ASICS Men's GEL-Fuji Racer Running Shoe

I wanted something I could use "off road" at the local nature center paths. I have tried a wide variety of shoes over the past year running the gamut from traditional cushioned to full minimal vibram's and Merrell's. The Kinvara 2's have become my favorites and the shoe I compared all others to now. The Gel Racer's compare as well as anythign else I have tried. They have a very simialr feel to the Kinvara's. They are quite as lightweight and have a little greater heel drop differential, but they feel very similar on the foot.The Gel Racer's are supposed to weigh in at around 8.8 oz in a Men's 9 which is about 2 oz's more than the Kinvara's but still on the lightweight side of things as far as shoes go. The heel to toe drop is approx. 6mm which is less then most traditioanl shoes (10-14mm) but more then a true minimal which is usually (0-2mm). 6mm is a good compromise in my opinion. I wear size 12's and that is what I order here. I found the fit to be spot on and these are very comfortable.The upper is well made. Seems to be better quality than the Kinvara's. The heel offers gel cushioning which doesn't mean as much to me as I tend to run more on my midfoot and forefoot these days, but even on hard roads the rear of the shoe is very comfortable. The forefoot is not really that well padded, again in line with minimalism. The material is much tougher than that found on the kinvara. There is a rock plate enclosed as well. On actual trails the traction is great and padding fine. On hard road surfaces the padding isn't quite there if you are going on longer runs on a purely paved trail. 5k-8k or so is fine but I don't know if I would go longer on a hard surface. Again though this is a trail shoe and on grass and dirt or a mix of trail/pavement this is a great shoe. I have run an 8k trail race in it in addition to training with it and the shoe performed very well.Color is nice as well. I went with the purple, black, yellow and it looks great. Overall a great shoe for trail racing.

I only do light trail running and just finished a mud run in these.Cons:1) Fits a little small. Especially in the upper just behind the toebox area on the top. Basically the first shoelace. I've done the trick of flipping the shoelace over in the way it ties and so now with very thin socks, it works well. The rest of the shoe is true to size. I am currently wearing my true to size as I did try upsizing, but found that the place where the shoe bends wouldn't match my foot. So I deal with the slightly tight fit but just leaving the laces loose up front and tight at the ankle.2) A little stiff in the sole. This shoe does have a light rock plate along with a one piece outsole which stiffens the whole thing up. This isn't too bad a thing, but I would prefer a little more flexibility under the ball of the foot.3) Picks up water fast. This is related to its ability to also drain it fast. See below.4) Upper is rough. Rough enough that along with the tight upper (see above), I have to wear thin polyester wicking socks, otherwise I develop blisters within 2.5 miles. I prefer sockless, but in the case of trail running where sand and pebbles can fall into your shoe no matter what, I guess running in socks is fine.Pros:1) Light for a trail shoe.2) Heel drop feels even lower than the 6mm spec. Feels more like a 4-5mm spec. This allows me to run very naturally.3) Supportive but light. I'm not too worried about twisting my ankle or having my foot slip around much in this shoe.4) Good protection for trails. Toe bumper is strong enough for most toe-stubbing rocks and the mesh is like triple layered so scratches against shrubs and the like won't cut you. The Asics logo itself is also good support and protection as it's firm.5) Drains water FAST. It's got 4 holes in the bottom of the sole and the sock liner is perforated. So if you go fully immersed in water, it'll fill up and after maybe 400 meters after as you squish squish squish it out with each step, the water is nearly gone. It's mostly your sock keeping water at that point and I haven't found it too unbearable.6) Stylish? I didn't like the purple yellow Laker scheme in the beginning but it grew on me and I've gotten compliments.7) Durable and cleans super fast. I've hosed it out after every single run and the thing doesn't feel broken down at all and looks brand spanking new.

These are my first trail running shoes, so I can't really compare to other than my regular running shoes. Overall, I'm really pleased with them, completed my first 10K run with no complaints at all! The shoes are very light, comfortable, and look good. I had to run across a couple of streams, and the shoes didn't soak up much water and dried pretty fast. They're definitely minimalist in design, as you can feel the terrain under your feet, but I prefer that for trail running. The tread is not too extreme, so you have good grip in most surfaces, from street to gravel to mud. However, I'm thinking these are probably not suitable for more extreme trail races.I did notice the shoes to be a tad smaller than I though, so I recommend getting about a half-size larger than you usually wear. But overall, I totally recommend these and would not hesitate to buy another pair!

I don't know the difference of the Fuji Racer 3 but these were half the price. To keep it short, true to size but felt like it was a little snug in the width until I got about 0.5 miles in on my first run and it seemed to stretch a little to become perfect. No real break in needed. They were light, great traction on the trails, and surprisingly comfortable on payment too. I did feel some of the bigger rocks but over all I love this shoe and for the price, can't beat it!Update as of 9/1/14- logged over 150 miles with these on a moderate trail and recently used them in the Virginia Super Spartan (8 miles of aggressive terrain). Love the light feel and the water drainage was amazing! Grip was great on almost every portion of the race but I was slipping on some of the steeper inclines (the race was in the mountains and it was raining) while my friend was not slipping at all in the Salomon Speedcross 3 (granted his shoes cost over $100). Still love the shoe and think it is a great buy with great function for everyday moderate terrain trail running. If you are looking for a shoe to run aggressive trails, spend a little more for an Inov-8 X-talon or Salomon SpeedCross.