higher and ankle padding
- 4 colorways
- $169.99. Out there April 1
The brand new ASICS GEL-KAYANO Ace golf sneakers are the third wave of choices from the brand new North American ASICS/Srixon footwear alliance. The 2 firms have a protracted historical past of sympatico relations in Asia and, within the final two years, have established a golf shoe foothold within the northern half of this hemisphere.
ASICS and Srixon joined the North American golf shoe fray in December of 2019 with two fashions: the spiked GEL-COURSE Duo BOA and the spikeless GEL-COURSE Glide. The spikeless GEL-COURSE Ace was added to the lineup final 12 months.
ASICS clearly is aware of what it’s doing with athletic sneakers basically. And all three sneakers have been top-half performers in our current spiked and spikeless shoe Purchaser’s Guides. And if first appears inform us something, the brand new GEL-KAYANO Ace ought to proceed that development.
ASICS: For Physique and Soul
The ASICS story dates again to post-war Japan. It began because the ONITSUKA Firm in 1949 with the straightforward objective of creating athletic sneakers for Japan’s youth. ONITSUKA’s first providing was a Chuck Taylor-inspired high-top basketball shoe in 1950. The corporate launched its first golf shoe in 1955.
Over time, ONITSUKA expanded into all forms of athletic sneakers for all the pieces together with working, wrestling, soccer, baseball, fencing, even ski-jumping. By 1977, ONITSUKA merged with two different like-minded firms to type ASICS. And when you’re ever on a recreation present, it may be useful to know that ASICS comes from the Latin phrase Anima Sana in Corpore Sano which suggests “pray for a sound thoughts in a sound physique.”
With 2021 gross sales totaling almost $3.5 billion, ASICS definitely isn’t in the identical league as adidas or NIKE however it’s almost thrice larger than ECCO.
ASICS GEL-KAYANO Ace: The Particulars
As with the earlier ASICS/Srixon golf shoe choices, the ASICS GEL-KAYANO Ace may be very a lot true to its roots. It’s a non-traditional, athletic-looking golf shoe with a number of long-standing ASICS applied sciences in-built for each consolation and stability.
The GEL™ in GEL-KAYANO is ASICS’ silicone heel cushioning materials. Launched in 1986, GEL was developed by the corporate’s in-house suppose tank, the ASICS Analysis Institute of Sports activities Science. It’s positioned underneath the heel for consolation and shock absorption. You don’t have to be a seismologist to know the quantity of shock that wants absorbing throughout a spherical of golf is significantly lower than the shock that wants absorbing throughout, say, a marathon. However, hey, consolation is consolation.
FlyteFoam® affords further cushioning within the midsole. Developed by ASICS in 2016, the corporate says it’s 55 p.c lighter than a standard ethylene-vinyl-acetate midsole (EVA). Its closest comp may be the BOOST materials utilized by adidas.
So long as we’re on the consolation theme, ASICS says it has added further padding across the ankle and on the tongue as a result of, hey, consolation is consolation.
And dry is consolation, too. The GEL-KAYANO Ace features a skinny polyurethane lining underneath its versatile mesh higher, a characteristic we first noticed in final 12 months’s GEL-COURSE Ace. Does it work? We will inform after a season with the GEL-COURSE Ace that puddle-jumping is out. However for golf, the shoe is waterproof sufficient.
Stability and Traction
So, yeah, they’re snug. However consolation means nothing with no measure of stability. And getting the precise mixture of stability, traction and luxury in a light-weight shoe is the golf footwear Holy Grail.
In final week’s Spikeless Shoe Purchaser’s Information, we rated the GEL-COURSE Ace as a middle-of-the-pack shoe. It was rated barely beneath common for stability, about common for consolation and barely above common for parts and traction. The brand new GEL-KAYANO Ace options an enhanced heel cradle together with further ankle padding. That, in idea, ought to enhance stability.
ASICS says its FG Traction Sole Sample locations the only studs strategically for each traction and stability. From what we will inform, nevertheless, the GEL-KAYANO’s sole sample seems essentially unchanged from earlier variations. Anecdotally, final 12 months’s mannequin appeared steady sufficient for my very own 94-mph swing pace. We’ll see how the GEL-KAYANO Ace stacks up as soon as the snow clears.
ASICS GEL-KAYANO Ace Colours, Choices, Value
As talked about beforehand, ASICS is aware of what it’s doing on the subject of snug athletic footwear. And it’s definitely no novice on the subject of golf sneakers. The primary ASICS sneakers carried out decently in our testing final 12 months, however this 12 months not a lot. The GEL-KAYANO Ace missed the deadline to be included on this 12 months’s Purchaser’s Information, so we’ll have to attend to see the way it stacks up subsequent 12 months. Nonetheless, there’s no motive to suppose the corporate is taking any steps backward with the brand new version.
The ASICS GEL-KAYANO Ace can be obtainable in 4 colorways: white/white, white/midnight, Metropolis/Gunmetal and Glacier Gray/Pure Silver.
They’ll be obtainable in a males’s model solely as of now, in half sizes starting from 7 via 12 in addition to full sizes 13 and 14.
They’ll retail for $169.99 and can be obtainable beginning April 1.
For extra info, go to Srixon.com.
*We could earn a fee once you purchase via hyperlinks on our website.
