First Run: Asics Novablast 4, Reviewed

Published October 31, 2023 07:32AM

When Asics released the original Novablast shoe in the fall of 2019, it was a bit ahead of its time as a lightweight, responsive daily training shoe with a max-cushioned construction. The sharp and jagged shape of the sidewalls created a bold, avant-garde aesthetic that matched its outlier performance. But it was also just ahead of the COVID-19 pandemic, which, of course, turned the running world upside down by canceling races, changing runners training routines, and delaying new shoe purchases.

By the time the world returned to normal, things had sped up. The buzz in running shoes was all about models with rigid carbon-fiber propulsion plates embedded in thick, juicy, next-gen midsole foams. Although the Novablast continued to evolve with a second and third iteration, plated everyday training shoes were now all the rage, offering, like their racing counterparts, energetic pop, tuned to more moderate levels for long runs and speed workouts.

But now, as Asics prepares to unveil the Novablast 4 at the New York City Marathon expo, November 2-4 (and at running stores worldwide on December 1), the running world has, for a variety of reasons, come full circle and is ready to embrace a hyper-responsive, max-cushioned daily training shoe without a plate. Two of the biggest factors that make the new-and-improved Novablast 4 so timely and compelling are that the ride has been enhanced with an improved cushioning package and slightly updated geometry, and the growing concern that running in carbon-plated shoes too often could increase the likelihood of injuries more than originally thought. (Count me as one of the runners who has backed away from the allure of training in carbon-plated shoes.)

The bottom line is that it would behoove every runner to have an energetic everyday trainer without a plate in their quiver, and the Novablast 4 offers a great blend of cozy comfort, lively cushioning, and do-almost-everything versatility. Based on my initial wear-testing runs, it’s definitely a shoe I’ll want to be running in through the winter and into 2024.

Improved Upper and Cushioning

After the launch of the initial Novablast four years ago, Asics improved it through each of three versions, making it cushier, lighter, and more stable. The fourth edition follows those trends even more dramatically. Specifically, the Novablast 4 has been enhanced with a full-length layer of the brand’s new lightweight FlyteFoam Blast Plus Eco cushioning material, asymmetrical engineering within the midsole/outsole chassis for smoother and more efficient heel-toe transitions, and a stretchy, engineered woven one-piece upper for a secure fit and accommodating comfort over the top of the foot.

The FF Blast Plus Eco material isn’t a super-critical midsole foam that’s found in so many high-end racing shoes, and it isn’t dramatically different from the previous version of the FlyteFoam Blast Plus material. The only differences seem to be that it’s made from 20 percent recycled bio materials and it feels a bit firmer—less squishy, less bouncy—than the standard version.

There is slightly more foam in each shoe—the Novablast 4 is a half-millimeter taller, and has a 5mm wider footprint at both the heel and forefoot to provide more inherent stability—which has added about a half-ounce to the shoe’s overall weight. The extra width is appreciated, and the additional weight isn’t noticeable and not a detractor to its performance.

Initial Impressions

I received a pair of advanced wear-testing Novablast 4 last week. Lacing up the Novablast 4 for the first time, I sensed it fits true-to-size with a medium-width volume and a rather snug toe box that provides a little bit of wiggle room for toes by way of the stretchy upper material. I appreciated the plushly cushioned interior with a premium sockliner, padded heel collar and a stretchy, thinly padded tongue that features a partial-to-deep gusset that creates two wraparound wings at the top of the saddle. Two nice subtle changes to this year’s model include a notched Achilles flare at the back of the interior and a pull tab off the back of the heel for easier entry. Combined with a sturdy interior heel counter, it served up a comfortable, locked-down fit. Truth be told, the fit and feel are fairly similar to last year’s edition of the shoe, but the slight tweaks have made some nice improvements in the ride.

I’ve now taken them out for five runs at various paces, ranging from 5K to 12 miles. On my first easy-paced neighborhood jaunt, I immediately felt the energetic vibe of the shoe. It wasn’t the sharp poppiness of a plated shoe, but more of a springy, rolling sensation that came from the soft-yet-resilient foam, the enhanced toe spring design of the forefoot, and how light the shoes felt on my feet. The Novablast 4 is not nearly as springy and lively as, say, the Saucony Endorphin Speed training shoe, but it is a lot more stable and versatile.

The next day, I took them out for a six-mile loop in which I incorporated a wide range of paces during an unstructured fartlek run. The propulsive sensation was even more pronounced at higher speeds, so it was easy to rev up to faster paces—almost effortless compared to many other everyday trainers—but it also seemed to make my jogging intervals faster than I intended. After two more moderately paced easy runs, I put them to the test on a ten-mile run. Although most of that run was slower than a nine-minute-mile pace with a relaxed, heel-striking gait, I felt so good I actually tacked on two additional miles for an even 12.

The asymmetrical design built into the midsole/outsole structure is aimed at helping a runner’s foot transition as quickly as possible from heel-striking to rolling along the lateral edge to pushing off at the big toe. As I rolled through the gait cycle at any pace, it felt like I would start to quickly fall forward from a point under the ball of my feet as the curvy rocker shape expedited the transition to the toe-off phase. (And yes, the faster I ran, the more dramatic it felt.) Was that from the energy return of the foam, the accentuated toe spring, the asymmetrical tooling or a combination of all three? I don’t really know, but I definitely felt the quick stride turnover served up by the Novablast 4.

I haven’t yet done a fast interval workout in this shoe, but I did add some post-run strides after several of my wear-testing efforts. I don’t know that I would choose this shoe for a high-intensity track workout—because I have lighter and faster shoes for that—but I didn’t have any trouble running on my midfoot/forefoot at fast paces for short distances.

The other noticeable improvement to the Novablast 4 is the lower-density outsole rubber that is slightly tackier than the higher-density (and presumably slightly more durable) outsole rubber on the previous editions of the Novablast. Whereas I experienced some slippery moments on wet pavement in the Novablast 3, I didn’t get that sense of insecurity at all in this version.

Conclusion

After debuting the max-cushioned Superblast shoe last fall, Asics has overhauled the fit, feel, ride, and look of most of its training shoes in 2023, including the Gel-Nimbus 25, Gel-Cumulus 25, and Gel-Kayano 30. They’ve all trended toward having more responsive midsoles, higher stack heights, more sophisticated uppers, and increased comfort. While I’m not a fan of the Superblast because it feels too bulky for running fast over long distances, I like the comfy feel and max-cush ride of the other models for easy to moderate paces. But, if I’m being honest, there have been several instances on longer, faster, and slower runs when I’ve felt like I’ve been wearing “too much shoe” in each of those shoes.

The Novablast 4 is the latest to get a makeover, and while it might look similar to those models and have a high-stack midsole—it still has some semblance of the edgy sidewall aesthetic found in the original Novablast—it feels more agile and retains a much higher degree of versatility than the other shoes. Of all the revamped Asics training shoes, the Novablast 4 is the one that can best accommodate long runs, recovery runs, and up-tempo runs without any sacrifice. It’s light, lively, and nimble enough to run tempo runs and fartlek efforts, but it’s also light, cushy, and stable enough to endure longer and slower running, too. The stability-enhancing wider shape and slightly heavier package of the Novablast 4 has reduced its pace versatility by a smidge, but that wasn’t a concern for me. No, it doesn’t have the juice to run at fast interval paces, but neither did the Novablast 3, and there are many other shoes better suited for that.

Overall, I really enjoyed running in the Novablast 4, both because it’s light and lively and because it can do most things well. My best judge of versatility in a shoe is whether or not I’d consider it as the only shoe I’d pack on a weeklong trip. I’ll take that a bit further: If I had just one shoe to run in for the next month, the Novablast 4 would be on my short list to make the cut.