About

Asics Gel Kayano 5: a shoe built around the human body

Most sneaker lines are named after a technique or a place. Not this one. Kayano is a surname: Toshikazu Kayano, the Asics designer who started the line in 1993. With the fifth generation, from 1999, he went a step further than just attaching his name. Kayano said he based the upper on human anatomy, on bone structure, muscles and organs.

That sounds like a hindsight story until you look at the shoe. The panels don’t sit neatly next to each other but overlap in irregular shapes, like layers of tissue over a skeleton. The forefoot panel has open windows with a mesh inside, and the tongue is tear-shaped: wide at the bottom, narrow at the top. The latter was a real intervention, intended to work with the lacing system to secure the midfoot better.

Under the foot is where the line gets its name. GEL is pressed in large letters into the sole wall at the heel, and the midsole runs in an S-wave from heel to forefoot. This was a stability shoe for long distances, built in the years when running shoes still showed their technology on the outside.

Note two designations on this page. OG means the version follows the original construction from 1999. And the Gel Kayano 5 360 is a separate variant with its own page, although a few are listed here too; that one has an all-around continuous sole construction.

Furthermore, this is one of the most frequently reworked Asics models. On this page are versions with Vivienne Westwood, Awake NY, Reigning Champ and Chemist Creations. Those looking for the broader line should check Gel Kayano or the newer Gel Kayano 14; those who want the same spirit in a different model should look at the Gel-NYC.

On this page you can see which versions of the Asics Gel Kayano 5 are hottest now according to the Hypescore, at what price they can be found and in how many shops they are in stock.