The Novablast 4 sees some big changes from the previous version. The biggest of those is the new FF BLAST ECO PLUS foam that aims to provide a softer ride with more energy return when you want to pick up the pace. There’s also an updated shoe geometry that combines the trampoline-inspired midsole with a higher stack of midsole foam.
Tom and Kieran have been testing the shoes out to see how they compare.
Check out the monthly podcast for the latest kit news and updates:
JUMP STRAIGHT IN:
00:00 – Intro
00:15 – Stats
00:38 – Design
01:34 – How’s The Fit?
03:31 – The Run Test
11:00 – Verdict
Here come the affiliate links:
Occasionally, we use affiliate links on products we feature. If you click on these links and buy a product we do receive some money in return – but this doesn’t come at a cost to you. Our use of affiliate links does not affect what we say about products and if you’d rather not use the links you can find the items using the search engine of your choice.
Asics Novablast 3:
Asics Novablast 4:
Subscribe to The Run Testers for more running gear reviews:
https://www.youtube.com/c/TheRunTesters?sub_confirmation=1
Hey Tommy from the Run testers in this Video we are doing a comparison of the A6 Nova Blast 3 and the A6 Nova blast 4 Let's dive [Music] In the A6 Nova Blast 3 costs £135 or $140 it weighs 237 G or 8.4 Oz for men In a size8 and the drop is 8 mm the A6 Nova blast 4 costs £135 or $140 It weighs 256 G or 9 oz for men in a Size8 and the drop is 8 [Music] Mm the A6 Nova Blast 3 is a daily Running shoe designed to combine plenty Of cushioning and comfort with a Versatile ride version 3 saw FF blast Plus midell foam added to lower the Weight and improve responsiveness it Also features a thin tongue Wing Construction to improve the fit a more Supportive heel design a jacked mesh Upper for breathability and an ahart out Soole for improved durability the Nova Blast 4 sees some big changes from the Previous version the biggest of those is The new FF blast Eco plus foam that aims To provide a softer ride with more Energy return when you want to pick up The pace there's also an updated shoe Geometry that combines the trampoline And spyed midsole with a higher stack of Midsole foam there's an engineered waven Mesh upper offers a plush fit as well as Plenty of breathability and flexibility
As well as a gusseted tongue to prevent Slip and there's a healthy covering of Ahar outso rubber across the shoe to Improve grip and Durability so a quick word on fit then If I'm really honest I've got both the Shoes on right now I don't feel there's Too much of a difference here between The no Blast 3 and the no blast 4 They've largely stuck with pretty much The same fit perhaps there's a little Bit more clearance across the top of the Toe box in terms of the uppers and that Shaping but over in terms of the holding The heel midfoot lock down the way the Shoe feels on the foot these two FIT Wise I think are pretty much bang on so Whatever you went with in the Nova Blast 3 I would go with in the Nova blast 4 if You haven't ever worn a Nova blast then I would still recommend going true to Sizing these shoes which is what I did I Ran in the UK and I halfway my regular Running shoe size and they fit through To sze nice and roomy in the toe box if Anything they feel a little bit big and Long if you really don't like that you Want a do in fit you might be able to Squeeze to half size down and get them a Bit more snug but my recommendation Would be to go true to size okay so the Fit for me in these two shoes I'm a size Eight these are both size eights in the UK
Uh I've had no issue with either of These shoes uh I would stay to my size In both of them but what I would say is That the Nova Blast 3 uh is a little bit The upper um it's quite narrow shoe uh And the upper is quite restrictive so if You have wi feet you might find that the Nova blast um 3 is a little bit uh Narrow and not as comfortable as you Would like the upper just doesn't really Give a lot of space to move around as Well so um that's the only anything I Would say about it but I would stay to My size in this shoe other than that There's lots of padding around the upper The tongue is fairly minimal so there's Not a lot of padding around that um but I would stick to my size in that shoe The A6 Nova blast 4 there it's slightly Longer in the toe box um and the upper Has a little bit more given it so uh if You do have wider feet then you're Probably going to get on better with a Nova blast 4 than the Nova Blast 3 um But I would stay to my size in this shoe As well [Music] So for my run test then I've now done Around 30 mi in the Nova blast 4 and I've clocked more miles by far in the Gen3 over blast since they launched last Year now I've mixed up the pace in both Shoes from slow and easy to marathon Pace and Beyond I've covered different
Terrain including roads and off-road Rther paths in both shoes as well my Usual testing ground basically I also Did a side by-side mile to compare these Two shoes one on each foot and here is What I found so then I've just done a Side by side mile I've got the no blast Four on my left foot I've got the no Blast 3 on my right foot one of the big Things you notice straight away is that Extra kind of flaring in the heel and in The foref foot of the mids so there is a Much bigger volume of foam Under Foot And extends out wider so what's was Already a hulken great shoe feels bigger Than Nova Blast 3 so if you found the Nova Blast 3 too much shoe you're Probably going to find this one even Worse in terms of weight I don't really Find there's much of a difference on the Run on the move they feel pretty much The same in terms of the cradling There's perhaps a little more cradling Because of that wide footed and that Wide base that you've got the wider Platform on the as6 NOA blast 4 than You've got on the three and then in Terms of the overall ride there's not a Huge amount to choose here I don't think But what I do notice is that the Nova Blast 4 has a slightly firmer tuning it Makes the Nova blast 4 just that little Bit snappier for me than the Nova Blast 3 the combination of the rock ring the
New Mido geometry and I think a slightly Firmer tuned foam here with this Ecco Blast plus foam it makes it just a bit More responsive there's a marginally More immediacy you get than you do on The Nova Blast 3 which I've always found A little bit soggy and a little bit Sluggish at pretty much all my Paces I Didn't get any of the bounce that some People report and I've never really been A fan of the no blast but in the fours I Think you get a bit more and it's made The no blast a little bit more of a shoe That I could run in across a range of Paces they're still for me both of these Shoes definitely aimed at lower and Slower than faster I can't really run Too fast in them for too long I just Find that I'm having to work a bit too Hard there's too much shoe on the foot I Would rather pick up something you know Like a Triumph 20 one or a socer ride 17 Or your other shoes that feel a little Bit less Che on the foot I think even The cloud Eclipse does a better job but If we talk about difference between These two shoes I do think the Nova Blast 4 is a bit of a step on from the Three in terms of that response and that Ride and that kind of the faster clip Through that you get rather than the Sinking and the sagging that's not to Say they've thrown out the cushion Protection so if you liked that big
Cushion protection you've got from the Three you're still going to get that Here in Spades this is still a soft shoe You still land and sort of sink in and Wait for it to come back but just maybe Not as much as you did with the Nova Blast 3 now despite the change to the Uppers which are supposed to be more Stretchy and that new neoprene tongue Overall the way that my foot is held and Feels in the shoe the stepping Comfort On these it's pretty close there's not Too much to choose marginally more Comfortable in the no blast 4 I would Say so when it comes to Griff and Durability they've got pretty much the Same out soole rubber pattern here so I Wouldn't have that as a deciding factor But choosing between these two shoes Both good durability and good grip okay So the run test in these two shoes uh The Nova Blast 3 uh I I've I've never Been a fan of um I the history of the Nol series the first one I really liked It was uh surprisingly bouncy shoe had a Lot of energy return in it it was nice And soft as well um but it was a little Bit uh unstable a little bit wobbly um And in the later versions as6 fixed that Slightly by making the shoe more stable Giving a bit giving a wider base to it Um but in the three it sort of lost the Magic of the first one and to a lesser Extent the second one um and just sound
A bit dull to me the FF blast plus Midol Phone just didn't seem to deliver a lot For me um and it even though it's Cushion shoe it just didn't offer Anything that I'd want cushion shoe so It didn't feel particularly soft it Didn't feel particularly bouncy it just Felt like um a solid Workhorse daily Shoe uh which is not what I want from The Nova blast range I I I I kind of Want it to be a bouncy issue I wanted to More fun to run in I always class the Nova blast as a fun shoe and the Nova Blast 3 just didn't do that for me it Was just a little bit of a nothing is Shoe um and as a result I I just after I Tested it I never really picked it up Again um just because I didn't find it To be that enjoyable a shoe the Nova Blast 4 uh has come out and it does have This new updated FSB plus mid cell phone Which has this e some Eco design Elements in it and it is a bit more foam In there there's uh definitely a a a Bigger heel section on it there's a Little bit more of a pronounced rocker To the shoe uh and it does feel like a Different ride it feels like the U foam Is a little bit more compressive um and Energy returning uh than the Nova Blast 3 it feels a little bit livelier also Feels a little bit more responsive as Well like you can really pick up the Pace a little bit more in the shoe than
You could in the Nova Blast 3 um the Other thing as well is this this new Geometry of the shoe with the mid Just feels like it's rolling you forward A little bit more than in the Nova Blast 3 so um some big improvements for me in The Nova blast 4 it just feels like the Shoe is a lot more versatile than the Three now I wouldn't say it's the most Versatile shoe in the world it's not Like the S and dorphin Speed 3 but There's a lot more to this shoe now and I think it's a big Improvement on the Nova Blast 3 which um just didn't just Didn't really do a lot for me um other Than that I would say I've done uh inter Sessions in this shoe I've done a part Run in this shoe and I've done longer Runs in this shoe um when I did the Interval sessions on track it just felt Like it's not a shoe that's designed for High level performance but if you were Just buy one shoe and you did want to do Track and stuff in it it felt fine for That it felt like I could pick up the Pace nicely it felt like uh it could Keep up with me as I was trying to run Faster uh and I didn't have the wrong Pair of shoes on no Blast 3 if I went Out to run fast in the shoe it it would Feel like I had the wrong pairs of Sho Pair of shoes on it just doesn't feel Like a shoe that has any performance Benefits in it it's just a solid workor
Shoe um for longer runs as well NOA Blast 3 just feels a bit dull just if I Did like a half marathon in this shoe I Would know about it no blast 4 it does Feel like it's a shoe now designed to Really give you cushioning and help you Along with those longer sessions so Whether that's half marathon marathon Training that sort of thing I think it Would be be a good shoe for that now uh And it's definitely noticeable that this Is shoe that can do more than the Nova Blast 3 other thing I would say as well Is the outsole on these shoes there's Some changes some slight changes so the Actual overall coverage of the rubber um Is uh the basically the same on both Shoes but the outsole on the no blast Floor does seem better uh just seems a Little bit more uh grippy just feels Like there's a little bit more rubber on There um and is's an improvement on the No Blast 3 no Blast 3 outso got quite a Bit of flack for being a little bit um Bad on wet conditions um not great grip On it and uh no as6 released the Nova Blast 3 TR which had a a a trail rubber Outsa on it as well um which I actually Used more because the outsole grip was Better and I used that a bit more for um Public foot PLS and things like that so I think there is an improvement on the Outso rubber on the Nova blast 4 as Well
Okay so my verdict on these two shoes Pretty easy um I not a big fan of the Novast 3 just don't think it really does A lot it's fine it's a Workhorse it taks The boxes but I don't think it's worth The price and I don't think it's a great Shoe um for what you want to get from The Nova blast the Nova blast 4 has some Great updates to it I think it's really Nice step in the right direction I think It takes learnings from the super blast Which is a fantastic shoe uh versatile Shoe and now I think it's a really nice Option if you're looking for a great Slightly versatile daily shoe that isn't Really expensive like some shoes out There like the super blast is so i' Definitely go for the A6 no blast 4 out Of these two um and to be honest even if You could get the no Blast 3 is Considerably cheaper because it's older I still wouldn't get it because it's not The shoe That I Want from a NOA blast And I I never used this shoe for Anything no blast raw I would buy I Think it's a good option now uh I think There's still better shoes out there I Think the sing and Dophin Speed 3 is Still a better versatile option um but I Do think the Nova blast is probably a Little bit better um when you're going More towards that Max cushioning side of Things if you want an easy day shoe a Longer run shoe um that's maybe at
Slower efforts there's just more Cushioning in this and as a result it Feels more comfortable um but out of These two shoes I would definitely go For the Nova blast 4 I think I think It's a vast Improvement on the three so Verdict then and for me the Nova blast 4 Is a Improvement on the Nova Blast 3 the Midsole tweaks are a net positive Bringing some additional immediacy and Response as a result I think this shoe Now the four has much more versatility Without sacrificing too much of the soft Cushion protection that people seem to Love in the past Nova blasts to enjoy Either of these shoes you're still going To have to get on with oversized maximal Shoes that offer a softer Edge overall I Still find them are both a bit clumping And canoe like and I generally like Shoes that are more Compact and precise Now if you already own the Nova Blast 3 I wouldn't be in a hurry to upgrade to The four and if you can find an overlast 3 for under1 I probably still choose Those over the four as well otherwise if You're talking about out four price if You're new to the Nova blast game I'd Recommend getting the no blast 4 over The three I think that just ride is just A bit more Snappy if you've got a bit More to spend I think you can get the Same cushion benefits from Alternatives Like the Brooks ghost Max or the oncloud
Eclipse and the New Balance 1080 v13 but Without having to lace up such a big Beast of a shoe and for me really the Sakon ride 17 are a much better Bal shoe That come in at the same price that's it From us on this versus thanks a lot for Watching don't forget to like subscribe Click the little bell and check out the Channel for all the other videos we've Got coming out at the moment if you go To catch blow you can also find a link To our podcast which comes out at the End of each month thanks a lot for Watching catch you next Time
