Asics Metaspeed Edge+ Review

The Asics Metaspeed Edge struggled to escape the shadow of its more famous sibling, the Metaspeed Sky. Although Asics pitched them as equally impressive super-shoes, designed for different running styles, it was the Sky that became established as the brand’s best carbon plate running shoe.

With the updates made to the second editions of the Metaspeed range, the Edge+ has a better chance of standing up to the Sky+, since it now has the classic characteristics of a true super-shoe, including a higher stack of foam in the midsole. Will this be enough to challenge the Sky+ and earn the Edge+ a place among the best running shoes? Not quite, is my answer – even though the Edge+ is a great racing shoe.

Asics Metaspeed Edge+: Price And Availability

The Asics Metaspeed Edge+ is available now and costs $250 in the US and £225 in the UK, which is the same as the Metaspeed Sky+.

Design And Fit

The Metaspeed Edge+ shares the same ingredients as the Metaspeed Sky+, starting with the lightweight Motion Wrap mesh upper. I found that the Edge+, like the Sky+, fitted me perfectly in my normal size.

As with all super-shoes, the magic happens in the midsole in the Edge+, where Asics’s bouncy nylon-based FF Blast foam combines with a full-length carbon plate. It is also in the midsole where the key differences to the Sky+ arise.

While both shoes have a 39mm stack height at the heel, the Edge+ has an 8mm drop with a 31mm stack in the forefoot, while the Sky+ has a 5mm drop. The plate in the Edge+ also has more of a scooped shape and sits lower within the midsole to encourage a faster transition from heel to toe.

This ties in with Asics’s idea that there are two types of runners: stride and cadence. Stride runners have a bouncier gait and increase their speed predominantly by increasing their stride length; the Sky+ is designed to suit this style. Cadence runners have a shorter stride and higher cadence, and increase both their cadence and stride length when running faster; the Edge+ is designed to suit this style of running by promoting a fast turnover and flowing gait.

The outsole on the Edge+ has the same layout as the Sky+, with rubber covering the forefoot and then two strips of rubber at the back. As with the Sky+, the strips at the back do not extend far enough back to protect the midsole if you are a heelstriker. This results in wear and tear on the exposed foam there. It was also a problem with the first editions of the shoes, and I’m disappointed to see Asics hasn’t remedied it with the Edge+ or the Sky+ simply by extending the rubber strips slightly further back.

At 7.5oz/217g in my UK 9, the Edge+ weighs a little more than the Sky+, which weighs 7.4oz/206g.

How I Tested This Shoe

I have run 75km in the Metaspeed Edge+, using it for a range of fast and long training sessions and going all-out in it during a parkrun. I have also tested and raced in the Asics Metaspeed Sky+, as well as the original Metaspeed Sky, but didn’t use the original Metaspeed Edge.

Running Performance

As best I can tell, I’m the classic “cadence” runner. I have a shuffling high-cadence style and increase my cadence to 200 or higher when running fast, so the Edge+ should suit me down to the ground. I was excited about testing it because I have loved the Sky and Sky+ and have PBs in both. Given the Edge+ uses similar materials but with a design that suits my gait it should be even better, right?

Well, that hasn’t proved to be the case. For my first workout in the Edge+ I used it and the Sky+, using the Edge+ for three sets of 3/2/1 minutes on, 1 minute off, then swapped to the Sky+ for two more sets. The Edge+ feels more natural on the foot, and very fast, but when I swapped to the Sky+ it felt noticeably bouncier and propulsive. Running fast in both shoes felt good but the Sky+ felt better, despite not being aimed at my style.

I wanted to see if the Edge+ would come into its own during an all-out effort, so I hammered out a parkrun in 16 minutes and 17 seconds. It feels easier to run in the Edge+ than the Sky+ when tiring at the end of a race, where I have to focus on leaning forwards and picking up my feet to get the most from the shoe. I’m not sure this translates to being faster or better.

On a longer run in the Edge+, in which I ran six miles at 6min/mile and then six miles at 5min 40sec/mile, I missed the extra bounce and more cushioned feel of the Sky+. The Edge+ tips you forwards a bit more, but lacks some of the oomph you get from the extra cushioning under the forefoot in the Sky+.

I also did a workout where I used the Edge+ and Nike Vaporfly NEXT% 2, which has the same 8mm drop and a similar design all round to the Edge+. I rate the ZoomX foam in the Vaporfly as better than the FF Blast in the Edge+, being noticeably springier, with the result that the Vaporfly feels more explosive. The Edge+ is more stable than the Nike, but I prefer the more propulsive feel of the Vaporfly.

Is The Asics Metaspeed Edge+ Worth It?

There is something in Asics’s approach to making super-shoes suit different running styles, in that the Edge+ feels more natural to run in for me than the Sky+. That said, I would not get too invested in picking a shoe because of the gait it’s designed for, because overall I still slightly prefer the bouncier Sky+, despite having the style of an Edge+ runner.

However, it isn’t the Sky+ that is the real problem for the Edge+, it’s the Nike Vaporfly NEXT% 2, and its more impressive, faster ride. The Vaporfly is also lighter and cheaper (and now often discounted) and, let’s be honest, most runners who have invested in a carbon plate running shoe at this point probably have at least one pair of the Vaporfly. In that case, there’s little need to get the Edge+ in my opinion. It would be better to try the different feel of the Sky+ if you want an Asics super-shoe, while I would also rate the cheaper Saucony Endorphin Pro 3 as a more impressive racing shoe than the Edge+.

In isolation the Edge+ is a fantastic racing shoe with enough cushioning for longer events, while still agile and light enough for short reps and races. Its problem is the competition in the carbon plate running shoe market, where it doesn’t stand out from either its Asics stablemate or the best options from other brands.