Asics are ridiculously expensive

...I mean what real runner wears those and can afford to go through a pair of them every month???

When was the last time you saw ANY elite or even remotely good runner wearing a pair of $150 shoes? Those shoes are made for the more expsnsive is better crowd w/ the disposable income to dump on them.

I guarantee that elites and even remotely good runners such as myself benefit more from a more expensive shoe, not because of the price, but because of the quality of the shoe. They don't just randomly decide they are going to jack up the price of a pair of shoes. It's because the shoes they are making are lasting longer and are made better with more sophisticated materials. The last time I was injured was because I bought the cheap shoe.

Weddin Singa wrote:Those shoes are made for the more expsnsive is better crowd w/ the disposable income to dump on them.

that sentence is made for the more stupid is better people without the being able to understand that by me.

Ok...I can buy that and I will agree that they are putting NEW technology into these shoes (i'm not ready to say its better technology.) How many miles could you get out of a pair of Kinsei...I used to wear the Kayanos but the $130 was just too much and I wasn't even running a ton of miles at the time.

The more expensive shoe typically has things built into it to correct problems (i.e. motion control, cushioning, etc...). Last time I checked the majority of the elites don't need an overbuilt 16oz clunker on their feet.

I buy Asics from previous years. Usually around $60.00. I've never bought the "All new beter than ever model" that they sell for over $100.

In the late 80s a Canadian doctor called steve Robbins began to research the relationship between shoes and injuries. What he found was that the more expensive the shoe the more likely it was that the runner will be injured. His conclusion was that runenrs increased the likelihood of injury when they ran in a shoe costing more than $40 US. That was twenty years ago so I'd imagine inflation has brought that $40 figure up a bit.

Robbins was on the faculty at McGill University. He told me that McGill was getting grants from Nike at the time adn that Nike's reaction to his work was to threaten McGill with withdrawal of the grants if they didn't shut Robbins up. I don't know what happened from there.

All shoes cost a lot. Saucony is not selling theirs for $60, Brooks is not selling theirs for $80 and Asics is not selling randomly at $95. Most current models are $95. Most higher end shoes are $120 by all the brands and the more sophisticated models by Asics, Nike, etc can be around $180. Just buy the older model. It's not like your going to get injured because you don't have the newest Asics 2100 series.

Expensive shoes last no longer than cheaper versions. You do pay more for the gizmos and plastic crap they add to the more expensive version, but the majority of runners will not benefit from these. Durability is more a factor of how strong your feet and legs are than the midsole material you are running on (that is why some runners can run 800+ miles in minimalist shoes with barely any cushioning or support - I am not one of them btw). A nice, mid-priced shoe with adequate cushioning and arch support is best.

I still run in NB 763 which is sold at RoadRunner for something like $70 with delivery.

Paying more just to have a flashier or "updated" shoe is ridiculous.

Even rediculous.

My experience is congruent with the doctor's findings. The more expensive the shoe, the more useless it is.....most of the time.

And further, the current trend of creating shoes with softer feeling midsoles appears to decrease the life of the shoe. There was a time when one might acknowledge that more expensive could mean more durable. Many of our regular customers who pay $120-$125 or whatever for a high end cushioning shoe, feel the midsole bottom out around 250 miles.

So, it is safe to say that more expensive does not = more durable, or more cushioned. Indeed, from a personal perspective, there appears to be a greater number of foot ailments as shoes get softer.

Adizero Mana. 1000 mile life span for me...$50. Don't waste your money on more expensive shoes. Most of the time, they do nothing more than a cheaper one.

Paul Tergat = Nike Air Pegesus

Hendrick Ramaala = same until he wnet to adidas - now wears supernova cushion

You'd be surprised how many of the worlds best wear the least expensive, least complicated from their respective sponsor.

don't forget much of the shoe content is petroleum based. seen the prices of oil lately? maybe they should make shoes out of renewable resources too???

everyone who is opposed to more drilling should start running barefoot or in leather.

You also have to keep in mind that the majority of competitive (world, national, and in some places regionally) runners are so efficient, that they don't need a lot of these expensive shoes that slower runners with harder strikes have to use.The lighter and more efficient strike can often get away with a neutral, low-tech shoe with little to no support (ie the pegasus or supernova cushion).

Like an earlier poster suggested, many expensive shoes include corrective devices that often alleviate or prevent injuries. The more stuff it takes to make a shoe obviously the more that shoe will cost. For me: as long as these supernova controls keep me healthy I'll continue dishing out the 95 bucks.

Isn't it also possible that runners already more prone to injury bought the more expensive shoes in an attempt to prevent injury? The conclusion he made seems to confuse correlation with causation. This being said just because a shoe is more expensive doesn't mean it is the proper shoe for a person.

there's an interesting point...

the high price of oil could def be impacting the price of shoes as it has a lot of other items we purchase. because while kayanos have always been expensive i believe the price for the new ones is over and above the old new ones.

I'm a big fan of the supernova cushion which is like an $85 shoe but i went through a period where i tried tons of shoes such as the kayano and the mizuno creation but again the price really kept me from buying them time and again.

Geez...I paid $125 for Nike Air Maxs in 1989 when I made $19,000 a year in expensive California (Stanford). Either buy the gear you want or don't. No one is making you buy those shoes. No one is making you be a runner. Complaining is for sissies.