New ASICS Metaspeed SKY+ and EDGE+

Asics Metaspeed Sky+ and Edge+ announced in Malaga, Spain

What is new on the Metaspeed+ racing shoes?

Asics announced today their two new carbon plated racing shoes for 2022, the Metaspeed Sky+ and the Metaspeed Edge+. The former is dedicated for stride runners and the latter for cadence runners (the differentiation being what of stride or cadence increases more proportionally to the other when paces go up).

The Metaspeed Sky+ gets 4% more Flytefoam Turbo (FF Turbo) midsole foam and a different placement of its curved plate, which is placed higher right below the feet to allow for more foam compression underneath.

The Metaspeed Edge+ gets 16% more FF Turbo foam and a its less curved plate is placed at the bottom of the shoe closer to the ground to allow for an optimal heel to toe roll.

Metaspeed+ differences with Asics Metaspeed v1 shoes

Sky +

gains around 13g at 205g / 7.2oz (v1 was at 192g / 6.8oz in size US9);
same 39/34 stack (5mm drop);
4% more FF Turbo foam;
plate is placed at the top of the midsole to allow for more compression and rebound.

Edge+

gains around around 28g at 210g / 7.4oz (v1 was at 182g / 6.4oz in size US9);
more stack now at 39/31mm (8mm drop);
16% more FF Turbo foam;
plate is placed at the bottom of the midsole (same placement as v1) and curved to work better with the needs that cadence runners have to roll forward using the longer and smoother rocker compared to v1.

Note that Edge+ is heavier than Sky+ mostly due to the carbon plate itself and its shape (the Edge+ comes with a V shape at the front of its plate).

Also another interesting thing is that the Sky gains 4% extra foam with the stack remaining unchanged. That means that either the shoe is wider (not likely), or the plate is thinner (possible which would also be good news as it would not be as stiff as on v1), or there is less rubber on the outsole (I wouldn’t bet on this, as it looks very similar to v1 and I don’t think you can add 4% more foam by just reducing slightly the thickness of the outsole).

First analysis on these changes

Asics returns with its very interesting differenciation of stride and cadence runners. These two distinct groups obviously coexist and need different shoe geometry – even more so for racing.

The stride and cadence runners now compete at arms length in the Asics Metaspeed+ line with the two shoes – Sky+ and Edge+ – coming with 39mm of stack in the heel. Asics uses its many studies to place the plate optimally for each group.

While I haven’t run in the Edge v1 yet (arriving this week so I should test it before the Edge+), the changes brought to the Sky+ make much sense. As a stride runner myself, the Asics Metaspeed Sky v1 felt good but the stiffness of the plate combined with its central placement in the midsole made it hard for me to activate the plate and get a nice lever effect below 10k pace. More foam under the plate should help with compression and rebound and that is welcome.

Upper remains the biggest unknown part for now and I invite you to follow me on social media to hear about my thoughts once I get to try the shoes.

Charik Abderrazak interviewed by Run_ix in December 2021 when testing the Metaspeed Sky+ (translated from French)

Run_ix: So you wore the MetaSpeed 2 for today’s session (editor’s note: 5*10min at 3’05min/km pace, 2’30 rest), what are the sensations – is it very different from v1?

Charik Abderrazak: It’s completely different. Honestly it’s a step beyond, i felt at ease with it. The new prototype, although I cannot share much details about it, is geared towards HM & M distances.

Run_ix: So it’s not as stiff as v1? Because v1 was quite stiff and worked better for 5/10K distances.

Charik Abderrazak: No it’s really more geared towards longer distances, today’s workout was 1h30/1h40 and I feel absolutely nothing (in the legs).

Run_ix: Julian Wanders told us it (v2) is really similar in terms of sensations to the Vaporfly Next%, what do you think? Can you relate if you ever ran in it?

Charik Abderrazak: I cannot compare them, but now we leveled the playing field, and we’re even maybe above. The VF was now released a couple of years ago so we’re really catching up.

Price, release date and sizing

The new Asics Metaspeed+ line will release for $250/€250 in June.

I heard through the grapevine from athletes and testers that the fit is similar – if not identical – to the Metaspeed v1. Therefore I would recommend you to go half up, which I will do myself.

Stay tuned for the best deals at our partners in the EU and in the US!

Photos credits: Florian Kurrasch (@fln.krs) for Top4Running, Asics Running, RoadTrailRun (weight info for v1), Believe in the Run

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