Lightweight Flats - Asics Sortiemagic or Adidas Takumi Sen?

My advice is to wear more substantial shoes.

Takumi Sen are one of my favorite shoes ever. Highly recommend. Bummer that the current color scheme is goofy, but the shoe is great.

Depends on what for. Sen have the best traction of every shoe out there. Goto shoe on track if you want to avoid spikes.

tom frig wrote:

Takumi Sen are one of my favorite shoes ever. Highly recommend. Bummer that the current color scheme is goofy, but the shoe is great.

Sweet thanks, I wore the first and second iterations of the TS back in the day, but haven't gone back since just due to the high cost, but they were some of my favorite shoes. I guess I have my answer then, and I will just hope that by the time I wear these down a bit, adidas has released a new colorway.

This is Jim Kiler wrote:

My advice is to wear more substantial shoes.

Nah, but thanks for the advice Jim. Not everyone needs (or wants) a massive block of foam under their foot.

KAV wrote:

Depends on what for. Sen have the best traction of every shoe out there. Goto shoe on track if you want to avoid spikes.

Every day training, mix of road and trails. Sounds like I'll be going with the TS.

Have you considered the Reebok forever floatride run pro? It is a great shoe and it is on sale for cheaper than the Sen I believe.

Check the review here for hype:

https://www.roadtrailrun.com/2018/08/reebok-floatride-run-fast-pro-initial.html?m=1

It’s not worth $250, but I would at least consider it on sale.

I think the Takumi Sen feels a wee bit stiffer than the Magic, though the newer versions hae a plastic thing at the midfoot that makes it stiffer than older versions.

HRE wrote:

I think the Takumi Sen feels a wee bit stiffer than the Magic, though the newer versions hae a plastic thing at the midfoot that makes it stiffer than older versions.

Interesting - they both seem to have a plastic piece at the arch, though the TS one doesn't look much different than past versions (the SM is definitely more substantial than the 4th version). Ended up going with the TS, they should be here in a few days and I can write up a quick review post just in case anyone else is interested.

If you bend each shoe backward, try to get the toe to touch the heel, the Sortie Magic does that better than the Takumi does. Its plastic piece covers less of the midfoot. I'll be interested in your take.

Is there really a shoe called sortiemagic? That sounds like something I named!

Adidas RC2. $50 and call it a day.

Where and how are you getting the Sortiemagic in the US? Also, I'm well hung, do they make a size 12?

Are the TAKUMI really 7ounces? That's what my trainers (Rincon, Rebel, & 1400) weigh. I expect a "Lightweight Flat" to be an appreciable amount less. If your OK with 7oz than check out those and the Reebok Floatride Run Fast.

For lighter options def give the:

Reebok Floatride Run Fast PRO (3.9oz)

&

Sketchers VANISH (5.2oz) a look.

I've also been recently looking for Streak alternatives and ended up getting a pair of Takumi Sen 6s (last gen) for $90. They seem great so far, closer to the Streak 7s than the LT4s I would say.

As far as most reviews go, I didn't see a significant enough improvement in the Sen 7s to justify the cost and the colorway (I like the bright orange Sen 6s a lot more than that greenish whatever Sen 7 colorway)

Ain’t another Japanese racing flats comparison. I like these threads (Finding one of these flats atm.) The Takumi Sen and Sortiemagic seems to be quite notorious in Japan for racing. Especially the Sorties, Asics don’t seem to be making these shoes in large sizes about 29+ cm (US11+) in huge quantities (Also Mizuno I guess). So what are the options for bigger foot sizes? Only the TS and Hanzo S?

Are they also disappearing or something ‘cos of all these new-gen racing shoes? It seems like Adidas is still updating their TS. But Hanzo seems succeeded by the 5280 or the RC Elite. And runners ditching flats for those shoes in the ekiden earlier this year.

You guys all weigh 110?

Tread On Me Harder Daddy wrote:

Where and how are you getting the Sortiemagic in the US? Also, I'm well hung, do they make a size 12?

Right from the asics website. But to your second question, no, they seem to only go up to size 11.

HRE wrote:

If you bend each shoe backward, try to get the toe to touch the heel, the Sortie Magic does that better than the Takumi does. Its plastic piece covers less of the midfoot. I'll be interested in your take.

So I ended up ordering both pairs, and over the past week have run in each, on a combination of sidewalk, road, gravel, and dirt trail. Quick takes:

TS: Colors weren't as bad as I thought they looked online, and over the week I actually grew to like how they look. Definitely a relatively stiff/rigid shoe, and to your point HRE - I was unable to easily bend the shoe backwards to touch toe/heel. That being said, I didn't feel it was too stiff when I was running, which I suppose is the more important metric there. My huge huge huge knock against the TS - the tongue is connected to the midsole of the shoe via some sock-like booty that makes putting the shoe on more difficult and gives the midfoot a very restricted feeling. Like I said earlier, I had a few of the older versions of the TS (1/2) and they did not have it, but I'm not sure if it was added to the more recent models (4/5/6) or if it is new to the 7. Either way, I hope they get rid of it for future versions (and it is a great shoe otherwise, so I really hope there are future versions). Strangely the upper didn't fit my foot great over the top near the bottom of the laces - really not a noticeable thing except for looking at it, but it bunched up a bit. Don't know if that's a "me" problem or a "shoe" problem, given the sample size of 1 here. Regardless of my minor complaints, great shoe, happy to have purchased it, will certainly remain in the rotation and will purchase it again in the future.

SM: This shoe just looks and feels great on my feet. Perfect fit, snug without being constricting, toe box just wide enough to let the toes breathe. Have never worn any of the previous versions of the SM (I purchased the RP5), and this version looks to have more substantial plastic on the midsole, which was great in terms of energy return, but less so if you were looking for a very flexible shoe (both the SM and TS were materially less flexible than my Nike Streak LT4 that I have been training in). Without knowing the stack heights of each shoe, the SM felt slightly lower to the ground than the TS, but was still ample enough for an hour easy run on a concrete sidewalk. Overall, this was another shoe that I really really liked and will certainly keep in the rotation as well.

Two (negative) points that apply to both shoes: 1) They are expensive. $150 for the TS and $160 for the SM. Granted, that's basically in line with most higher end trainers these days, but it's a far cry from the $100 and below racing flats like the Nike Streak LT4. 2) They both have rubber nubs as the outsole on the forefoot, which is GREAT for grip, but TERRIBLE for durability. One week in, and they are already materially worn down. Only time will tell what the traction will be like once they are worn off, and I suspect it will still be "fine", but when compared with a full rubber outsole like on the Streak LT4, it is a clear step down, not up.

TL;DR Conclusion: Both great shoes, albeit expensive, will have to wait and see how durable the outsoles are.

Beware: Sortiemagic is v-e-r-y firm.

It's probably too late for this to matter but the New Balance Hanzo is also of this genre. I'm not sure if it's on the market anywhere anymore though.