ASICS Men's NOVABLAST 5 Running Shoes
ASICS
Best for
Best overall daily trainer
Amazon rating
Amazon aggregate, one input among many in the Verdict Score
Based on 1 trusted source
Current price
$129.95
Updated May 17, 2026 · 1 min read
Sources behind this verdict
10 reviewers weighted by source trust
The consensus
What reviewers found
Synthesized across the trust-weighted source mix below.
Across the reviewers we read, the ASICS Novablast 5 has emerged as the most consistently praised do-it-all daily trainer in this pool. runrepeat.com found it lighter, softer and bouncier than the previous version with improved flexibility, and runninglabstore.com positions it as capable of speedwork, tempo runs and races. The strongest signal, though, comes from r/RunningShoeGeeks, where multiple high-trust threads, including a 138-mile long-term review and a first-run review, converge on the same verdict: bouncy midsole, surprisingly stable for the stack height, and 'the best daily trainer/do-it-all shoe' some posters had run in that year.
What reviewers liked
- Specialist-community consensus on r/RunningShoeGeeks repeatedly calls out a bouncy, fun midsole that feels lighter than the stack height suggests
- Expert reviewers (runrepeat.com, runninglabstore.com) agree the FF Blast Max foam is a meaningful upgrade in softness and energy return
- Versatile enough for easy runs, tempo and even race use according to multiple expert sources
- Price held steady from the previous generation, making it competitive with more expensive max-cush trainers
Where it falls short
- At least one r/AskRunningShoeGeeks poster says the shoe loses comfort past ~14 km, so it may not be a marathon-distance pick for everyone
- A specialist-community reviewer flagged grip on wet surfaces as historically weak across the Novablast line
- Dissent in r/AskRunningShoeGeeks notes better options exist at the same price for some runners
- No documented independent lab testing in the supplied sources, the strongest signal is community rather than instrumented
Across the reviewers we read, the ASICS Novablast 5 has emerged as the most consistently praised do-it-all daily trainer in this pool. runrepeat.com found it lighter, softer and bouncier than the previous version with improved flexibility, and runninglabstore.com positions it as capable of speedwork, tempo runs and races. The strongest signal, though, comes from r/RunningShoeGeeks, where multiple high-trust threads, including a 138-mile long-term review and a first-run review, converge on the same verdict: bouncy midsole, surprisingly stable for the stack height, and 'the best daily trainer/do-it-all shoe' some posters had run in that year.
Disagreement does exist and we won't smooth it over. An r/AskRunningShoeGeeks thread pushes back that 'there are better options in that price range,' and another community poster found the shoe loses its appeal past about 14 km, suggesting it's stronger as a mid-distance daily than a marathon shoe. Grip in wet conditions also gets a mild caution from at least one specialist-subreddit reviewer.
Net-net, the trust-weighted consensus places it at the top of this list: the high-trust community signal is overwhelmingly positive, mainstream expert coverage agrees on the foam upgrade, and a 4.6 Amazon average across nearly 2,000 reviews supports the picture rather than carrying it alone.
It's not a bad shoe but there are better options in that price range. I liked the Novablast 2 and 4. Grip has never been good tho. Btw, there ...
Lightweight especially for the amount of foam. · I found it to have good breathability. · No issue with grip, but then I only ran on dry road.
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“ASICS Novablast 5 Review” · YouTube
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