ASICS Gel NYC review

Keep your Anima Sana In (a) Corpore Sano by adding the Gel NYC to your wardrobe if:

• You're looking for a breathable, lightweight and flexible shoe that feels like a breeze on foot.
• You love the retro runner Y2K trend and want to hop in with a pair that mixes style and function.
• You walk or stand for long periods of time and you need a stable and supportive shoe that will keep you on your foot.
• You want a comfortable ASICS sneaker that features the brand's GEL technology.

If you have checked this ASICS out thinking it's a running shoe, please hold on a second before you buy it! As shoe experts, we definitely can't let you do that without warning you first: despite its trendy sporty looks, the Gel NYC is a sneaker! These are our running shoes, don't hesitate to have a look!

After our multiple Dremel tests, we have found out this shoe is not the most durable out there, as its mesh, heel lining, and outsole underperformed. So, if you want to use this pair all day every day, it might leave your side earlier than expected. We believe the ASICS Gel 1130 can be a better option, as it scored a 4/5 on both our toebox and heel padding durability tests.

Even though the Gel NYC focuses on being lightweight, ASICS didn't even hesitate a little bit when it decided to give this shoe a chunky midsole.

Our caliper had to open wide to return 34.8 mm, which is way higher than average. This protected us from any obstacles we ran into during our wear tests, making it really comfortable to walk around town all day long!

But the best part is that ASICS also went all the way in regarding the forefoot stack, as our caliper returned 24.8 mm.

In fact, it's a whole 24% taller than average, which really makes a difference. It doesn't only make the shoe more comfortable overall, which is already great news, it also shielded our feet from the harsh urban surfaces!

After measuring both the forefoot and the heel heights of this shoe, we calculated a drop of 10.0 mm. So clean!

This score is average, and even though it means your heel will stay higher than your toes, it's not like you'll feel this shoe is any different from any other sneakers you might have in your wardrobe.

As we've already mentioned countless times before, during our wear tests, we felt the Gel NYC was really comfortable. Despite what many people might think, comfort doesn't always equal plushness! In other words, a shoe doesn't need to have a soft midsole to feel great underfoot.

And this ASICS pair is a fantastic example. Our durometer returned 37.0 HA, which is way higher than average. So, despite being on the firmer side, we enjoyed every step of the way in this former runner.

One of the key points of this shoe's high comfort levels might be its GEL technology. Its name already gave it away, though!

This technology insert is located under the heel, which is conveniently the first part of our foot that lands on the floor when we're walking. At 30.5 HA, our durometer indicated that, this time, it is softer than average, offering some very welcomed plushness.

Talking about comfort, a 5.0 mm thick insole made sure our feet landed comfortably after every step.

It's pretty much average and there's nothing special to say about it. But it does its job, and that's what matters!

The ASICS Gel NYC has a spot-on fit that scored a perfect 3.0 on our 1 to 5 scale. This means that the shoe fits true to size according to the users who have bought it and tried it on.

We started measuring the toebox by putting our caliper on its widest part.

It returned 100.8 mm, which makes it wider than average. We really appreciated this extra space, as our standard-sized feet didn't have to deal with any uncomfortable rub from the shoe's sides.

But the best part is that this shoe doesn't become uncomfortably narrow towards the tip!

At 79.3 mm, once again it's way wider than average. We really appreciated this when we had been walking for hours and hours and our feet started getting swollen. The rounder structure and fair toebox volume of the Gel NYC let our toes wiggle comfortably, and we just couldn't get enough of it!

Honestly, we felt pretty stable during our wear tests when we tried this ASICS pair.

Its mesh and inner lining might not be the most durable materials out there, but the suede and leather overlays did their best to keep our feet in place. And it worked! Once a runner, always a runner they say (just kidding, if you're looking for running shoes, please click here!).

The chunky midsole of this shoe didn't let our fingers play with it when we took it to our lab.

So we decided to give it a solid 4/5 on our torsional rigidity test. This translated into great support during our wear tests, which made our feet feel comfortable and safe. On a side note, regarding our personal experience, the materials of the Gel NYC gave us a high-quality feel that we really appreciated.

The heel followed the same example, as it scored another 4/5 on our stiffness test.

This meant our heels felt supported during the whole day, which is something we really appreciated. And you can forget about heel slippage too!

When we took this shoe to our lab and measured its midsole width in the forefoot, we almost jumped for joy.

Our caliper returned 114.6 mm, which is a solid 5% higher than average. This might not sound like much to you, but when it comes to width, every mm counts! And a wider landing base means more stability, which is something we really appreciate, no matter what type of shoe.

ASICS went for a wider heel too, as our caliper returned 91.6 mm when we measured it in our lab.

We really appreciate this roomier design, and it brings that extra stability we love!

The flexibility levels of a shoe at the ball of the foot help to make the ride smoother.

In this case, our force gauge marked 23.7N, which is pretty much average. This translated into an easy and comfortable ride, as our feet didn't have to fight against the shoe's structure to walk around town.

During our wear tests, the Gel NYC felt pretty light. In fact, our feet didn't get overly tired even if we had to be running errands for an entire morning.

When we took it to our lab, our scale returned 13.2 oz/373.0g, which is lower than average. Thanks to this ASICS' lightweight and breathable nature, walking around town felt like a breeze (quite literally, too!). And you know what we say: happy feet, happy us!

The retro-looking upper of the Gel NYC features an old-school mix of mesh and suede that brings us back to the 90s. In order to check its breathability levels, once we had cut the shoe in half we put it right in front of our light.

As you can see, it could shine through the mesh easily, which means the air shouldn't have any problems coming in and out of the shoe either.

Our smoke machine confirmed it. The Gel NYC must've been a train in its past life, just look at that! The smoke comes out of its toebox so easily that we didn't even hesitate: it deserves the 5/5 we've given it in breathability!

On the other hand, the poor Reebok Classic Leather struggled the entire test, as it only let some smoke out through its tongue. That's literally what saved it from getting the lowest score, so we gave it a 2/5 on ventilation.

When we put this ASICS pair under the microscope, we saw the mesh part of its upper has 2 layers. The top one features big gaps, so the air can come in and out easily; the bottom one has smaller openings, but it still does not hinder airflow at all.

Even though this shoe doesn't have a crazy high price, we always expect the best from ASICS... and that's what we got!

Our torch burned the leather part to check its authenticity. There were no bursting flames and no chewing gum-ish leather sticking to our scratch awl, so we can confidently say it's genuine.

And trust us, it did feel like that during our wear tests! When we put this shoe on, our feet enjoyed its premium materials from the very first minute.

There are way too many times when a great result in breathability comes hand in hand with a poor score on durability. And sadly, the Gel NYC isn't the exception to the rule.

Our Dremel mercilessly bit this shoe as if it were a mere apple. After 12 seconds at 5K RPM and with 3.2N of force, the tool left a big hole in the toebox, so we couldn't give this ASICS anything higher than a sad 1/5 on our durability test.

The heel followed pretty much the same route. Even though it performed slightly better than the toebox, earning a 2/5 on our durability test, we still can't say it's a good result.

Even though the test only lasted for 4 seconds this time, we could see white threads flying around from the very first second. When we put the tool aside, we found a messy heel that looked as if a cat had been scratching it for months!

We use our durometer to measure the hardness of the outsole of every single shoe that comes to our lab.

When we pressed it against the Gel NYC's, it returned 83.1 HC, which is slightly lower than average. Still, this score should mean the shoe offers a nice mix of durability and grip, so let's see if our tests confirm or deny it!

Our Dremel gets slightly more serious on our outsole durability test. This time at 10K RPM but with the same 3.2N of force, we pressed the tool against the rubber and got the party started.

And wow... all the debris flying around our lab looked like a sandstorm, which means bad news! When we measured the depth of the dent with our tread gauge, it returned 1.7 mm.

This result is a whole 41% higher than average, which means this shoe's outsole clearly lacks durability.

Thanks to our Dremel test, we learned the Gel NYC doesn't have the most durable outsole (to put it mildly). That's why we believed the brand would go for a chunkier piece of rubber. Like, think about it: less durability can be compensated by using more material, so it takes it longer to be completely worn out. Right?

Well, ASICS disagreed. Our caliper claims this shoe's outsole is just 4.5 mm thick, which is lower than average.

Even though our hypothesis is realistic, the brand most likely went for a thinner piece of rubber to keep this shoe's weight down. Which is absolutely understandable too!

During our wear tests, we didn't feel the Gel NYC offered crazy traction, to be honest. Still, it's grip levels are average, so we were satisfied.

As you can see, the rubber coverage is pretty solid (and very much needed!). There are also long and big grooves that level up the overall flexibility, and even though they might catch a pebble or two, we really appreciated their effort to make the shoe more comfortable.

After testing, testing, and testing again this ASICS pair, inside and outside of our lab, we can tell you its price is pretty fair to us.

Despite not being the most durable pair out there, we believe its lightweight, flexible, and breathable structure make it a fine walking companion. We also discovered its wide base and overall comfort help a lot if you explore a new city or run errands all day long, as they support swollen feet.

As an extra, this pair of sneakers has a really cool retro vibe that looks good with pretty much everything. It's really trendy nowadays, which just adds even more value to the Gel NYC.

Even though this ASICS doesn't have reflective elements, depending on the colorway it can have some kind of shiny silver touches.

An incredibly plush tongue let our insteps rest happily and comfortably.

Our caliper marked 12.8 mm and, even though we believe the brand could've gone for a thinner tongue to reduce the overall weight of the shoe, it was so comfy we just can't complain!

This piece literally just follows the example of the whole shoe, as it's pretty padded. As you can see, the heel counter and the collar are also like a couple of pillows!

The Gel NYC doesn't have any kind of heel tab, but as it features a non-gusseted tongue, it's not like we missed it.

Putting this shoe on and off was pretty easy!

If you need or want to use a different insole, this ASICS pair won't have any issues.

It features a removable insole that's easily interchangeable!