ASICS Men's GEL-Venture 5 Trail Runner

I originally purchased a pair just to walk around in, but ended up taking for a jog while traveling, and a couple years ater I have bought about 4 pairs.Before you think, 4 pairs in 2 years, that sucks, let me explain. I am pretty heavy for my height and put a pounding on a shoe. When i was much lighter and ran distance and XC, a pair of asic gel lite trainers would last me about 3-5 mo before being completely broken down. thats insole, upper, and outsole all showing wear and degradation. fast forward 20 years, and i dont run distance, but I do cross train among other things, boxing. Now conventional wisdom says running shoes are not for cross training, let alone boxing, and i generally agree- softer EVA midsoles and cool tread patterns for running aren't designed for heavy static loads and twisting pivot motions of boxing. But after doing it anyway, I found that this shoe was built like a tank, and could take the abuse.The fact that i had to ditch my first pair completely grimed up (saltwater, sweat, and mud) without any wear showing on the outsole or upper tell you its a tough shoe for the price. With the second pair. I had started more volume in the gym and after almost a year the pair i have is pretty compressed but still comfortable, with not a single part out of place. So this round I bought 2 pair to allow me to alternate, which you should do if you train daily, as it prolongs the life of your shoe a bit more than if you wore them every day.so in summary, i think this is a great all around shoe, probably not best for high volume road miles, but great for walking, and GP workout if you like the runner fit for that work. Solid construction, good lateral stability, and medium heel and low forefoot cushion.

I have a tendency to invert my right foot which causes my foot to slide sideways off my shoe. I searched through at least 100 different athletic shoes to try to find one that would adequately stabilize my foot and keep my right foot from sliding laterally off my bike peddle. I saw these and thought that the overall construction would do the trick but was almost put off by the low price, thinking that if it is 1/3 to 1/2 the cost of my usual brand shoe that I would be getting less quality in architectural support. I have now gone a few hundred miles in these and am delighted with their construction, comfort/fit and durability. Another plus is that they stay tied! I do not have to double knot these.UPDATE 6/6/2020: I am STILL in this shoe with more than a thousand cycling miles. I like it so much I bought another pair that are sitting, unused, on the shelf in my closet because I just can't seem to wear out the original pair. I am on my 50th cycling workout for this year and the shoe is like new. Comfortable with good support.

I've been happily running in various ASICS running shoes for over 20 years, like the DS-1000 & 2000, Gel-Kahana, and DS-Trainer (my fave, but too expensive for my needs these days). I'm an 8-1/2 in street shoes but have always sized a half size up with my ASICS shoes, to a 9-D, and the fit has usually been perfect. The only exceptions, interestingly my two most recent pairs of ASICS, were the Gel-Kahana, which was just a tad too large, and the DS-1000, which was a bit too narrow.It was time for a new pair and I'd read good things about the Gel-Venture, so I ordered a pair of 9-Ds from Amazon (after trying them on in a local store to make sure the size was right). But when I got them, I could immediately tell that they were too narrow, and they actually hurt one foot that's slightly bigger than the other. I thought that maybe my feet had swelled due to the heat wave we've been having here, and waited a few more days to try them again, but no difference. Same thing several days later.So I'm going to be sending them back for a refund. Pity, as I really liked the shoes otherwise, and I do mostly trail running these days. However, when I saw that the same model, but in a wider 9-4E, had just jumped down in price here, I decided to order those and try them out. I get them in a couple of days. Hopefully, they'll fit much better and I'll keep them. Sadly, they're not available in my preferred color scheme, but I guess you can't have everything!I'll post an update when I get the new pair and try them on. Bottom line, though, some ASICS shoes appear to run even smaller and/or narrower than they usually do. Perhaps my feet have just gotten bigger. But I had the same exact problem with a pair of DS-1000's that I bought last year, so who knows.UPDATE: I ended up ordering a wide pair and they turned out to be too wide. And by the time they arrived, the first pair was now fitting me just fine. I think I know what the problem was. It's been incredibly hot and humid here in the northeast all summer, and I found out that such weather can make feet swell. That was almost certainly the case with me. Once it cooled down a bit and I tried them on again, they fit perfectly. I returned the second, wide pair, and tried running in the original, standard width pair.They had slightly less arch support than I'm used to, but then they're listed as Neutral, not Stability shoes, so that makes sense. It took a little getting used to, but now I like running in them, on paved and unpaved surfaces (grass, trails, dirt paths, etc.) I wouldn't call these hard-core trail shoes, for long trail runs on poorly maintained trails with roots, rocks, streams, etc. But for casual off-road running they're more than adequate. Plus they're light and cushiony enough for paved surface running. They're also good for walking around.Ironically, they're actually a bit too large sometimes, when I'm wearing very thin socks, so I insert an old pair of orthotics to make them fit properly. With thicker socks I don't need the orthotics. I'm wondering how they'll perform when it starts to get cooler, over fallen leaves, snow, ice, etc., when traction is important. But, overall, I like them so far.