Asics GT-2000

Color: Carbon/Red pepper-black

Asics' marketing pitch: Introducing the lightest GT-2000 ever in its 20 year history.

Surfaces tested on: Road, ambient temperatures of 21° C/70° F

Upper: Mesh, synthetic leather, fused overlays, plastic heel counter.

Midsole: Triple density compression molded EVA foam, plastic midfoot shank.

Outsole: Carbon rubber heel, softer blown rubber in forefoot.

Weight: 339 gms/ 11.9 Oz for a half pair of US11/CM28.5/EUR 45.

Widths available: D-standard (reviewed) B-narrow, 2E -wide, 4E-extra wide in select colors.

US Retail: $ 120                                                      

the new GT-2000 3 is heavier than last year’s GT-2000 2 for the same size. The upper sees some changes too, leading to a slight fit difference over the GT-2000 2. 

The change in cushioning level is a sum of parts, namely the redesign of midsole stacking, foam density (midsole and insole), Gel volume and heel crash pad. The basic construction doesn’t change; two layers of midsole foam (black and white) are stacked together with forefoot and heel Gel pads embedded within. The harder density ‘Duomax’ under the arch side carries over, utilized with the intent of controlling inward foot roll.

Foam densities have been changed on both the midsole layers. The upper portion (black) of the new GT-2000 3’s midsole becomes firmer than GT-2000 2. On the other hand, the lower midsole layer (white) gets an increased serving of squishiness.

One might be inclined to think the firmer black EVA and softer white would counteract each other and deliver zero net gains, but that’s not how this ends.

A softer white area has a greater influence on the GT’s cushioning, because that part of the midsole is directly connected to the outsole. The GT-2000 3 sole design has multiple pieces of rubber mounted on midsole pods, so a softer base will allow better ’sink-in’ of the outsole.

The split outsole design runs across heel and forefoot, so the ‘pistoning’ effect is felt at all stages of gait cycle – starting from footstrike to transitions, and finally toe-offs.

Keeping in line with outsole design updates on the GT-1000 and Kayano, the heel crash pad is now shaped differently. It is bigger, and now vaguely resembles a half-oval shape instead of the sort-of-triangle design from the year before.

As a result of this change, a deep flex groove cuts across the heel width. This helps splay the heel area much better than before, and hence making the cushioning feel softer upon footstrike.

Forefoot also comes through as softer, though not to the same extent as heel. Besides the softer midsole base, we also felt an increased splaying action of the ‘Guidance line’ groove. In the GT-2000 3, this is wider than what used to be, hence making the forefoot more conducive for splay. The GT-2000 3 tries to restore some balance by bulking up the heel counter. It now comes with an external, molded heel clip similar to what’s on the new Kayano, replacing the internal stiffener. The black midsole walls rise up slightly to wrap the base, and like we mentioned earlier, makes the heel look thicker. The new external heel construction has a lesser tendency to push the foot forward.The counter sits further rear from the foot compared to the relative closeness of the internal heel stiffener. This helps the foot to sit further out in the rear, hence opening up some room in the front. In GT-2000 2, two different overlays – synthetic leather and welded overlay covered the small toe on the lateral (outer) side. This year, that overlay is reduced to a single layer of synthetic nubuck fused over mesh. This eases off some of the top down pressure on the small toe.

The same thing is repeated on the medial (inner) side, where the overlays (which cross over the big toe base) are moved towards the back.

Aesthetic and structural core of the upper remains more or the less the same. Mesh with overlays, an ungusseted tongue, standard lacing. Materials are changed, with the mesh now looking thin and unquestionably downmarket. A thinner mesh helps breathability, but the quality doesn’t befit a $120 shoe. Synthetic leather has a brushed metal texture, somewhat similar to Nimbus 16. Reflectivity has been reduced on the heel, and the tongue is a bit shorter than GT-2000 2. Midfoot wrap and arch support was average on the GT-2, and that trait carries over here.