ASICS Men's Gel-Venture 6 Grand Shark/Neon Lime Shoe 9 M US Review

Every morning I go for a 5-mile walk so about every 4-5 months I need a new pair of walking/running shoes. For years, I've worn shoes of another brand exclusively, because they were well made, comfortable and durable, but I ran into trouble when they needed to be replaced.I went to three local stores and was disappointed to find that every shoe in 'MY' brand was only stocked in wide or extra wide, and two of the three stores only had wide shoes. The last store only had some nice but too stiff and bulky trail running shoes and asics in normal width, and although I'd never used this brand before, I figured I'd give them a try.I normally wear a 10.5, and these gel venture 6 were a perfect fit. Another plus for these is the removable insole. I need to put a flexible steel insole in the shoe to reduce flexing of my toes because of a medical condition, so I can slip that underneath the shoe's normal insole.The day after buying them, I wore them on my daily walk and was amazed and how much more comfortable these were than any of my previous walking shoes. They felt pillow soft to walk on, with great cushioning, but they still provided excellent foot support.When that pair of shoes wore down to the point they needed to be replaced, the next pair was another gel venture 6 that I bought without even thinking of looking at another brand.The only issue I had with the shoes was that the laces are very smooth and would often untie themselves when walking, so I had to get into the habit of using a double knot when I tied the laces to prevent that from happening. Although that was an annoyance, I like these shoes so much I couldn't deduct a star because of that.

My last new pair of sneakers were finally worn out. They had lasted about 10 years, back blown out, tread worn thin. My wife and I started walking, do 2-5 miles a day, and thought it was time to buy a decent pair of shoes. These fit the bill, a bit more than I spent 10 years ago, but looked sturdy. And they are. So many shoes I have seen seem to be one piece of molded foam. I buy them for my kids, they wear out as fast as they outgrow them. These are a bit heavier, but seem like they should hold up. The tread is substancial, almost boot like. Although much of my walking is sidewalks, we do get snow up here, and I do a bit of lighter hiking. I am thinking, if I were a runner, I might think they were a bit heavy, mainly because of the tread. They are supposed to have gel in them, probably do, but not super squishy like my kids shoes. I am up to about 20 miles with them, no break in time needed, fit perfectly, and very comfortable out of the box for my walking.

Good cushion and comfort and stability. We’ll see how they wear before giving five stars.

Out of the countless items I've bought from amazon through the years, I never would've expected a pair of shoes to be the crowning purchase to persuade me to write my first review, but here's why.For a living I work in a factory under the job title of "Services", what this means pretty much is I'm an assistant supervisor. For example I keep track of cut numbers, sizes, bundle count, product progression, product disposal, mechanical issues, on spot inspection, the list goes on. There's 60 some people from the start of my production lines, to the end, spanned around 26 different sections/stations that I watch over and maintain throughout the day. Everything from moving material/machines, to even going and getting them drinks and snacks. Essentially what all this boils down to is I walk, a LOT. I'm talking you see those Dr Scholl commericals where it's like "John walks 16,000 steps a week and to help protect his feet and back he uses Dr Scholls" and I literally laugh because I do 15,000 steps before my first break at 9 in the morning. I average 25-30 miles a day walking that concrete floor. I've tried almost every pair of insoles, shoes, and the like that you can think of sold between Walmart, Shoe Show, Boot Barn, and beyond. Now here's the reason I'm writing this first ever review...These Asics Gel-Venture 6 shoes are the FIRST and ONLY shoes that I've literally taken them out of the box, put them on, and managed to walk my full shift without having to change insoles or shoes all together. THERE IS NO BREAK IN TIME, they fit perfectly right out the box. I put them on at 5 AM the morning after I got them, and didn't take them off till my shower that night. Not only did they stay comfortable all day during work, but they kept my feet so supported and comfortable that I didn't take them off soon as I got through the door. That's saying a lot, cause even the $200+ dollar pair of work boots I have WITH a 100+ dollar set of doctor prescribed orthopedic insoles in them doesn't make it that far, yea they get me through work day pretty good but they come off soon as I hit the bedroom. These right here I didn't even have to change the "factory" insoles in. I literally took them out of the box, tied them onto my feet and was gone. My feet stayed nice and dry, they didn't fatigue or start straining halfway through the day, nothing.NOW, I will admit, there are some downsides for me and they are as follows:I do work in a factory, and these Asics, as amazingly close to perfection as they are, they are made out of a leather/cloth combination. Slipping a 2,000 pound loaded palletjacket over the toe of these will probably result in toothpaste toes compared to the nice sturdy steel toe of my boots. They aren't waterproof by ANY means. They do have really good grip BUT they are not slip resistant or oil resistant. Luckily my job doesn't require these factors, infact my job doesn't require anything other than "closed toe" footwear hence why I figured I'd give these badboys a try after having several coworkers recommend I get a pair. Another "downside" I would say, and this is more so just personal preference really is, I wish they made medium/hightop versions of these shoes, the extra ankle support would be amazing with these shoes. But yea, if these are requirements you need then you might want to keep looking however personally, I'd say find you a different job where you can wear a pair of these cause they are that amazing, Straight Out The Box!!

These are some good looking shoes. I love new balance they fit great I was just wearing them yesterday.