Fuji Trainer
I’ve been running on the Asics Fuji Trainer trail running shoes, part of their trail runner Fuji line. The Fuji Trainer is a wild styled blue beast, and my first experience with Asics and the Gel tech that differentiates them from their competitors. I was mainly running on the Trainers in the hills of Kanton Zurich behind my house, which is primarily loose trail with small rocks, a little asphalt, tree roots, running up and down tree cover paths, and about 300m of elevation gain over a 10km run (on average).
Asics Fuji Trainer Initial Thoughts
I like shoes that look cool, can’t help it, and the Fuji Trainers have an appealing aggressive style. That doesn’t mean they’ll be good for running with, but it makes a nice impression when you open the box for the first time. One of my favorite shoes of all time the Onitsuka Tiger, specifically the Ultimate 81 style. That shoe hugs my foot like a glove and has just a enough room in front of my toes to be comfortable and functional. I consider the Ultimate 81 10.5 US to be my near perfect shoe size, and it’s a shame they’re not running shoes. Asics was founded by Kihachiro Onitsuka, so I might have expected the Asics Fuji Line to be the first running shoe that fits me as well as my Tigers. The fit of the Fuji Trainer is very comfortable for my foot, my heel fits securely and my toes have some wiggle room while the sides of my feet are wrapped securely in the uppers of the shoe. I don’t feel like there’s any extra material around, the shoes fit as they should.
The lacing system is the old-skool type with laces that need to be tied at the top. There’s a stretch pocket to tuck them into so they’re not flying around (similar to the lace pockets on Salomon shoes). After running on Salomon with the Kevlar speed lace system, I’m happy to run on a pair of shoes with traditional laces. You can easily tighten or loosen them and there’s no stress points, which can occur with the thin Kevlar system.
Asics Fuji Trainer Uppers and Sole
The uppers of the Fuji Trainer are constructed of the wonderful open 3D weave that I love in trail shoes, similar to the Inov8 RocLite 285 (one of my favorite off-trail aggressive shoes). The 3D structured nylon weave is the best material I’ve seen so far to give structure and breath ability to a running shoe. This means your feet keep cool when it’s hot and water drains quickly. The weave is durable in high-stretch areas, and naturally stretches with an equal stiffness in three directions due to the hexagonal structure. I consider it to be one of the best materials to use for a light-weight trail shoe. The sole wraps up over the toe area, providing a stiffness buffer to frontal impacts, and there is minimal protection around the frontal toe region.
The sole of the Trainer is flexible and stream-lined, as you would expect on a minimalist design. You don’t have edges sticking out of the rear heel or on the side of the sole, a design philosophy employed on shoes like the Salomon Crossmax XR and Mission trainers. I still haven’t figured out exactly why the extended edges are used, I think the idea is that it somehow helps the shoe grip the ground during the heel strike. I like a streamlined design philosophy for a trail shoe because there’s less surface area around the edge of the shoe to randomly catch on rocks or roots if I’ve descending fast down a trail.
Asics Fuji Trainer Tread Design
The forefront treads are angled along the direction of the foot, while below the heel they have a more circular, radiating pattern. I think it would be nice if both the fore and heel patterns were circular, giving the runner better directional control when going fast down a loose trail and increasing agility control. There are little bumps all over the sole, like Goose bumps on your skin. Although these look nice in an alien sort of way I don’t see their function, long term they will likely be worn down quickly, and I think they’re just there for looks.
The tread pattern is pretty important on a trail runner, it can mean the difference between dancing along a trail and sliding off of it. The treads of the Trainer are not particularly deep, and flat on top. This is a nice design for a trainer because you have sticky surface to make good contact with large rocks or flat streets, but also the ability to dig into look dirt on soft trails. On a muddy trail you would start to slide around, but for an average weather shoe, the trainer looks good. When you transition to the road, the flat treads provide good impact force distribution. If you wear an aggressive trail shoe like the RocLite 285, you’ll likely find them at least slightly uncomfortable on asphalt as the spike treads lead to impact force concentration points on your feet. You won’t notice this on the trail as then the treads penetrate into the soft ground and give secure grip.
Asics Fuji Trainer Heel-Toe Drop
The Fuji Trainer is a minimalist shoe, with a low heel-toe drop. If you follow trail shoe design trends you might know that various companies, including Salomon with their new S-Lab Sense have gone to a low heel-toe drop design. I have been running mainly on Salomon shoes like the Crossmax XR Neutral and S-Lab 4 Softground, which employ a high heel-toe drop of 10mm and 12mm respectively. Recently I’ve started running on minimalist trail-specific shoes like the La Sportiva Vertical K and Inov8 RocLite 285, but the Fuji trainer is the first shoe I’ve run on which combines minimalist sensibility with good on and off road function. For example, the Inov8 is great on soft trail, but the aggressive lugs on the sole can be uncomfortable for extended runs on hard asphalt. The Fuji trainer has a small heel-toe drop, but it retains cushioning Gel in the heel. I like this for long descents on moderate incline trails where I’m taking long strides and doing heel strikes.
Asics Fuji Trainer Minimalist Thoughts
I like running in minimalist shoes because I feel light and I have a natural stride. Running on trail you can expect to feel small rocks at the fore and mid-foot of the shoe while the thicker Gel heel absorbs them. This allows you to feel the trail more, and become a little bit more one with the world. For my personal perspective, a large heel-toe drop can have some advantages on technical trails such as when I’m running or fast hiking up to a pass, where the high heel-toe drop can improve climbing efficiency. Running down a steep rocky trail I’m often balancing on my front foot and bending my knees a lot without putting a lot of force on my heels. However, on road a large heel-toe drop design disrupts my natural biomechanics, often resulting in damage to the nails of my second toes on both feet. I think the toe damage is also related to the flex point of the shoe. My Salomon shoes have a fore-front flex point in front of the balls of my feet, concentrating forces in the nails as my feet flex while running. Shoes like the Inov8 are designed to flex at the ball of the foot, and reduce the torque on my toes.
The Fuji Trainer with its flexible sole lets my foot flex more naturally and I feel that this minimalist design reduces the tendency for toe damage for me. My impression is that I run with a natural stride when running with the Trainer, in particular when switching from a steep incline to a flat road. Conversely when I do the same type of run with a high heel-toe drop shoe, I fee like the front of my feet and slapping against the road surface, and my frontal calf muscles become strained. The light-weight, flexibility of the sole, allows my feet to flex in a more natural state, and low-heel toe drop make the Trainer comfortable on hard flat and trail surfaces. I feel Trainer design could be improved by pushing the flex point towards the natural flex point of the foot (near the ball), but overall I like it.
Asics Fuji Trainer Summary
If you’re looking for capable off-road trainer, the Fuji Trainer will be a good choice. It’s light, flexible to give a natural running stride, and the low heel-toe drop won’t modify your natural biomechanics too much. It transitions well between trail and road, and breathes extremely well, plus they look pretty cool. Until you run a season on a shoe it’s hard to make any overt statements on material or design durability unless you have failure early on. The Fuji Trainer will serve well as a shoe to take on wooded trails but I probably wouldn’t take it on more extreme runs like the SwissAlpine marathon, but that’s not the design intent of the shoe.
We thank the nice people at Asics for sending us a pair of Fuji Trail Runner to test. This did not influence the outcome of the review, written after running more than 50 miles in them.
price comparison
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Mens Asics Gel-fuji Trainer 2 Trail Running Shoe RoadRunnerSports Free shipping, 60-day perfect fit guarantee: possible to exchange shoes after using them for two months. |
$99.95
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Written by Mark Melnykowycz
Mark Melnykowycz is an artist-engineer from Michigan currently living in Switzerland. Aside from trail and mountain running Mark is a rock climber and mountaineer with a background in mechanical engineering and materials science. He enjoys running in the Alps and dissecting the technology behind running gear.
Not sure if you tried the Fuji Racers on wet rocks (actually any hard and wet surface) but I found them slippery as soap on the typical hong kong trails. In some downhill parts I found myself more skidding than running. Otherwise big fan of Asics but this one is very disappointing in wet conditions.
Jerome,
I’m testing the Fuji Racer right now. It’s a nice basic trail shoe but I agree about the grip on flat surfaces (like large wet rocks).
It seems like the tread pattern on the forefoot of the shoe is nice for basic trails, but since the actual contact area of the front treads is small (due to their small size) and the rubber is soft, the combination is rather poor for grip on flat surfaces without much surface texture. Even on a non-wet flat surface like tile in a bathroom, the shoes easily slide around.
I’ll have my review on the Racers finished soon.
I was about to buy Asics Fuji Racer ar it is very flexible and minimalist but I’ve read comment above and now I consider to re-think this decision (as I need good grip)
can you recommend something?
About myself:
I’m 30 y.o man a bit overweighted (95kg now, but I’ll be around 90-87 in 2 month)
I’m quite newbie runner (regularly run mid 2010 – mid 2011 and started 1.5 months ago). I did just 3 races – 10km in 52mins, 25km in 2:25 (in Singapore) and just last Saturday 10M (16.1km) in 1:23.
I had problems with knees due to my weight but Nike Free Run helped me. So I’ve done more that 1000km in those shoes (chafed few of them) and looking for something similar but for trails.
I’ve tried run (just road + gravel) in Mizuno Wave Rider (I know it isn’t trail shoe) but sole is too high and too much suspension. I’m looking for something closer to barefoot running.
I have high arch and a bit wide feet.
I need those shoes to run surfaces like gravel, forest, boulders and wood with metallic net (like on this photo: http://thisgentleheart.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/084-glendalough-6.jpg)
Can you advise something for me based on this info?
Cheers!
Hi Alexey,
From what you describe, I think the Fuji Racer could be a good option. I’m finishing up a review of the right now, and now that it’s raining, I might take them out tonight to see how well they handle in heavy rain.
For gravel, forest, boulders and wood with metallic net, I think the Fuji Racers would do well in dry conditions. In wet conditions it depends on how you run. If you run at a comfortable pace, they should do well in wet conditions as well on those trails. You might find them slippery on the boulders, but that’s a more specialized surface so it’s hard to say as the rock type will play a role.
When I run downhill in the mountains I like to push myself, so I look for a shoe with better grip. For example, here is a video I shot while running downhill in the Swiss Alps,
http://youtu.be/ETxEgiO4CG0
This type of trail and speed require good foot placement and can be difficult if you don’t have an aggressive mountain shoe. I saw a few people wearing Fuji Racers during this race (Swiss Alpine K42) so I’m sure it would be good for the conditions you described.
As a light minimalist shoe the Racers area great, I love the fit, they’re light, but also have good shock absorption with the Gel heel. I may have my review up by Monday.
-mark
Mark, thanks a lot for the answer.
Actually mountains are in my list too. Not Alps definetly but may be with 300-500m elevation for 10-20km race.
And it is wet in Ireland, so I will need a good grip
I’ll wait for your review.
By the way, I’ve seen ventilation holes on the shoe sole. Are they waterproof?
Cheers.
Alexey,
I was running in the rain over the weekend in the Fuji Racer shoes, the water drainage is really good. I was going through all the puddles I could find on the trails and the water just flows in and out of the shoes.
Sounds like you might be doing some fell running if you’re doing the wet mountains of Ireland. For this I would recommend you look at the Inov8 RocLite 285,
http://www.runningshoesguru.com/2012/06/inov-8-roclite-285-review-trail/
They have treads designed for wet running on soft ground and also have very breathable upper material. The limitation I would see with the Fuji Racer for fell running is that the treads probably aren’t long enough to give good traction if you’re running on a wet, soft mountain trail over there.
-mark
I was looking for a fast trail running shoes (for racing) and since I’m not a Salomon fan, I thought to bet again for Asiscs Fuji to replace my old trabucco (used for both competition and training).
On the first day I tried it, I was caught by rain. It was not a problem meanwhile I was off road. The shoes were great, the feeling very good, very fast and light, I was happy about my choice….unfortunately, not for long! Once back in town, when I put the step on a tiled, wet surface, I literally fall down and luckily I only got a bruise in my knees!
So i went back to the shop, which presented me the shoe as a trail running shoe (!!!which actually it is not, as fas as I can see in this website). I wanted to find out how’s possible that Asics did not think on such a basic aspect, that this shoe should be able to be used in wet conditions, neither on rocks in the mountains, nor in the city, on flat, tiled surfaces!
Of course, the shop did not assume any responsability since the product was fine (but not for the use that it was presented for…). We made a complain against Asics to show my concern on the security of the runners that could use these shoes, without knowing its limitations. We hope to receive a positive answer, meaning to get back the money. This shoe is completely useless for me. And this was the las product I will ever buy in ASICS until they do not become more professionals on the shoes promoted and the way they are promoting them.
I live in india and do occasional trail running. of course most of our roads are like trails. If i have to choose between Fuji Trainer and Racer which do i choose. Asics shoes are not so freely available in India , so do not have the luxury of trying them out. They are also fairly expensive so could you help
regards
Guna rajan
If you would like a bit more cushioning and durability I would recommend the Fuji Trainer.
If you would like more breathability and a lighter shoe, I would recommend the Fuji Racer.
Thanks for your response.
After a small bout of medial and lateral ligament train of the ankles.My sports physician has asked me to tun on asics cumulus. I am to get them in a couple of days. Which means no trail shoes for a while, or would one of the fuji’s for trail running complement cumulus for road.
Thanks for the in depth review.
I ran my first real trail competition (50km – 1900m elevation) yesterday in my Gel Fuji Trainers and they worked great on mostly dry, but both soft and hard surfaces.
Next objective is actually Swiss Alpine this summer, so based on your concluding comments, I was wondering what shoes you would recommend for such a race? If it makes any difference, then I am 53, male, 192cm, 78kg and run a flat street marathon in about 3.30.
Hi Rene,
Always good hear from someone running the SwissAlpine, it’s a wonderful experience. Which race are you planning to run, the K42 or the K78? Last year I ran the K42 with the Salomon S-Lab softground shoes, and was quite happy on the ascent and descent of the pass, but didn’t like running on the roads. For me the pass area is my favorite part of the race, and I like to run it aggressively so I choose a robust shoe like the S-Lab, but will choose a different shoe for 2013.
Many people are more reserved on the mountain pass and do fine with more normal trail or road shoes. So, a lot of this depends on your preference and style of running. Even though the SwissAlpine includes a mountain section with a pass, the majority of the race is on road and hard packed trail or grassy fields, and you’ll do better if you choose a shoe for this moderate terrain, and then go slower on the pass area as opposed to choosing a shoe for the mountain section.
For the SwissAlpine I would recommend the shoe you run well with as a first consideration. The mountain trails can be negotiated with decent shoes like the Fuji Trainer and you want to have a shoe that you feel confident with on wet and rocky narrow trails.
However, for my preference I feel that the trainer doesn’t have good enough lateral support and stiffness in the sole to give solid foot placements on mountain trails. For the 2013 SwissAlpine I will likely run with Inov8, the Brooks Cascadia or Pure Grit 2 (but I have reservations here since the Pure Grit sole isn’t aggressive enough on soft wet ground). I like the Brooks shoes for their uppers and solid fit, my feet don’t slide forward as much in the Brooks shoes due to their uppers design, but they also have solid soles and transition well between trail and road.
If I were to choose from the Fuji Asics line, I would go with the Fuji Attack. It has a good mix between fit, sole, and comfort, allowing me to feel the mountain trails but it also feels good on road sections.
Let me know if you have any questions on the SwissAlpine, maybe we’ll run into each other
-Mark
Thanks for the in depth review.
I ran my first real trail competition (50km – 1900m elevation) yesterday in my Gel Fuji Trainers and they worked great on mostly dry, but both soft and hard surfaces.
Next objective is actually Swiss Alpine this summer, so based on your concluding comments, I was wondering what shoes you would recommend for such a race? If it makes any difference, then I am 53, male, 192cm, 78kg and run a flat street marathon in about 3.30.