Tom's Guide Verdict
The Asics Blazeblast is a strong new entrant in the gravel running shoe category, offering comfort on a variety of light trails while also being great for road runs. The competition in the road-to-trail arena is fierce, though, and it’s a shame Asics didn’t mimic the midsole of the excellent Novablast 6 road shoe to make the Blazeblast have a livelier feel.
Pros
- +
Comfortable cushioning
- +
Durable outsole that grips well on gravel
- +
Great travel shoe
Cons
- -
Doesn’t use Asics’s liveliest midsole foams
- -
Not enough grip for mud
- -
Strong competition from other gravel shoes
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Gravel running shoes are on the rise, and the Asics Blazeblast is the latest release to slip into this category of all-terrain sneakers that combine the comfortable cushioning of road shoes with grippy outsoles designed to handle light trails.
In this case, the Blazeblast shares a lot of design features with the popular Asics Novablast road running line, offering a more substantial outsole than both the Asics Novablast 6 and the TR version launched alongside the Asics Novablast 5.
I found it an enjoyable, versatile shoe that proved the ideal companion for a trip away where I didn’t know what surfaces I would be running on, offering comfort and grip on roads and dirt tracks while also being a good walking shoe.
The Blazeblast won’t replace one of the best trail-running shoes for truly tricky terrain, and isn’t quite as lively and fun as top road shoes like the Novablast 6, but it’s a handy jack-of-all-trades that might suit some runners down to the ground.
Asics Blazeblast review: Price and availability
The Asics Blazeblast went on sale in August 2026 and costs $155 in the U.S. and £140 in the U.K., which is the same price as the Asics Novablast 6 road shoe.
It’s a little cheaper than other top gravel/road-to-trail shoes I’ve tested, like the Salomon Aero Glide 4 GRVL and The North Face Altamesa 500 v2.
Asics Blazeblast review: Design and fit
The Blazeblast launched in three colors, including the Black/Sandstorm design I tested, which I think is a pretty good-looking shoe for general use alongside your runs, which is always a handy bonus.
I found the Blazeblast fit me well in my normal running shoe size, the same size I use across the Asics road and trail line-ups.
It weighs 9.7oz for a US men’s size 10, which is pretty light for such a cushioned shoe with a full outsole, even if it’s not a featherweight.
The Blazeblast has an 8mm drop and a high and wide stack of foam in its midsole. The exact stack height specs haven’t been given, but it looks to be over 40mm at the heel and similar to the Novablast road shoe.
Upper
The Blazeblast has a lightweight woven upper that has much more in common with a road running shoe than a trail shoe.
Full trail shoes tend to have a lot of protective overlays to add structure and a firmer toe bumper to guard against stubbed toes, but while the Blazeblast does have a slightly thicker section over the toes, it’s still flexible and soft.
I found the upper comfortable on all my runs, including a 15-miler in warm conditions, and the lack of extra structure and protection wasn’t missed on the gravel trails, dirt paths and roads I ran on.
Midsole
The Blazeblast’s midsole is made from Asics’ FF Blast Max foam, which is the material used for the entirety of the Novablast 5 midsole and most of the Novablast 6.
It’s a soft foam but not so squishy as to be unstable, and gives a little pop off the toes at faster speeds, though it’s not as lively and responsive as the FF Turbo Squared foam Asics added to the forefoot of the Novablast 6.
Outsole
Flip the Blazeblast over, and you’ll find a big difference in its design compared with the Novablast, which is the full AsicsGrip outsole with 2.5mm lugs.
These lugs are quite broad and flat to deliver a smooth ride on roads and flat trails, but give a little extra bite on softer ground and loose surfaces like gravel, while also being more durable than the minimal outsole designs you find on most road shoes these days.
Asics Blazeblast review: Running performance
I’ve used the Asics Blazeblast for a variety of runs on a variety of surfaces during my testing, taking it away as my main holiday walking and running shoe on a summer trip.
For the most part, I’ve run at easy paces on the road, dirt trails and gravel tracks, but I’ve thrown in some faster sections too as part of my regular daily training.
I’m a fan of the Novablast line, and the Blazeblast certainly feels similar to the Novablast 5 in particular. It’s soft and comfortable over long distances, and has a bit of chutzpah when you go through the gears to faster paces, though it’s not a true speedster.
It’s a shame that Asics didn’t opt to replicate the midsole of the Novablast 6 in the Blazeblast, though, because the extra energy return from the FF Turbo Squared foam in the forefoot of the Novablast 6 would have been welcome in the Blazeblast too.
The outsole does provide more grip on light trails than a standard road shoe, but almost more important than the grip is the fact that it will boost the durability of the Blazeblast if you spend a lot of time on gravel paths in particular, which can wear down softer road shoe outsoles quickly.
I wouldn’t opt to take the Blazeblast onto technical trails though. It’s a bit too soft and unstable for jagged rocky paths, and doesn’t have the grip for soft, muddy ground.
Keep it on lighter trails though, and it’s a very enjoyable shoe to cruise around in, and it also performs well on pure road runs in my experience. The outsole still grips and doesn’t really detract from its comfort.
Should you buy the Asics Blazeblast?
The Asics Blazeblast is a really good running shoe and a handy one to have around, but not an absolute essential for me.
Its versatility is a great strength, and if you want one shoe for everything and spend a lot of time on gravel paths, it’s worth considering, but there are more specialized shoes that outperform it.
If you rarely hit the trails, then the Asics Novablast 6 or Hoka Clifton Pro are better cushioned road running shoes for me, with livelier midsole foams. I’ve used them on light trails too, and they work fine there, though won’t be as durable.
Similarly, if you spend all your time on the trails and want a shoe more capable of exploring technical terrain, especially in the mountains, the Hoka Speedgoat 7 would be a better buy.
There are also a couple of all-terrain shoes I personally rate a little more highly than the Blazeblast, namely the Salomon Aero Glide 4 GRVL and The North Face Altamesa 500 v2, both of which have more energetic midsole foams.
I’m excited to see this area of the running shoe market continue to develop, though, as someone who seeks out dirt tracks to run on whenever possible. If the next Blazeblast uses the midsole setup of the Novablast 6, it will be a strong contender for the gravel shoe crown.
