ASICS Men's Gel-Rocket 8 White/Black/Silver 14 D US Review

The shoes arrived as advertised, on time and correct size. I am 6' 2", 240lb male and these shoes are standing up to my weight as I hoped. I used to buy Asics exclusively when I was younger and this pair was my first pair of Asics in decades. In the past I used to pay the premium price for them and if anything went wrong with them I would have been able to return them to my local retailer (never had issues with Asics). These shoes are definitely produced with lesser quality materials and the stitching on them looks less tight. However, I believe they will last me one year of competitive volleyball playing, so I will not mind buying another pair for this price if I need to. If they last two seasons of playing, even better! :) The shoes are stable and offer awesome control due to the grip surface at the front of the shoe (the yellow rubber). Torsion resistance of the mid-sole offers perfect support for my weight and style of game (I can't stand still, hardly ever flat-footed on the ground) Sizing was spot on fit for my foot (size 13). My foot is wider than most but these shoes, even though they were not the "wide fit", fit my foot very comfortably. They were broken in during a three hour evening of volleyball pick up games and did not create any pressure points or discomfort at all. The shoe inserts that came in this shoe provide decent support, but will most likely be replaced with a gel insert. My hat is off to the producers of this shoe for the look, control, comfort and fit, I just hope they last this season. I will update this review in a few weeks again.

Great shoes. Great for volleyball

This is my first pair of volleyball shoes that I've ever purchased, even though I've played for nearly 10 years. I've own Asics before for running, so I knew how they typically run for sizing. My feet are 9.5/10 in Nikes, but when I had my previous pair of Asics, the 9.5 was a little wide. Knowing this, I went onto their website and actually measured my foot and sized it with their chart. When I did this, I was able to accurately size my foot to a 9.5. Once these came in, I threw them on and they fit perfectly. My feet are hard to size in general, so I was pleasantly shocked that they fit so well. I had about a thumbs width at the toe and the width was perfect (and true to size according to their size chart).As for feel during movements, I can't express how comfortable they are when landing/lateral movement. When going for digs, kills, and sets, it responds seamlessly. Traction is never an issue, unless the court is dirty. The wide flared edge helps when moving along the net and quick change of directions off tips.Overall, this shoe great (I went with the red, white, and blue combo) and performs even better. I would definitely recommend this shoe to any beginner or higher level player. As a setter, this shoe does everything I need it to do plus more.

As other have noted, the size is a little bigger than standard. That worked out well for me, however because I added a 1/8" insole of Poron 4000 to boost the shock absorption, and that made them fit perfectly. There is no EVA insert in these shoes... instead there is a single thick piece of fairly firm rubber glued in place. Fortunately you can still pull it up without ruining anything. At the age of 59, I need more shock absorption in my shoes to play racquetball without hurting my feet – the Poron is perfect (you can buy a roll here on Amazon... great stuff and way cheaper if you cut your own inserts).The materials seem only okay – they have the hard plastic feel of cheaper materials. I'm hard on gym shoes and tear them up too quickly if they are made too cheaply. I'm not expecting these to last very long, sadly.

Excellent shoes. They are right when they say the shoes makes a difference. My knee was hurting when I did any sort of running, climbing stairs, etc. I figured that I would try to play badminton with a brace and these shoes. I play for 2 hours a week. I used the brace once with these shoes and had no issues with my knee. The next time forgot to bring the brace and tried playing. Surprisingly, I felt comfortable without a brace and my knee didn’t hurt as expected. After about a month of playing without a brace and these shoes, I can actually run after shots and bend my knees to get the low shots. These shoes changed my perception on my joint health and got me back into playing.After a little more than a month I already feel my game improved to how it was when I was 30 (20 years ago). My goal is to get back to when how I was playing when I was 20.My wife gets the credit here since she said it’s better to spend less than hundred on shoes than spending thousands on surgery.

Pros-- Light and comfortable. My 10.5's fit as expected.-- Works great with my Active Ankle T2's for volleyball. Other gym shoes tend to have high or stiff sides that pressed on the hinges.-- Great price for the quality.Con-- At first the bottom of the shoe felt thinner than other Nikes I've had. Almost like I was standing on the gym floor barefoot. After a few weeks of breaking in, I don't even notice it anymore.Recommend?: -Yes.

I am really happy with my purchase of these Asics volleyball shoes. I bought them to wear when I play pickleball. I had been wearing tennis shoes, but I read that for the indoor courts that I play pickleball on, shoes made for volleyball would be better. They are lighter and less expensive (but presumably also less durable) than tennis shoes.One concern I had before ordering these were whether or not they would be wide enough for my wide feet. In other brands, I typically wear a EEE or even a EEEE. These shoes only came in one width, and my understanding was that it was a D width. I was prepared to return them if they did not fit, but as it turns out, they are comfortable. Most importantly, I do feel as if they provide excellent traction. I would order these again.