Although the Asics Gel-Kayano saw a host of changes in its 30th version, the Gel-Kayano 31 is a more subtle update, with tweaks across the upper and outsole, and slightly more cushioning in the midsole.
The most important aspect of the Gel-Kayano 31 is the combination of three factors; the soft FF BLAST PLUS ECO midsole foam, the PureGel technology in the heel for more comfortable landings, and the 4D Guidance System to provide adaptive stability. The result is a careful balance of support and cushioning designed for easy and longer runs.
Tom and Nick have been testing the shoe out on a first run to get some early thoughts.
JUMP STRAIGHT IN
00:00 – Intro
00:14 – Stats
00:26 – Design
01:12 – How’s the Fit?
03:08 – The First Run Test
08:10 – Should You Buy It?
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Hey Tommy for run testers in this video We are going to doing a first run review Of the A6 gel Kayano 31 let's have a [Music] Look the A6 gelo 31 cost £180 or $165 it weighs 306 G or 10.8 Oz for men In a size 8 and the drop is 10 [Music] Mm although the A6 gel Keo saw a host of Changes in its 30th version the gelano 31 is a more subtle update with tweaks Across the upper and outsole and Slightly more cushioning in the midsole The most important aspect of the Jano 31 Is the combination of three factors the Soft FF blast plus Eco Midol foam pure Gel technology in the heel for more Comfortable Landings and the 4D guidance System to provide adaptive stability the Result is a careful balance of support And cushioning designed for easy and Longer runs the shoe also features an Updated mesh upper design to improve Breathability a knit colar construction For step- in comfort and a modified A6 Grip out soole that aims to improve grip And Softness it comes the fit of the shoe I Found the Cayo 30 quite big quite roomy For me in my normal running shoe size so I've gone half a size down with the Kayo 31 I've got a uk8.5 it's still kind of True to size in my US size cuz it's a US 9.5 and I'm generally a US 9.5 or a 10 I
Do think it's quite a roomy shoe and Going half size down fit me a bit better I would say if you're on the fence Between sizes tend to be a bit small for Your size like me going the half size Down worked out better for me I've still Got plenty of room in the toe box and I Didn't have that extra room which I Don't really need in the front of the Shoe there I was very concerned about The amount of padding on the back of the Shoe here cuz recently I've been having Some Achilles niggles that I think have Basically been caused by very structured Overly cushioned and stiff heels but on The run yesterday in the shoe I didn't Actually have any problems with it at All so I think it's quite a Well-designed heel didn't get any extra Irritation there nice hold around the Heel of midfoot lots of padding probably Run a bit warm if it ever gets very warm Here in the UK but overall the fit was Pretty good for me going that half size Down which is still kind of my normal Size like I say in US sizing I'm Generally a 9.5 or a 10 and in a roomy Shoe I prefer a 9.5 in US sizing and in A tighter more dialed infit like aex is Racing shoes like the metas speed Sky I Prefer a us10 so yeah it's about my Normal size but like I said if you're on The fence maybe go half size down so the Fit for me in the jao 31 I'm a size 8 in
The UK uh I would say that there is a Little bit extra room in this shoe from What I normally expect from on my size Um there's a bit more space in the foref Foot and it's quite a wide forefoot as Well so there's quite a lot of wiggle Room for your feet uh as a result I Would probably say that if you um were Really concerned about it and you like a Really tight lock down fit without too Much room you might want to size down Half size for me it was only big enough Just to be noticeable but it didn't Really make it really uncomfortable or Anything it didn't feel like I had too Much space in it I just noticed that um When I pressed down on it there was a Bit more space than I'd come to expect So I would stick to my size in this but If you are concerned about um the extra Space then you might want to size down Half a Size good morning from London we're About to head out and do my first run in The aex gelano 31 it is a horrible day I'm about to put on a raincoat to run in What is almost June here in the UK so That's ridiculous but got a nice easy Hour on the plan a recovery day after a Track workout yesterday exactly the kind Of run that I would use the Caro for as A big Cruiser to eat up those recover Miles don't think there's going to be a Big difference here to the previous
Model of the shoe would just be to see If I get that kind of Slappy feeling Which I had with the aex J Nimbus 26 Compared to the g 25 which also was a Fairly minimal update otherwise but yeah Should be a nice supportive shoe for an Easy run like this and we'll see how it [Music] Goes just back from the first run in the J car I 31 now and and really enjoyed That today just ticking along at a nice Cruisy Pace uh ran around the forest in Me mostly on road sections and then a Little Loop of the town and yeah it was Really comfortable supportive I was Moving pretty well I was running to feel And heart rate and that kind of thing Just trying to keep the effort nice and Low after a session yesterday with a Another session tomorrow and the sh was Great for that it just ticked over quite Well feels a bit lighter than it really Is on the foot I would say and in General it just yeah felt fine Supportive comfortable gripped well on a Couple of small muddy sections and in General I enjoyed using it today like It's one of these big big cruy shoes but It does a good job actually with the car 30 as well I did feel like I liked it Slightly more than some of the even Bigger cruisy neutral shoes even though I am a neutral Runner and the support You get here is very subtle but it's you
Know welcome at times especially on Tired legs so yeah that was an enjoyable First run out of the shoe I've just come Back and I've done a short run wearing The Carno 30 on one foot 31 on the other Foot and yeah there's not a huge Difference between these shoes like on The run it you know felt what I Remembered of the gel Caro 30 and then Running into both shoes at the same time Very similar feeling nice Mount support A 10 mm drop which gives you a little Bit of a snap through we didn't really Get any Slappy Sensation from the Jael Carlo 31 but it was only one run at a Cruisy pace with some softer ground in There so I'll talk about that more in The full review if that came up like it Did with a nimbus 26 with this new out Soole but the two shoes felt very Similar certainly interesting Straightway would be going find a deal On the gelano 30 CU this is a very Expensive shoe and uh you know paying Full price when the new one is quite Similar to the old one I think would not Be the canny move but certainly enjoyed The run in the new shoe today and I'm Looking forward to yeah getting out some More relaxed runs in it maybe a long run On Sunday okay so my first run in the ja 31 was a 10K nice and easy nothing too Exciting I did pick up the pace on a Couple of the kilometers just to see how
It felt um and I th and enjoyed it I Have said many times on videos that um The gelano 30 I was really impressed With I've never been a big fan of the Earlier Jano shoes mainly because I I Don't need a lot of stability I am told By some shoe Specialists that I go and Get fitted by that I probably do need Some level of stability but the original Jaan were just too much stability I just Didn't need that much and just they just Felt like they were making me run in a Way that I didn't need to I think the Thing about the gel count 31 is that It's essentially uh where whereas the Older versions where stability shoes Through and through uh the joelo 31 is Really a Max cushion comfortable shoe That has stability elements in it you Don't really notice those stability Elements unless you try to or if you Noticeably pronate um but if you uh when I was running on that run I did try to Move my a bit just to see how it felt if It if I was going over and pronating a Bit and um when you do that you can tell You can feel the stability elements in It helping you sort of get in the right Position it's a very sturdy shoe um and You can feel that out on the run but if You're not looking for it or if you're Not pronating too much it's it's not Even noticeable the um it's a very Subtle level of stability in there which
I really really like now um it's Definitely become a shoe that anybody Can use um and it's very comfortable at Doing that as if you're a fan of the Channel you know that I'm obsessed with Max cushion comfortable shoes the j3s Now fits into that world for me and I do Find it to be a very comfortable solid Shoe that I can go and do nice easy run In do a longer runin and really enjoy it I never said that about the earlier um Gel Kos um other than that uh it's Pretty much what I've come to expect From the previous version so there's not Many changes to this shoe there's a bit Of an outsole change didn't really Notice anything on that it's a really Really good out sole uh it wasn't very Wet today so I didn't really need to Worry about grip but it feels very solid On the ground um and the um J 30 had a Really good out soole as well so no Issues there I think there's a little Bit more Midol foam in there I did Notice that definitely felt the same to Me um and the upper feels very Comfortable quite a lot of padding Around it I really like the 10 mm drop In the um J 31 it does help you feel Like you can roll forward and once You've got a nice Pace going it just Cruises you along nicely it just just Delivers just a fantastic solid ride um So yeah all in all very good first run
Um looking forward to testing out a bit More only V is that this is a very minor Update to the Jael Caro 31 I thought the Caro 30 was a good shoe I think the 31 Is a pretty good shoe so far based on my Testing I enjoyed running in it I don't Think there's any need to upgrade or Look at buying this shoe over the Previous model of it you got that slight Different outsole but not something I Really noticed today on the run when Comparing them or running in this shoe By s so yeah I would try and find a deal On the Caro 30 would be my initial Reaction after one run but overall I Enjoy the run of the shoe I think it's Going to be a good shoe and when the Jail caro3 is gone forever more and it's The jail Caro 31's turn to be discounted You'll be getting a very good shoe That's very much in line with the feel And performance of the Jael Caro 30 I Tended to actually probably prefer the Caros over the Nimbus over these last Two generations which is a bit strange Because I'm a neutral Runner I just Think they're slightly lower stack I Think the support you get is welcome Without being overly aggressive or Annoying or anything like that on the The run and just all around they just Tick over quite nicely for me so even Though I'm not hugely into Big Max Cushion shoes or ones with stability
Features I have enjoyed running in the Caro 30 and based on that first run I Probably going to enjoy running in the Caro 31 it's a very expensive shoe Though we'll talk more about Alternatives in our full review and There's certainly be options in the Market that come in cheaper than this Like sucy guide 17 immediately Springs To mind and probably the way to go will Be to look at the older model the 30 and Get a discount on it if you can but yeah Enjoyable first run of the shoe more to Say in our full review down the line so My early verdict on the as6 jok 31 is it Is more of the same as what you if You've know anything about the J Caro 30 It's pretty much the same shoe with a Few tweaks which is a good thing because That I really liked that shoe and I Think it was a very smart update and it Was a big update uh from the previous Versions um and I'm glad that this is a Slight modification on that but nothing Too noticeable um and definitely uh if You like that shoe you're probably going To feel at home with this shoe um the Only thing I would say about this shoe Is that it is quite expensive um and There are other shoes out there that Might might be better options when it Comes to stability um but if you trust The jelo range um you're you're not Going to have any problems with this
Shoe it's solid comfortable supportive Uh definitely does a job but like Nick Says if you get the jelo 30 um cheaper On a sale you might as well get that Shoe because there's not any major Changes um to this that are worth paying Uh for a new shoe if you can get that One uh for a considerably cheaper price That's it every once on this first run Thanks a lot for watching don't forget To like subscribe click little bell all Of those sorts of things and if you go To ction below you can uh click the link To our podcast which comes out a couple Of times each month thanks a lot for Watching catch you next time
