Welcome back! This post marks the first time that Asics has featured on my blog, now I've always had a soft-spot for the brand mainly through the Saga, Mai, and Gel Lyte 3 silhouettes. I collected them for some years before the hype really kicked off and my collection featured a few big pairs noticeably Salmon Toes, Nice Kick's and at the top and the rarest was two pairs of Mclaren F1 Racing Asics. Brand new, never worn and utterly beautiful.
I ended up clearing out quite a lot of my collection as it sounds funny but the constant chatter online throughout the groups ( Buying & Selling Runners, CBKI, ISS) along with social media being at the height of its sneaker cringefest (Props & Ballet Poses) made me distance myself away from the brand, this isn't the first time I've done this, notably with Nike around 2014 but lately I've been snapping up choice pairs of Asics that I might have missed out on during the hype as most of these can be found for decent prices in the current market, it really is a buyers/collectors dream.
This leads somewhat to today's article as Asics's kindly asked me to shoot it's upcoming K100™️ Pack, a release that is very important to the brand as it celebrates a 100 years since it's founder Kihacchiro Onitsuka's birth.
Sadly Mr. Onitsuka passed away in 2007 but his legacy for personal betterment and fitness has lived on through his brand and let's not forget, if we had no Onitsuka we'd have no Blue Ribbon Sports which would later evolve to become Nike.
Right now you may notice a few names thrown around in this article well currently Asics is operating under a 3-way split, you have ONITSUKATIGER which handles most of the retro classics like Mexico 66 - simple runners that don't really come into the sneaker market for me as I'd say they're more of a general fashion product. Next up you have ASICSTIGER which is more of my style of product and while will cross over with some of the Onitsuka range it mostly features more technical runners such as the GEL Lyte 3, GEL Lyte 5, Mai and Saga. Finally, you have ASICS which is the core running product for the brand and features the height of technology and it mostly purchased by runners but some models have transferred over to a more lifestyle-focused audience.
Back to the K100™️, the pack features a loud colour palette of yellow, orange and green all tied around Kihacchiro's love of sunflowers this is shown the most on the Tiger Corsair which features the artwork emblazoned on the leather upper.
ASICS contribution to the pack is the ultra-comfortable GEL-Quantum 360, one of its top of the runners, I've had a few pairs of Quantum's before and I can honestly say it's one of the most comfortable pairs available on the market, this rendition has a knitted wave pattern, a new lacing system for increased lockdown and a multicolour GEL midsole, the first time I've seen this been used on the model.
Rounding off the pack is my favourite from the three, the GEL Mai. I've got plenty of time for weird silhouette and it doesn't get the respect or love it deserve, it comes with a rare asymmetrical lacing system that takes away the pressure from the front of your foot and just oozes Japanese quirkiness, the K100 version comes donned up in premium suede, mesh and carries over the same almost tropical colour-way.
Finally, each pair comes with a sunflower patch attached to the laces, special box and a small envelope inside with a message dedicated to the founder, I live for little details like this, it's an added cost that brands don't really need to do but I think it makes all the difference.
I hope you've enjoyed my latest post, please scroll down to view the imagery and I'd love to hear your feedback over on IG, hold tight for another article in the coming weeks.
Peace!
