Asics Gel-FujiRunnegade 2 Review

Solomon Speedcross 3. Whether you're into hiking, OCR, trail running or bright colored shoes, the Speedcross 3 has been THE dominant go-to shoe for outdoorsy folks looking for a durable, water resistant runner that keeps you velcroed to the side of the mountain. I loved my Speedcross 3s and at one point I thought I'd never move away from them. But times have changed and I've had a chance to peek over the other side of the fence.

Before putting them through the grinder.

Enter the Asics Gel-FujiRunnegade 2! I fricken loved this shoe from the moment I slipped it on my foot. My feet had been in all sorts of trail runners shopping that day- Solomon, Columbia, Adidas, Nike- but none of them felt like the FujiRunnegade 2.

I digress. Here are the deets on why I love this shoe:

THE TREAD

They offer the same grip, if not better, as the Speedcross 3. The tread lugs are burly and they performed exceptional during a 24 km Spartan Beast. They dig in like a cleat and allow you to scramble up and down the steepest trails without slipping. Unlike other shoes, all of the lugs were intact after throwing everything I had at these FujiRunnegade 2s. None of them were cut, chewed up or missing. This shoe's performance on wet surfaces also gets an A in my opinion. Never slipped on wet rocks or logs.

THE FEATURES

Look how clean the interior of these babies stayed!

If you're looking for a shoe that keeps all things uncomfortable from snuggling up with your feet, then look no further. They offer a water repellent upper that minimizes water entering the shoe, but if water does enter it doesn't get stuck, making your shoes feel like they weight two pounds each- a problem I had with my Solomon Speedcross 3s. Asics has branded this shoe's water resistant upper material which allows water to drain as Plasma Guard.

The second feature that keeps your tootsies from getting intimate with sticks and grit is the sock-like fit. They don't have a tongue like most shoes. They are built more like a wet suit for your foot. Your foot enters what feels like a neoprene sock that seals up against your ankle, minimizing the chances of any foreign material entering the shoe. After running and crawling through knee deep water, not a single grain was to be found in my shoes at the end of my race!

THE FIT

Like I said, my feet and these shoes got along from the start. They don't have a huge heel drop (6 mm) like the Speedcross 3 (11 mm) I used last season which is important for me as I've moved away from a heel strike running style toward a mid-foot strike. That being said, they didn't feel like they lacked cushion or comfort. Because this shoe has such large lugs, you can feel them when you are on hard surfaces, but that feeling goes away once you step on a trail.

Muddy, but still intact.

The one concern I had when I was breaking these shoes in was the stiffness of the upper's Plasma Guard material. Where the shoe bends when your walk, I felt like it was digging into my foot beside the knuckle of my big toe. After a week of wearing the shoes, the stiff wrinkle in the upper softened up and stopped pestering my foot. It became a non-issue and unnoticeable during my race. To my delight, my feet came out the the 24 km race blister free and feeling great!

THE DURABILITY

After one Spartan Beast, there are no rips, tears or delaminations to report. Looking at the upper on this shoe going into my race I had my doubts that is would be able to stand up to all the pokers and sticks my feet would be acquainted with. There were a few instances where I distinctly felt a stick stab the side of my foot and after I washed all the mud off these shoes, there were no holes to be found. It'll be interesting to see if that durability holds up over a full season.

So there's my hot take on my new favorite trail runners. The price point is right in the ballpark with the other big players in the trail runner game. They outperformed my previous trail runner during obstacle course racing, which is about as hard as you can be on a pair of runners, and so far they haven't fallen apart. I know I kind of sound like a shill, but if you're in the market for a new pair of trail runners, the Asics Fuji-Runnegade 2 needs to be given serious consideration. See you on the trails!!!

All cleaned up looking like new!!!