Asics Megablast Review: Three runners rate the versatile super-trainer

The Asics Megablast is a new shoe for 2025 that has a similar setup to the popular Asics Superblast 2, with a huge stack of bouncy foam and a lightweight, plate-free design. It’s a shoe with a lot of hype around it, but also a very high price. Tom, Kieran and Nick have been out logging a lot of miles in the Megablast to see if it merits that price; here’s their verdict on the shoe.

00:00​​​​ – Intro
00:15 – Design & Key Stats
01:47 – How’s The Fit?
04:30 – The Run Test
14:30 – Verdict & Alternatives

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Hello and welcome to Run Testers. My name’s Nick and this is our full review of the Assex Mega Blast. So, the Mega Blast is an all new shoe from Asex that launched at the same time as the Sonic Blast, a plated trainer that also uses the FF squared FF Turbo Squared foam that you’ll find in the midsole of the Mega Blast, which is an unplated training shoe that has quite a lot of similarities to the Asex Super Blast 2. One of those similarities being that it’s a very expensive shoe. It cost £225 in the US and £210 in the UK. Another similarity to the Superlass is that it’s a very high stack shoe. It stands 46 mm high at the heel. That drops to 38 at the forefoot for an 8 mm drop. But despite that stack height, it’s a very lightweight shoe. It weighs just 241 g or 8.5 oz in my UK size 9, which is a US 10. So the foam in the midsole is a very lightweight material, which means that the shoe can be very light despite having a high stack and a pretty wide base. When it comes to the design of the shoe, you’ve got an engineered mesh upper. It’s pretty open in the front there. A little bit see-through and has breathed pretty well for me throughout testing. Fairly thin tongue. Little bit of padding around the back of the shoe there, but not too much. Obviously, AS6 is keen to keep the weight of the shoe down. So, the upper is not as padded as you’ll find on daily trainers like the Gel Nimbus or the Nova Blast. And the midsole is entirely made from FF Turbo Squared. This is Asex most energetic foam, the most energy returning foam in the lineup. It’s a resilient foam with a fairly firm feel that really gives you, you know, a lot of bounce, but has a little bit of sink in as well. It’s, you know, a balanced material designed to create a very versatile ride. And then you’ve got Asex grip rubber on the outsole. Pretty good coverage at the forefoot, two strips at the back here. There is a lot of exposed foam in the midoot of the shoe here, but it’s pretty hardwearing stuff. I’ve not seen too much wear myself after 100 miles in the Mega Blast. So, when it comes to fit, I ran in a UK 8 and 1/2, US 9 1/2, which would be my regular size in asex shoes. And overall, I found the fit was largely okay. There’s an awful lot of padding in the heels back here, even though you’ve got like a race style sort of design, and that makes a really good hold and comfort back there in the heel package. The midfoot I found secures really nicely with these lace lock style laces. So, all of that sort of back section all held nicely, really secure. Was happy with that. The only real issue I had was up front in the toe box. The taper on these is really quite dramatic, more so certainly than the Super Blast, which is a more roomy shoe in the foroot. Overall, that sharp taper leads to, for me at least, a lack of clearance on the outside edge of my little toes, and I suffered some rubbing on those little pinkies, uh, was really noticeable on my runs when I was going over an hour, and it would definitely be a worry for me on runs over two hours. Fear here is if I went half a size up, I think there’s a danger I might be swimming in the shoe, but I think definitely if you have wider feet, you’d be smart to try half a size up. or if you want a fit that feels as roomy and forgiving as the Super Blast in this section, but beyond that little pinch point, I found the upper really nice and light and airy and breathable, bit more racy than the Super Blast. Generally, I did like the fit. It’s just that little taper. If that wasn’t there, they’d almost be spot-on. So, the fit for me in the Mega Blast, I’m a size eight in the UK. This is a size eight, which is a normal running shoe size that I use in the UK. Uh quite spacious shoe. There’s quite a lot of space before my big toe in this. More than um I normally expect in a shoe in a size eight. It’s probably a little bit longer than a lot of shoes, which is some similar to what I’ve experienced with the Super Blast 2. Um it’s also plenty of room around the sides of the feet and the midfoot is absolutely fine for me. I’ve got fairly average width feet and I find this to be quite a roomy shoe from the forefoot and the midfoot. Uh which isn’t always the the case with ASEX. Um but it’s it’s absolutely fine for me. Um, and there’s plenty of nice padding around the back. Um, and a really thin tongue, but I didn’t have any issues with that. So, overall, I found it was very easy to get a nice lock down fit in it. It was very, very comfortable. Uh, and I definitely say to my UK size eight in this shoe. Comes to the fit of the ASX Mega Blast. It’s been good for me in my normal running shoe size. The same size I use across the AS6 range. I would say within the AS6 range, it’s probably a little bit less roomy around the toes than something like the Nimbus. The fit is more in line with maybe something like the Super Blast or the Meta Speed range. And yeah, that worked very well for me. I had a good hold around the heel and midfoot. The upper has been very comfortable for me for out testing. I took the Mega Blast away for a week of running in the Canary Islands where it was pretty hot and yeah, the upper breathed really well, dried quickly. No concerns at all about the fit. I’d stick to your normal size. So, I’ve done a lot of running in the ASX Mega Blast over the past few weeks. I’ve racked up about 160k, 100 miles in the shoe in that time. During marathon training, I’ve been doing pretty high mileage weeks. And one of those weeks I was away on holiday and the Mega Blast was the only running shoe I took. And as a result, I’ve done a really wide range of runs in it. You know, everything down to fairly short reps during interval sessions to a 15 mile tempo run. Lots of long easy stuff as well and easy to steady progression runs. Really the full gamut of a training week. I’ve done it all in the Mega Blast and it’s impressed me pretty much every time. Versatility is certainly the biggest strength I think of the shoe. It really does work well for such a wide range of runs. It’s a pretty impressive combination of comfort, weight, you know, responsiveness, you know, it’s all the kind of things we said about the Super Blast 2, but with the added bonus of being a little bit lighter than the Super Blast and slightly less kind of boatlike. Like I like the Super Blast a lot. I thought it was a really good shoe, but for my kind of running as a high cadence runner, as a heel striker, I sometimes felt the back of the Super Blast just a bit too big for me. And although I really enjoyed running in it, it didn’t feel the piest for faster stuff. That’s still a bit true of the Mega Blast. is still a fairly blocky shoe and a big shoe, but it’s got a smoother transition from the heel, I find, than the Super Blast. And the new foam in the midsole does have a bit more pop to it, a bit more energy return. And as a result, I think it’s slightly better shoe at those faster paces and still really, really good for easy stuff, long stuff, that kind of thing. The foam is fairly stiff, fairly firm, but it’s got a bit more flexibility than a plated shoe. And I’ve really enjoyed cruising around in it at all kinds of paces. So, when it comes to the runs I’ve done in it, I’d say when it comes to the really fast stuff, like interval sessions, it does it pretty well. I definitely still think leaner shoes would do it better. Things like the Adidas Evo SL or, you know, more strip backplated shoes that this is still pretty big shoe. I did enjoy running fast in it and it’s definitely a thing it does well, but you know, you still got that slightly big feeling with this shoe compared to, like I say, some of the slightly more leaner shoes on the market. Where I loved it most, I would say was on a 15 mile kind of tempo-ish run. I was doing 15 mi at 6-minute mileing and just cruising along and it just felt great throughout that run. Like a really controlled effort. The shoe felt really cruisy. certainly had the performance level of a plated super train like I’ve done that run quite this year in the Nike Zoomfly 6. A very similar feel to that. A shoe I rate very highly had a similarly enjoyable experience on that run in the AS6 Mega Blast. You know the only time I haven’t really felt good in it at any point on runs where I was on some like slightly uneven trails like a very short section of trails on a run because you know it’s a big platform and quite a wide one. I was kind of catching things and getting moved from side to side but other than that it’s been great on every run. You’ve got a pretty wide base here. It’s certainly quite stable and I think that’s an area where it does excel compared to some of the really impressive all-rounder shoes that we’re going to talk about later that are a lot cheaper than the Mega Blast things like the Evo Assale or even the Puma Velocity Nitro 4. You’ve got a wider base here and it’s a shoe that you know you feel a bit more relaxed and confident taking out for easy stuff because it is a bit more stable as a result. Also been pretty impressed with the durability of the shoe. Like I haven’t really put a mark on it after 100 miles which has included you know a few stints on the trails both here and abroad and none of the rubber’s wearing at all. The exposed foam is holding up really well. The foam has felt better over time with the midsole. I would say it was probably a little bit stiff out of the box, but it’s just eased up a bit and got a bit bouncier. And yeah, I think you’re going to get really good durability out of the shoe, which is definitely important given how high the price is here. So, in terms of my running experience, I really can’t fault the Mega Blaster. It’s been very enjoyable for pretty much every kind of run. It’s still not the absolute best at speed just because of its kind of size, but it still performs like a plated trainer in those sessions. So, it’s just probably a bit more personal preference that I prefer a more lean shoe, maybe a slightly lower shoe, a bit more nimble around the heel for that kind of run. But when I have run fast in the Mega Blast, it’s performed well and it’s been great for cruising around in as well. Okay, so the Mega Blast. Now, we have talked a lot in the past about the Super Blast and the Super Blast 2. So, uh, comparisons with those shoes is probably going to be quite obvious. Uh, and it’s probably the easiest way to explain this shoe to be honest. Um, I think if you are looking at this shoe, it’s quite an expensive shoe. Uh if you’re looking at the shoe, you’re probably looking at it as a a newer version of the Super Blast or looking for what it brings that’s an improvement on the Super Blast 2. Um and in many ways it is very similar to the to the Super Blast 2. Uh it is a shoe that is um very well designed for um picking up the pace. Um it’s a shoe that cruises really really nicely. So, if you’re out doing a marathon pace longer run or something like that, it works really, really well. Um, and it also picks up the pace quite nicely. So, I think the bit that uh the things that you need to know about this shoe um if you’re comparing to the blast 2 is that it is very slightly softer. Not massively. I think I’ve read somewhere that it’s around 10% softer than the foam in the in the Super Blast 2. Um but it’s not massively noticeable for me. Um, it feels very similar to the um, the foam and the Super Plast 2. Um, and it’s also probably slightly more aggressive as well for me. Um, which when it works alongside that, the fact that it’s slightly lighter, it makes it a bit more of a versatile shoe for me than the Super Blast 2. The Super Blast 2 is the probably the perfect shoe for going out and training longer sessions at a nice consistent pace. Say you’re going out doing a 28k marathon run, uh, training run, and you want to run it at a pace that’s close to your marathon pace. That’s a great shoe for it. It’s it’s got it’s quite wide. It’s quite stable. It’s got a lovely smooth transition, and it really helps. It’s really conducive to maintaining a consistent pace. Um, whereas I think the Mega Blast can do that. Uh, I just think it’s a bit more versatile. Um, it’s definitely a little bit poppier. It’s very slightly more aggressive. It’s not by no means an aggressive fast shoe. Uh but it definitely feels it’s it’s it you can pick up the pace. You can accelerate a little bit quicker in this shoe. Um and I’d also say that it’s probably uh on a par, if not a little bit better than the uh Super Blast 2. Uh when it comes to um easier runs as well, it just feels a little bit more fun. Um the midsole uh in the Super Blast 2 is great, but it’s very smooth. It’s not necessarily a really bouncy uh foam, whereas this is quite bouncy. uh is there’s a bit of energy return in it uh which works alongside everything else I’ve said just makes it a very poppy um nippy shoe and definitely one that you could use for a lot more. I think it’s be good for interval sessions, good for um faster shorter sessions, good for fast long sessions. It’s a very very versatile shoe that’s very enjoyable to run in and definitely a shoe that um is worth picking up if you want something to tick off a lot of runs and you do a lot of different sorts of runs. Uh I still wouldn’t say it’s it’s up there it’s as a race shoe. uh which is not it’s not designed to be a race shoe, but some people might be looking at it for that and it might be okay for certain types of runners, but um I think it for me it’s definitely a shoe that really sits into that just underneath race shoe for all those different training sessions that you’re doing. Uh whether it is long um comfortable runs at a slightly faster pace or really fast interval sessions. So really impressed with the shoe. I think it’s a nice progression of what we’ve seen from AS6 so far and it’s well worth picking up even though it’s quite expensive. I think it’s I think it’s a really really good shoe. Um, and I’ve been very much enjoying testing it. Also, the outsole is much like what you’ll have experienced in other Asex shoes. Uh, it’s this asex grip that goes across the front and the back. There’s not loads of it, and there is quite a lot of expos exposed midsole foam, which does feel a little bit delicate, but uh, it’s fairly thick rubber, so I think it will last a while. Um, so not too bad, but it’s a really grippy outsole, so it’s pretty it’s pretty good if you’re running in different conditions. On to the run test. Then in testing, I’ve spent a solid week in the Mega Blast since it landed. I’ve clocked close to 50 miles on a mix of road and river paths. I’ve done two 10 mileers. One of those where I did like a six mile progression sandwich in the middle. Uh where I moved sort of from easy pace steadily up to around 5k pace. I did a 10k with a 19minute 5k in the middle of that to test the upper pace as well. I’ve done some easy plotting hourong runs as well. Now straight out the box when I was moving at my slower pace sort of recovery or warm-up style, I wasn’t 100% convinced by the mega blast. I found the stack incredibly soft, a bit mushy, it’s a bit squidgy. There’s a lot of movement under foot. I think that creates a certain amount of instability in the shoe, which I really felt further up my chain in my knees. And it reminded me a lot of sort of how I initially felt at the very first time I put on the very original Nova Blast. Bit like the Hocus Skyward X as well. Just a bit out of control and a bit like that soft was dragging me down. Now, the longer I ran in them and the more I ticked up the gears, the less I battled that sort of slightly sludgy wobble. And there’s a pace and a form where I personally sort of engaged the shoe and benefit from the bounce of the midsole. There’s loads of that bounce, you know, where you get the energy that you put in, you kind of get it back. So, on my progression runs, the sweet spot was really the kind of middle two or three miles hovering around marathon sort of to half marathon pace. Now, I didn’t really find they had enough to excel at the sort of fastest paces when I was sort of pushing to 5ks, still just wasn’t giving me as much as I’d get from a different shoe. And then when I dropped back to easy, the soft and sinkiness returned. I just felt like I was battling the shoe again, a bit more than I would like. The lack of stability was a bit of an issue for me. I think that super compliant foam allows for a lot of movement underfoot in the sort of footed. But bear in mind that I will tend to lean towards a stiffer, snappier ride than the super soft. If you really like pillowy softness, then the Mega Blast may well be your dream come true because it is lively, is energetic, and it is super soft. Now, when I was moving around Marathon Pace, it was a whole different story. Swapping sort of sluggishness for a really light, lively, bouncy energy that felt smooth thanks to the rocker. Lighter and I think spritlier than the Super Blast as well. One last thing, I’m never really that bothered by the colors of shoes. So, I tend to run in anything, but I think this one at the moment only comes in white, all white, or this sort of wild purple pink mashup, and I think it’s somewhat limited. I’ve worn a lot of shoes to the school gates over the years, but these are the first time I actually got some comments and some strange looks whilst I was wearing them, and they weren’t really good comments or good looks. So, you know, subtle they are not. Some people might love it. It’s a bit tricky for kind of 47year-old dad to pull off at the school gates. So, yeah, I’d like more colors, please. Asics. Okay, my verdict on the AS6 Mega Blast. I think it’s a great um development of the shoes that AS6 already got, including the Super Blast 2. Uh I think it’s a little bit more versatile, the Super Blast 2. I think it’s a great shoe to have if you’re looking um to do lots of different training sessions. Whether you want a nice fun easy run, uh whether you want a long run, uh training shoe to for your marathon training, your half marathon training, or whether you’re going out and do intervals. I don’t think it’s by no means the best interval shoe out there. I think there’s there’s there’s shoes that are probably um a little bit better at picking up the pace. And it’s pretty light as well. It’s it’s it’s not massively lighter than shoes like the Super Blast 2, but it is a bit lighter. Um which does make it a little bit more versatile for those different types of sessions. So, great shoe. Uh, very versatile shoe, very enjoyable, fun shoe. Um, and yeah, it’s got a lot going for it. I really, really like this. I think it’s going to be a very popular shoe. Um, and I think the changes or the developments in this shoe against some of the other shoes from AS6 like the Super Blast 2 are really, really good. And um, it’s definitely a slight improvement in in a lot of ways. Verdict then? And the AS6 Mega Blast is undoubtedly a good shoe that builds on the Super Blast with a lightness, an energy added raciness that definitely gives it a dose of added marathon and half marathon training and racing potential. I think a lot of runners, particularly those who love a big stack with sort of super soft, bouncy ride, are going to really love this shoe. though if you need stability. I also think that this could be a risky investment if you’re going to use it for the slower paces because the flip of that more sort of fun foam I think is a lot of wobble when you’re moving slower. So I’m kind of in two minds about this shoe. To me it runs very differently depending on your pace. At a slow and easy or sort of top end fast pace I find it struggles a bit. It’s too soft for me when I’m landing slower and heavier. I get loads of sort of road taming kind of sync from that big compliant midsole but not enough return. When it comes to 5k pace, I think there are better shoes out there as well that I’d choose to do those sort of really sort of all out or faster training sessions. The Endorphin Speed 5, the Sonic Blast, actually I think is a better shoe for it. The Rebel V5, even the Hoka Rocket X3, the Mac X, those shoes definitely I would choose over this. But then when you hit the pace sweet spot with this shoe, which I find is around kind of marathon pace, it’s excellent. It’s smooth. It’s energetic. It’s an excellent road eater that will clip along happy for miles and miles and miles. I can see people, some people at least racing a marathon in these as a non-plated option and find there’s enough performance to do that. It reminded me somewhat of like a Brooks Hyperion Max 3 for that. It’s kind of cushioned and it gives energy when you go at it. But however, my instinct tells me that as a shoe to add to my rotation, I’d probably choose the Sonic Blast first over these. For most of the runs I would do or most of the runs that the Mega Blast would cater for, I think the Sonic Blast would be a better choice for me. Though I can happily run easy in a firmer, stiffer, snappier shoe. I don’t tend to need that big trampoline softness even when I’m moving slower. I actually prefer something that returns a bit faster even on tired legs. But if you really like that real kind of sink and you want the bounce and you’re happy with a bit of movement, I think the Mega Blast is definitely good shoe. It’s pricey. You know, it’s a Can you do everything in this one shoe for your training and racing for a marathon? I’m not sure I can. Some people may be able to. If you can do that, then the 200 odd pounds that you’re going to pay for it, you know, could be an investment in a one shoe, you know, rotation killer kind of way, getting just rid of all of those other shoes that you might have in the mix for training and racing for a marathon. It it can’t do that for me. And therefore, I think, you know, when I look at how much it costs for someone like me, I don’t think it represents great value. I think I can get better from other shoes. Um, so yeah, it’s a middling from me. It’s like not a thumbs up, it’s not a thumbs down. I love it when I’m moving at marathon pace. I’m not so sure outside of that. And then when you throw in the price, I think it just feels a little bit expensive for just having it for those kind of runs. So, verdict on the ASX Mega Blast. Look, I really do love the shoe. I think it’s a very good running shoe all around. I’ve loved running in it. Every kind of run I’ve done in it has been a joy and I actually like it a bit more than the Super Blast 2, which I always thought was a really good shoe, an impressive shoe that one that just didn’t quite cater to my preferences. And the Mega Blast does that a little bit better by having a slightly smoother heel transition and being a bit lighter and a little bit poppier. And yeah, works really well for me across a range of runs. Certainly a shoe that I’d love to have in a rotation to do everything, but the big stumbling block here is certainly the price cuz I think it is just too expensive to really recommend highly the Mega Blast. I think you’re going to get a very durable shoe here. So that will recoup some of the cost. But then there are really good shoes like the Adas EvoL which are not only a lot cheaper, but have proved very durable in my testing so far as well. So, while I love the Mega Blast, I think you’re going to be able to find better value out there for sure. Not not least in just the Super Blast 2, which is a great shoe, I don’t like, you know, quite as much as the Mega Blast, but it’s still somehow cheaper. And in particular, there’s this band of shoes that now that are around that kind of £150 mark or less, where you’ve got things like the Adas Evo, which is a phenomenal lightweight, fast training shoe that’s good for easy runs as well. You know, it’s not as cushioned and stable as the Mega Blast, but it is a better performer at speed, I would say. It’s Pum Velocity Nitro 4, another narrow shoe that’s maybe not the most stable, but a really comfortable daily trainer with a great foam in the midsole that responds well to a range of paces as well. The New Balance Rebel V5 is a wide stable shoe, but a very light one. Even lighter, you know, than the Mega Blast. Like the foam in that is not as good as the Mega Blast in terms of the amount of response you get there. And I didn’t like it quite so much for speed the Rebel, but hell of a lot cheaper. Another really good shoe. Even the A6 Nova Blast, which is more of a cushioned, easy shoe than the Mega Blast. It’s not as versatile, but you know, again, a lot cheaper, big, stable, great daily trainer with a pretty good foam in the midsole. And all of those shoes are coming in at a price, but you can kind of almost buy two of them for the price of the Mega Blast. And if you did just pick up the Puma Velocity Nitro 4 and the Adidas Evos or even the Rebel and then the Adidas if you want that wide stable shoe like the Rebel in there for easy days, then you’re getting two shoes for the price of one. And they’re really, really good shoes all around. And then if you go a bit more expensive to really versatile shoes that can match the Mega Blast performance across a range of runs, plated trainers again they’re considerably cheaper. The Hokam Mac X2 X3 we’re testing at the moment. The Nike SoFly 6 sock endorphin speed 5 as Sonic Blast I don’t like as much as the Mega Blast I would say. I found that a bit slappy with the plate in the midsole with this foam and ended up feeling a bit too firm for me and that feeling hasn’t gone away even with quite a lot of miles on the shoe. So do prefer the Mega Blast to that but Zoomfly 6 fantastic shoe you know really impressive performer across a range of speeds. a cheaper Hok X3, X2, the same. So, it’s just a bit too much, I think, is the problem here. And while it is a special shoe, I think actually on merit, it probably lives up to its price tag in many ways. Like, it’s a really durable shoe, a really versatile one, but there are loads of amazing shoes available for less that can match its performance, which just means that the Mega Blast is one that I wouldn’t brush out and buy as much as I have enjoyed running in it. I’ve racked up loads of miles, and I’ll probably continue to rack up those miles, but no running shoe is launched in a vacuum, and you have to sit else on the market, and there are just fantastic shoes available for a lot less. So yeah, really good shoe. Interesting to see what happens with ASE6 in the future. Whether the Super Blast 3 will be a shoe that maybe brings FF Leap, the foam from the Meta Speed Ray, into a training shoe and has a much softer feel as a result or you know how the Mega Blast and Super Blast will be positioned going forward. But yeah, brilliant shoe. Maybe it will pop up in sales one day. Never really happened with the Super Blast, did it? I think people just bought it. So, and if you do buy this, you are going to love it. I think I think it is a really good shoe. Can do so much, but yeah, bit expensive. I’d look at some other stuff first. That’s our review of the AS6 Mega Blast. Let us know what you think in the comments below. 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