About

Asics Gel Nimbus: named after a cloud, never retired

The Gel Nimbus has been the softest-cushioned running shoe in the Asics range since 1999, and the line has never been interrupted: the generation number is now well into the twenties. That makes this page different from a retro — you’re not looking at reissues of a single design, but at a line that takes a new form every year. Recent generations have their own pages, such as the Nimbus 24 and the Nimbus 25.

Recently the name has taken on a double life, and you can see that on this page. Besides the ongoing running line, Asics is bringing back old generations as fashion models in stores: the Nimbus 9 and variants like the 10.1 and the 101 bring back the chrome of the late 2000s. The style code reveals which of the two you have — the true running generations carry codes starting with 1011B or 1012B, the street reissues start with 1201A or 1203A.

The photos tell the same story. On a fresh generation FF BLAST+ is printed on the sole and the characteristic stripes on the flank are thinned to a stitched open frame on soft knit: the gel has largely moved inward. The revived Nimbus 9 does the opposite — it displays its cushioning in glossy windows and wears a heel badge with GEL-NIMBUS and the generation number on it, like a nameplate.

Within Asics the roles are clearly divided. The Nimbus is the soft, neutral long-distance runner; anyone seeking support for inward-rolling feet should look to the Gel Kayano; and anyone who prefers the archive as a remix looks to the Gel-NYC. Three routes, one brand, and this page is the softest of the three.

Practical choice is simple here: for miles take the highest number you can find, for style choose a low number with visible cushioning. The titles on this page almost always include the generation number.

On this page you can see which versions of the Asics Gel Nimbus are currently hottest according to the Hypescore, the starting price, and how many shops have them in stock.

Which Asics Gel Nimbus gives off the strongest hype signal?

The Hypescore reads the signal strength of every Asics Gel Nimbus colorway. Community votes, resale movement, search demand and scarcity together decide how much hype a sneaker gives off, expressed in GSv. On the left the strongest hype signals, on the right the colorways just being picked up and rising fast.