ASICS GEL-DS Trainer 23

I'm not a fan of the more traditional, overly-cushioned, built-up, detached road shoe, so had settled nicely into the DS trainer for all of my training and the DS racer for when the safety pins came out.

The level of support is fine for someone who over-pronates and cushioning is good enough to stop me suffering from joint problems. They're light and responsive, probably best suited to racing and interval/tempo for someone looking for options and transitioning away from shoes for heavier folk (I'm 5'11'' and approx 150lbs btw).

One negative on the 23 compared to the previous incarnations is it seems to make my feet hotter and I get a bit more calf soreness the next day. Might be slightly firmer ride?

Overall it was very good for all my trainings - long run, fartlek, tempos, race. But with my Haglund deformity I cut out the heels from shoes. Now I use them again. I have two pairs of them.

The DS-Trainer required a few miles of break in time before feeling comfortable. Although the shoe is light, it is very firm and takes awhile to get used to. Running in the shoe on easy days caused pain in my calves. However, the DS-Trainer does work well for tempo runs and track work-outs. I also wore these shoes for my last marathon (and PR'd by nearly 30 minutes).

My College was sponsored by Asics so this was my go to shoe, but I have gotten away from them in the last few years. ogt back to them recently on sale and reminded why I loved these shoes. Lightweight, good grip, does not hurt my feet. Only issue was durability, I felt like I got more miles out of them back in the day.

These, alongside my Brooks Ravenna 9’s, are the current running shoes in my rotation. These shoes are less cushioned, but still comfortable enough for running on hard surfaces. Simply put, these shoes have a light feel compared to other neutral shoes. These are great on roads, but excel at trail running. I’ve also ran in these on hard packed sand at the beach and they were very comfortable.

They are a very supportive shoe all around, and wrap the foot well. I would say they run slightly narrow.

If you are purely a road runner, there might be a better shoe out there for you. If you run on trails, beaches, roads, grass, etc, this shoe will perform very well for you.

It's lightweight and it has enough of stock and heel to be used as a daily trainer but it's definitely not for everyone. It's a shoe that most people have been wearing since the DS Trainer 15 or older so most people know what they're getting into. This one carries on the lineage of increasing ridiculous colors but it's finally sturdier than the past few iterations. The mid foot lasts a lot longer than the 20-22 versions and the upper/tongue is pretty good too. I was starting to get discouraged but it seems like Asics is headed in the right direction again. I'll certainly be buying the 24 when it comes out

Asics has always been a shoe for me, though I like the Nimbus or Kayano (but too expensive) this was a great shoe for shorter runs 5-8 miles. Great feel and light enough to do faster stuff if wanted.

DS Trainer is still a solid lightweight trainer/long workout shoe for me. The shoe feels stiffer than previous models, and in my opinion wears out more quickly. I couldn't run all my mileage in these, but in a rotation with several other pairs it's fine. It's a shame the series is slowly run into the ground.. lightweight trainers that aren't "natural running" shoes are somehow dying out