ASICS Women's Gel-Kahana 8 Trail Runner

Love these. Have been looking for some shoes that don't make my tendons or knees hurt. I tend to overpronate.I have tried on many brands and styles.After I went to the Asics website and answered the few questions to determine the best ones for me.Narrowed it down to these and the Kayanos. The Kayanos were ok, but not as perfect as these.These felt great as soon as they were on. After a few weeks of wear, I determined that the insole was a bit narrow in the heel for my feet.There was a little pain on the inner side of my right heel. It occurred not as much during the wearing of the shoes, but for the rest of the day after wearing them.So today, I got out my old favorite shoes (New Balance Vazee) and took out that insole. The side by side of the two insoles showed me the old ones had a slightly wider and not as sturdy heel area. Popped the old insoles into the new Asics and there was much happiness and no more pain. I might eventually get some new insoles and see how that works. The might even be better.The fit of the shoes is great. The size is exactly what i expected. The colors of the green and orange are very bright. The tread in incredible. I got them for walking the dog as we tend to walk most offroading and thru grass/dirt. There was a bit of slippage on the first day of wearing when we walked off of damp grass to cement, but that didn't happen again. The tread does not pick up rocks and such like other shoes can. The shoe itself seems very well constructed. I imagine that I will wear down the tread from use on sidewalks before the rest of the shoe gets worn out.Walking through damp grass your toes and socks will get wet eventually. Not immediately, like some shoes I have that are more mesh in the front, but pretty soon. These don't look used as fast as others either. I guess with the color/fabric you can walk through dirt, just cut damp grass and dirt and (after they dry and get a brush off) they still look pretty new.

I really like these shoes, the fit, the color, the style. Just all of it! I love to walk daily, trying to get 10,000 steps each day I walk. The comfort level is perfect for me.

These shoes fit me like a glove. There is arch support and it hugs my arch and foot nicely! The soles and walls are constructed well. The toe box has room without being too roomy. I feel very confident on dirt trails, like I won't slip and my foot won't turn inside the shoe. I hike in these, and run in these. I will be buying another pair when these ones die. Its been a long time since I've found a shoe that feels like it was made more me. And they are cute! FYI, I have normal width feet, but slightly wider toe knuckles, and I collapse my arch when I run. I need a good shoes and I'm super active.

I love ASICS for work. They are durable, comfortable, and AFFORDABLE! I love that this brand offers affordable alternatives for its consumers. I am a nurse who is on their feet all day and this shoe comes through during my very busy day. Being that they are affordable I am able to purchase 2-3 per year and I will continue to do so...

Great gravel trail walker. Stable shoe. Comfort n support. Looks great. Grip good. Just need longer laces.

This is my second pair. I also have the greenish/gray pair purchased at a department store and available on Amazon as well.I developed heel pain and plantar fasciitis wearing sneakers that had a minimal arch and were too wide for my narrow heel across the whole back of my foot. I basically had little support. The heel problem developed slowly until one day my left foot let me know time was up for the shoes I was wearing. One day OK, next day, Yikes!! I researched my problem then went to a store carrying lots of brands of shoes to try on while my foot was painful. Was so pleased to find these. There is an approval seal from the American Podiatric Medical Assn on the box. I hoped they could help and they have. They are tight and narrow across my heel and have lots of support. I held up all my pairs that caused this problem to compare the backs with the ASICS. Unbelievable. The old ones were at least twice as wide. Inside I also slide in an orthodic with a great arch and bottom padding right on top of the arch in the bottom liner that is built in there, although with a good orthodic maybe you wouldn’t need the liner and it can come out. Lots of places have inexpensive orthodics as does Amazon to try. They are worth a try. They all are a little different and I tried four different brands. Found the one I liked the best. Mine have a deep heel cup and good arch. I think using an orthodic will be trial and error for everyone or maybe you wouldn’t need one at all, but I have to say these shoes along with the orthodic insert have really worked. It will take a while to heal so my research says, but at least now I’m not limping, I’ve resumed my normal activities (I’m a daily walker), and along with some easy exercises for this problem and occasional recommended ice packs in the evening, I feel that I’m on the road to recovery. Things are definitely better and with two pairs of these shoes now I have a choice! Hope my experience helps someone else. Remember though it’s a slow recovery.

I've been wearing Kahana 8 for almost 3 months on an almost-daily basis. I am not a runner; I'm an overweight, middle-aged woman with plantar fasciitis and I wear them to work, for errands, and to chase my 2 (age 2 & 3) grandsons. Very comfortable and also sturdy. I previously thought the GT2000 was my "sole"mate but the last 2 pairs have split at my little toe after only a few months and I refuse to spend over $90 on a shoe that only lasts 3 months at best. I was ready to leave Asics until I ran across the Kahana 8 . It appears to be similar in support to the GT2000 (intended for moderate over-pronators) but built much sturdier. It's a slightly heavier shoe than GT2000 which is to be expected of something that has more to the upper than just stretch mesh, but not clunky or clumsy. It has plenty of room in the toe box with a snug, well-fitted heel. The shoe feels roomy but not sloppy. Comfortable cushioning without feeling mushy. I normally wear a 6 1/2 so, as with my previous Asics, I bought a 7 and the fit is correct. The fit and comfort is great. So far they're holding up well. If they last a reasonable length of time I will certainly repurchase. I'll update my review if they disappoint me in the next few months, but so far so good.

Summary: it has very poor grip on slick smooth surfaces. I had ASICS venture 5s before this and I never slid on my wet porch with those. These? I've nearly fallen several times and did fall once. I can't tell you why that is, only that it is.Issue #2: There is sufficient padding under and above where your feet go. There's no padding at all next to your toes. In fact as far as I can tell it's bare thread where rubber is sewn to the fabric top. It's killing my toes. (side note if anyone has a solution for this please lmk, I'd love to use the shoes.) At first I thought maybe the shoe was a bit too small and maybe I'm having issues with ingrown toenails but I'm not. There's adequate room in the shoe where my feet are not scrunched against the sides and my toenails are no worse than normal. I'm certain its from the lack of padding and the bare thread.All in all absolutely not worth the few more bucks from the venture 5's. I only bought them in the hope that they would last longer than my 5's did. The tread's already starting to ware despite me not using them for most hikes but it does look like the tread is much deeper and will last longer. The exterior of the shoe looks very sturdy for the price. The interior of the shoe? I don't know but I can tell the heel padding is getting smashed down. I had a similar problem with my 5s and eventually the whole fabric back there wore out leaving me with nothing but rubber (which of course leads to blisters!)I had my 5s for about a year and a half of near daily use. I would expect these kahana 8's to last a little longer based on build alone but there's really not much point if they're too painful to wear. I've had these about 2 months.Pros: They are a pretty shoe with an attractive design. The toe and heel fit just right. The arch is sufficient for those of us who don't have flat feet. The size is as advertised. It gets great grip on dirt and gravel. Aside from the toe issue they are very comfortable.All of that is moot if I'm hurting myself to wear them though.I wanted to like these shoes, I still want to like these shoes, but I can't figure out a way to get around the toe issue. And if I can't deal with that I can't keep wearing these shoes.