I run about 500 km a month, my marathon best is under 2:30, and I picked these seriously. This is my conclusion as of Oct 21, 2026. Pick a cushioned shoe by thickness alone and you end up with a heavy one. So I took six shoes with heels over 40mm and ranked them by weight per millimeter of stack. No. 1 is the ASICS SUPERBLAST 3 (46.5mm heel, 239g), No. 2 the adidas HYPERBOOST EDGE (45mm, 255g), and No. 3 the Saucony Triumph 24 (43mm, 250g).
The Shoe Nerd's top pick
For a cushioned shoe, look at the SUPERBLAST 3 first. The reason is that it's thick and light. A 46.5mm heel at 239g works out to about 5.1g per millimeter, the lowest of the six. The layer right under your foot uses FF LEAP, the same foam as the race shoes, so the extra stack doesn't add weight. At 500 km a month, easy days make up most of the distance. For that day's shoe, I pick the weight on my foot as much as the softness.
Key points
- The thickest are the GEL-SLOWCUSH (up to about 48mm) and the Mizuno SKY PRIME (47mm heel). The SKY PRIME, though, weighs about 295g
- Weight per millimeter of stack is about 5.1g for the SUPERBLAST 3 and about 6.5g for the GEL-NIMBUS 28. For the same thickness, that's about 20% lighter
- All six have heels above the World Athletics road limit of 40mm. They're for training and recovery, not for races where you're chasing records or rankings
Thick and light shoes show up in the numbers
Look for a cushioned shoe and the signs in the store say "max-cushion" and "plush." But pick on thickness alone and you land on a heavy shoe, because more layers under your foot means more material.
So this article ranks them by thickness divided by weight. These are six shoes with heels over 40mm. Read them as shoes for easy long days and recovery days.
How I Chose: Best Cushioned Running Shoes
The order isn't by sales. We ranked them on three criteria.
| Criteria | Reason |
|---|---|
| 1. Heel stack over 40mm | Only shoes with a really thick impact-softening layer |
| 2. Low weight per millimeter of stack | For the same stack, a lighter shoe puts less weight on your foot over a long run |
| 3. Official price under JPY 30,000 | A shoe you wear every day should cost what a consumable costs |
Cushioned Running Shoes Compared: 6 Pairs
Scroll the table sideways →
| Shoe | Heel / forefoot | Weight | Per millimeter | Official price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ASICS SUPERBLAST 3 | 46.5mm / — | 239g | About 5.1g | JPY 26,400 |
| adidas HYPERBOOST EDGE | 45mm / 39mm | 255g | About 5.7g | JPY 24,200 |
| Saucony Triumph 24 | 43mm / 33mm | 250g | About 5.8g | JPY 25,300 |
| ASICS NIMBUS MIRAI 2 | about 41mm / — | 248g | about 6.0g | JPY 24,200 |
| Mizuno SKY PRIME | 47mm / 41mm | About 295g | about 6.3g | JPY 24,200 |
| ASICS GEL-NIMBUS 28 | about 43.5mm / — | 281g | About 6.5g | JPY 22,000 |
No. 1 ASICS SUPERBLAST 3: 46.5mm at 239g
Why it ranks here: its weight per millimeter is the lowest of the six. The layer right under your foot uses FF LEAP, the same foam as the race-focused METASPEED. It's about 10g lighter than the previous model, and its energy return is up about 15.2% (ASICS's own measurement).
There's no plate. Even so, it's about 46.5mm thick at 239g. That's 42g lighter than ASICS's own GEL-NIMBUS 28 (281 − 239).
Watch out for: the price is the highest of the 6 pairs, up JPY 2,200 from the previous model. Width is standard only.
Image: Rakuten Ichiba
ASICS SUPERBLAST 3
Lowest price on Rakuten Ichiba: JPY 26,400 (as of 10/20). Prices change daily. Shoes are best tried on in the evening, when your feet swell, with your usual socks. Fit varies by brand, so check the return and exchange terms on the shop page before you buy.
RecommendedSee it on Rakuten IchibaThe SUPERBLAST 3 review also covers how it differs from the NOVABLAST 6.
No. 2 adidas HYPERBOOST EDGE: 39mm Up Front Too
Why it ranks here: the forefoot is 39mm, so it's thick right under your toes. Heel 45mm, drop 6mm, 255g. No plate and no rod. At about 5.7g per millimeter, it's the lowest of adidas's four sibling shoes.
Watch out for: it's 31g heavier than the EVO SL. Over a marathon at a 1.2m stride, each foot leaves the ground about 17,581 times. 31g × 17,581 comes to about 545kg. Think of it as the weight you lift in exchange for the thickness.
Image: Rakuten Ichiba
adidas HYPERBOOST EDGE
Lowest price on Rakuten Ichiba: JPY 24,200 (as of 10/20). Prices change daily. Shoes are best tried on in the evening, when your feet swell, with your usual socks. Fit varies by brand, so check the return and exchange terms on the shop page before you buy.
RecommendedSee it on Rakuten IchibaSee the HYPERBOOST EDGE review for how it compares with the EVO SL.
No. 3 Saucony Triumph 24: 6mm Thicker, 13g Lighter Than Before
Why it ranks here: it's a generation that got thicker and lighter. The stack is 43mm / 33mm, 6mm thicker at both heel and forefoot than the previous 37 / 27mm. Even so, the weight dropped 13g to 250g. That's possible because the foam changed to the new incrediLUX.
Weight per millimeter of stack went from about 7.1g on the previous model to about 5.8g, a drop of about 18%.
Watch out for: the drop is a high 10mm. If you've been wearing the 23, the height off the ground changes, so choose it as if you were moving to a different shoe.
Image: Rakuten Ichiba
Saucony Triumph 24
Lowest price on Rakuten Ichiba: JPY 25,300 (as of 10/20). Some shops ask up to JPY 58,260. Prices change daily. Shoes are best tried on in the evening, when your feet swell, with your usual socks. Fit varies by brand, so check the return and exchange terms on the shop page before you buy.
RecommendedSee it on Rakuten IchibaMore details are in the Triumph 24 review.
No. 4 ASICS NIMBUS MIRAI 2: A New Lighter NIMBUS
Why it ranks here: it went on sale on Oct 15 and is light at 248g. It's 33g lighter than the GEL-NIMBUS 28 and about 37g lighter than the original. The foam is FF BLAST MIRAI, the upper is a soft engineered knit, and the drop is 8mm.
Watch out for: its cushioning rating is High, one step below the NIMBUS 28's Maximum. The stack is also 2.5mm thinner. Width is standard only.
Image: Rakuten Ichiba
ASICS NIMBUS MIRAI (original and 2 are both listed; check the number in the product name)
Lowest price on Rakuten Ichiba: JPY 24,200 (as of 10/20). Prices change daily. Shoes are best tried on in the evening, when your feet swell, with your usual socks. Fit varies by brand, so check the return and exchange terms on the shop page before you buy.
RecommendedSee it on Rakuten IchibaNo. 5 Mizuno SKY PRIME: A 47mm Max-Cushion Shoe With a Wider Footprint
Why it ranks here: the heel is 47mm and the forefoot 41mm, the thickest of the six. It went on sale on Sept 11. The upper layer is a new foam, ENERZY NXT+, and the footprint on the ground widens to as much as about 125mm (27.0cm). The worry with a thick shoe is wobble, so the width is the fix.
Watch out for: it weighs about 295g, so it isn't a light shoe. The 47mm heel is 7mm over the 40mm road limit for races. Treat it as a shoe for training and recovery.
Image: Rakuten Ichiba
Mizuno Sky Prime
Lowest price on Rakuten Ichiba: JPY 24,200 (as of 10/20). Prices change daily.
RecommendedSee it on Rakuten IchibaThe SKY PRIME review compares it with the WAVE RIDER 30.
No. 6 ASICS GEL-NIMBUS 28: Cushioning With Trimmed Rubber
Why it ranks here: it's about 43.5mm thick and also comes in Extra Wide. The roughly 20g trimmed from the previous model came from the rubber that touches the ground. The heel PureGEL and foam combination carries over from the 27. Sizes run wide, 24.5–32.0cm.
Watch out for: it's on the heavy side of the six at 281g. Weight per millimeter is about 6.5g, 1.3 times the No. 1's 5.1g.
Image: Rakuten Ichiba
ASICS GEL-NIMBUS 28
Lowest price on Rakuten Ichiba: JPY 15,015 (as of 10/20). Some shops ask up to JPY 25,300. Prices change daily. Shoes are best tried on in the evening, when your feet swell, with your usual socks. Fit varies by brand, so check the return and exchange terms on the shop page before you buy.
RecommendedSee it on Rakuten IchibaIf thickness is all you care about: GEL-SLOWCUSH
I left it out of the ranking, but its thickness is in a class of its own. The ASICS GEL-SLOWCUSH, on sale since Oct 8, has a maximum stack of about 48mm. That's 4.5mm more than the NIMBUS 28 (48 − 43.5). The heel gets a new PureGEL PLUS, and the outsole rubber at the toe and heel wears about three times more slowly than the old rubber.
Width is standard only. It suits people who put thickness first, as a shoe just for easy long days.
Image: Rakuten Ichiba
ASICS GEL-SLOWCUSH
Lowest price on Rakuten Ichiba: JPY 26,400 (as of 10/20). Prices change daily. Shoes are best tried on in the evening, when your feet swell, with your usual socks. Fit varies by brand, so check the return and exchange terms on the shop page before you buy.
RecommendedSee it on Rakuten IchibaThe HOKA Clifton 11 has a 42mm heel, weighs 282g, and costs JPY 19,800, so it sits at the lower end of price for these 6 pairs. For how wide fits sort out, see the wide-fit running shoes article.
Quick Guide: Which of the 6 Pairs?
| If you are | Pick |
|---|---|
| You want a thick shoe that's light | ASICS SUPERBLAST 3 |
| You want thickness all the way under your toes | adidas HYPERBOOST EDGE |
| You want a daily shoe that's thick but not heavy | Saucony Triumph 24 |
| You want a lighter NIMBUS feel | ASICS NIMBUS MIRAI 2 |
| You want a wide footprint to take the landing | Mizuno SKY PRIME |
| An Extra Wide with thicker cushioning | ASICS GEL-NIMBUS 28 |
| You want it as thick as possible | ASICS GEL-SLOWCUSH |
Who is it for?
- Good fit: people who do long runs often, and who want a soft shoe for easy days and recovery days.
If tempo runs and speed work are your main sessions, there are other ways to choose: light and bouncy. Wearing cushioning and lightness shoes in rotation is the quickest route.
FAQ
Is a thicker cushioned shoe always better?
Thickness and weight trade off. This article ranks the shoes by weight divided by thickness. Of these six, the SUPERBLAST 3 comes to about 5.1g per millimeter and the GEL-NIMBUS 28 to about 6.5g.
Can I use a max-cushion shoe in a marathon?
All six have heels over 40mm. In races held under World Athletics rules, if you are aiming at records or rankings, how these shoes are treated is set in the event's rules. I covered the rules in the thick-soled carbon shoes article.
Are cushioned shoes good for daily training?
Yes. Neither of the top two, the SUPERBLAST 3 and the HYPERBOOST EDGE, has a plate. The drop differs by shoe: 10mm for the Triumph 24 and 6mm for the EDGE.
Which cushioned shoe is the lightest?
Of these six, it's the SUPERBLAST 3 at 239g. Next are the NIMBUS MIRAI 2 at 248g and the Triumph 24 at 250g.
Gear in this article
Ads and images: Rakuten IchibaSources
- ASICS news release: SUPERBLAST 3 (Feb 16, 2026)
- adidas Japan announcement (Mar 6, 2026; HYPERBOOST EDGE)
- Saucony Japan official: Triumph 24 (men's)
- ASICS news release: NIMBUS MIRAI 2 (Aug 10, 2026)
- Mizuno press release (Sep 8, 2026: MIZUNO SKY PRIME)
- ASICS news release: GEL-NIMBUS 28 (Jan 5, 2026)
- ASICS news release: GEL-SLOWCUSH (Oct 1, 2026)
