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Asics GT-2160: the mid-range model that steals the show

In Asics’ hierarchy the GT series was never the flagship: that was the Gel Kayano. The GT range was the sensible mid-range option for runners seeking support without a flagship price tag. That unpretentious shoe from the late 2000s has returned as a fashion item since 2023 — and outside the running store it proves to have more presence than many a flagship.

The details explain why. In the heel the gel window sits exposed, with a warm glow inside. Over the mesh of the upper lies a cage of thin, parallel piping lines that sweep around the panels, and on the heel panel GT-2160 is printed next to a row of short stripes, like a barcode. Turn the shoe over and you see the split sole with a plastic bridge under the midfoot — technology that at the time was meant to curb torsion and is now mainly considered attractive.

The 2160 sits in the middle of the Asics archive web. The Gel-NYC is the remix that borrows parts from this very model, the Gel-1130 is the older, more angular neighbour, and the Gel-Kayano 14 is the baroque king of the same era. Put these four side by side and you see one design school with four temperaments — and the 2160 is the calmest of them.

Here too the style code reveals the character: the codes on this page begin with 1203A, the numbering Asics uses for its sport-style reissues — the same pattern as with the reissued Nimbus generations. A single collaboration (such as with designer Cecilie Bahnsen) appears among them, but the core of this page is the regular, wide release.

On this page you can see which variants of the Asics GT-2160 are currently hottest according to the Hypescore, from which price they can be found and in how many shops they are in stock.