The Asics Fuji Speed 2 is a lightweight trail-running shoe built for speed. It has a carbon plate in the midsole and similar design to the Asics Magic Speed 3 road shoe, with a more rugged upper and a lugged outsole to grip on a variety of trails. Nick has been out for a run in the shoe, here’s his first take on the Fuji Speed 2.
JUMP STRAIGHT IN:
00:00 – Intro
00:15 – Design & Key Stats
01:50 – How’s The Fit
02:34 – First Run
05:39 – Early Verdict
Subscribe to The Run Testers for more running gear reviews:
https://www.youtube.com/c/TheRunTesters?sub_confirmation=1
Nike Ultrafly 50K Run Test:
Hoka Tecton X2 Marathon Test:
Saucony Endorphin Edge Multi-tester Review:
Nike Ultrafly First Run:
The North Face Summit Vectiv Pro Review:
Hoka Tecton X2 Review:
Hello and welcome to run testers my Name's Nick and this is our first run Review of the Asics Fuji speed 2. The Fuji Speed 2 is asics's carbon plate Trail racing shoe the second edition of The shoe has a carbon plate which Replaces the plastic plate used on the Original shoe it costs 160 pounds in the UK I don't have the US price confirmed As yet weighs in at 257 grams or 9 Ounces in my UK size 9 which is a us-10 Has a five millimeter drop I don't know The official stack height is from Asics Yet but to my eye looks to be around Mid-30s at the heel the Fuji Speed 2 Takes a lot of design cues from asics's Magic Speed Line particularly the magic Speed 3 which is a carbon Plate Road Running shoe with an FF blast plus Midsole and that's the foam used in the Fuji Speed 2 as well it's not asics's Top phone the FF turbo stuff using the Meta speed Sky plus it's pretty Lightweight pretty bouncy pretty Resilient should be fairly stable as Well on the trails you've got the full Length carbon plate running through the Shoe as well to add a bit more pop to Your step and it's got asics's guide Sole rocker as well to create a nice Flowing ride and reduce a little bit of Ankle function to save energy you've got A woven upper on the shoe with a fairly Significant plastic toe bumper at the
Front there you've got a lace garage a Heel tab a bit of padding around the Heel it's a fairly resilient material But it's still quite a stripped back Upper to keep the shoe nice and light Got Asic script outsole with a Three-pronged kind of stepped lugs to Hopefully create good grip in a mix of Conditions the lugs aren't the deepest In the world probably around four Millimeters which is allowing the idea That the Fuji speed is built to handle a Range of terrains rather being Specifically built for the mud but those Are fairly finished prongs on the lug Should bite in quite well on soft ground While the coverage should ensure a Reasonably smooth ride on harder ground As well So on the feet of the shoe I have my Normal size here which is a uk9 which is A us-10 for Asics that's how they um Convert that sizing and it differs a Little bit between Asics shoes what that Actually means this is a narrower Shorter shoe than some that come in a Uk9 it's not like a super blast or the GEL Nimbus they're bigger have roomier Toe boxes and a little bit wider and Longer this is a little bit more Stripped back and closer something like The magic speed has a closer fit a Slightly racier fit but it fits me Really well I have a narrow foot and
This worked really well for me so I've Got a good amount of room in the toe box I'm not going to be hitting my toes into The front of those going downhills and Really secure fit around the midfoot and Here which I like when it comes to in Terms of a Nimble aggressive feel in a Far shoe for the trail so yeah I was Very happy in my normal size So just heading out to first run in the Asics Fuji Speed 2 pretty excited to do This one I don't think I've used an Essex Trail shoe before ever so this Would be quite interesting but I am a Really big fan of the magic Speed Line And the magic Speed 3 and there's a lot Of similarities to that shoe with this Shoe with that FF plus plus midsole and The carbon plate today I'm going to do An easy to steady 45 minute run with Some strides afterwards so nice gentle Pace at first move through the gears a Little bit so by the end I'll be Clipping along Um at I don't know it'll depend on the Terrain I'm on but it'll be a decent Pace probably somewhere around a six Minute mile or so and a few strides Afterwards going into my local Forest be A nice mix of terrains bit of road to Get there some grassy Fields then onto Forest Trails which are pretty well Groomed they've hopefully dried out a Bit it's been quite wet here in the UK
But there should probably still be a Little muddy patches to test the shoes On but mostly it should be fairly uh Tame Trails today for the run Foreign So just backed them on now did just over 12K uh including the strides at the end After 45 minutes it was uh really really Enjoyable just a nice day for one Obviously I felt very fast today the Shoe was really good I was running based On heart rate and feel over you know Slightly undulating uh Forest pass and Pace was certainly quicker than expected It's exactly the kind of effect you Expect from a commonplace shoe when I Use the magic speed on the road for Exactly this kind of run I'd expect Similar thing to happen where you're Just hitting a little bit quicker than The pace as you are because you're in a Speed focused shoe it feels very Nimble On the foot like quite torpedo like it's Definitely quite a narrow shoe which is Fine for me I've got quite a narrow Effort and it does mean it's nice going Over uh kind of tricky uneven ground Some rutted ground I was running down Like a rutted hill at one point and it Feels very um agile on that kind of Terrain despite the carbon plate it does Feel like it really AIDS a fast turnover On the Trails um whether you're going You know on a nice steady bit of
Runnable ground or on like a little bit Of narrow single track I had to dive Onto at one point to avoid some horses I Was avoiding horses these days yeah like I say it felt like fast felt very good Uphills felt like you could really get Some nice oomph going downhills and then Just turn your legs over nicely on on The uh on the flatter sections terrain Today was all quite dry in the end There's a few muddy bits around corners But nothing that really concerned me at All the bit was perfectly fine and then It was fine on the road as well like It's certainly a firmer feeling uh Carbon chew for the trails than Something like the ultrafly which Obviously I was using a lot last week Which is a much softer but much wider Bigger heavier and slower shoe that's Really built for the long haul this Feels more versatile in the approach you Could take with it in terms of speed Sessions and shorter races on the trails So Yeah really strong first impression like Really enjoyed that life did remind me a Lot of the magic speed which I do like a Lot as a road tube but it feels probably A little bit less aggressive uh than That shoe especially the newest version The magic Speed 3 which really feels Very light and aggressive like a racing Shoe this feels like it might have a
Little bit more to it in terms of Versatility as a training shoe so yeah Very very positive first outing loved it Today looking forward to getting out There again for some more Speedy runs And maybe some longer easier stuff as Well thank you For early verdict on the Fuji Speed 2 After one run is I think this is a Really strong addition to the carbon Plate area for trail shoes the price is Very competitive especially compared to Things like the ultrafly from Nike and The technical going north of 200 quid And this is staying well south of it and I really like the ride of it so far it Has got a very similar feeling to some Of the roaches I really like like the Magic speed even the old endorphin Speed 2 it's got narrow direct firmer feel but With enough Comfort there that you can Take it easy and go long in it and then You get a nice bit of Pop from the play Can you start upping the pace really Fast turnover which I like as a shuffly Runner I really feel like it aids that And I think it's going to be an option For lots of people who maybe haven't Really looked to this area too much Before like like I said I'm using the Ultrafly a lot last week I really loved Using that shoe but it does feel very Very geared towards ultra marathon Distance and it's got some concerns with
The Opera and stuff like that this feels More like a rugged Trail shoe and it's Geared I think more towards a wide Variety of racing on the trails like you Can definitely go out and do a fast 5k In the shoe and I think it will also be Comfortable for longer runs do that some More testing on that in the future so Yeah so far really enjoying it really Another attitude I've really enjoyed This year I do like FF blast plus phone It's got the most exciting thing in the World but it does give you a nice amount Of pop back and with the play in this Shoe and the geometry it's got it does Certainly work at running at faster Speeds and it it feels quite akin to Like I say some of my favorite super Trainers on the road things like the Speed the magic speed the Les Boston as A so you can do a nice variety of your Daily training in including you know This faster runs and that's great Because I like to see those kind of runs On the trails where possible you still Want to do some more testing of the grip If the conditions get a bit more wet Round here and find some softer ground And I do want to go a bit longer in it Because I'm not sure it's going to be as Comfortable as some of those other Plated options that you have for the Trails like the techton x or the Ultrafly or the Endorphin Edge so it's
Lots of more testing to do but strong First impression today
