ASICS GEL-Cumulus 18

Name: ASICS GEL-Cumulus 18
Brand: ASICS
Rating: 4.1 (8 reviews)

Daily trainer · Neutral · Road · 11.1 oz · 10mm drop · 30/20mm stack

Discontinued — we no longer see this shoe in stock. The ASICS GEL-Cumulus 19 replaced it

How it ranks

The ASICS GEL-Cumulus 18 trails most daily trainers in our data. Durability and cushioning are its strongest sub-ratings. Looks scores well below its other sub-ratings. The rating rests on 8 runner reviews and 12 other rated shoes in the GEL-Cumulus product line. Another 4 reviews would set the confidence on this shoe's own reviews.

Bottom-tier

57/100

Overall

Bottom-tier 57

Durability

Good 80

Cushioning

Decent 79

Comfort

Below average 61

Value

Bottom-tier 58

Appearance

Bottom-tier 56

Confidence

How settled the rating is against every other rated shoe. A shoe can rate high on confidence with relatively few reviews of its own when its product line has a long record and external ratings from retailer sites agree. Confidence will score low when we have few ratings or when runners disagree.

See the product line's history

Confidence

87/100

High 87

What runners say

“The comfort, fit and durability of the Cumulus has consistently been the best.”

5/5 Full review 30 mpw training for a half marathon came from the ASICS GEL-Cumulus 17

“Both of my toes punched through within a couple of weeks.”

5/5 Full review 35 mpw training for a half marathon came from the ASICS GEL-Kayano 22

“The bottom is very rough and can cause blisters for toes with short orthotics.”

4/5 Full review 40 mpw training for a half marathon came from the Brooks Launch 5

“A little heavy and this caused some calf and ankle pain.”

4/5 Full review 25 mpw training for middle distance

“Good daily training shoe with a lot of cushion which means they're on the heavier side.”

4/5 Full review 75 mpw training for a marathon

“I get blisters on the back of my heel when first running in them.”

5/5 Full review 55 mpw training for a half marathon came from the ASICS GEL-Cumulus 17

“Every one was unpleasant due to Achilles pain.”

1/5 Full review 40 mpw training for a half marathon came from the Saucony Guide 10

“Doesn't have a ton of treadlife on gravel.”

5/5 Full review 35 mpw training for a half marathon came from the ASICS GEL-Kayano 22

“After wearing these for just half a week I felt no pain.”

4/5 Full review 40 mpw training for a half marathon came from the Brooks Launch 5

“Neutral but have a good amount of cushioning.”

5/5 Full review 20 mpw training for a half marathon

Prefer this shoe over another

36% 5/14

Where to buy

No offers available

Affiliate links included. They never affect our ratings.

Prices updated daily. Last checked Sep 14.

Pros

Comfort and durability both average 4.4 out of 5 across eight reviews, and the seven who rated cushioning give it 4.1.
Three reviewers who have run in ASICS for years say the fit and cushioning keep them coming back to the Cumulus.

Cons

Averaging 10.4 oz across the men's and women's builds, it is heavier than the 8.9 oz median for daily trainers on sale, and two reviewers call it heavy.
Four of the eight reviewers who answered report an injury while running in it.
One reviewer gets heel blisters until it breaks in, another blisters from the rough footbed under short orthotics, and a third has the toes punch through within weeks on gravel.

GEL-Cumulus 18 rates 57. This shoe has high certainty. See how we rate shoes.

Better Shoes Rating of prior versions of the ASICS GEL-Cumulus

Each dot is one version of the GEL-Cumulus, placed by its rating and release year. The gold dot is this shoe.

Rating

40 60 80 100

51 2012 51 48 2014 49 57 2016 49 47 2018 56 51 2020 68 49 2023 63 57 2025

Release year

We use the reviews of past versions to inform this shoe’s rating. See why.

GEL-Cumulus 27

2025 · 0 reviews

57 Bottom-tier

66 Confidence
GEL-Cumulus 26

2024 · 9 reviews

63 Below average

80 Confidence
GEL-Cumulus 25

2023 · 16 reviews

49 Bottom-tier

94 Confidence
GEL-Cumulus 24

2022 · 3 reviews

68 Below average

52 Confidence
GEL-Cumulus 22

2020 · 1 review

51 Bottom-tier

74 Confidence
GEL-Cumulus 21

2019 · 14 reviews

56 Bottom-tier

90 Confidence
GEL-Cumulus 20

2018 · 12 reviews

47 Bottom-tier

95 Confidence
GEL-Cumulus 19

2017 · 7 reviews

49 Bottom-tier

92 Confidence
GEL-Cumulus 18 This shoe

2016 · 8 reviews

57 Bottom-tier

87 Confidence
GEL-Cumulus 17

2015 · 6 reviews

49 Bottom-tier

87 Confidence
GEL-Cumulus 16

2014 · 37 reviews

48 Bottom-tier

98 Confidence
GEL-Cumulus 15

2013 · 48 reviews

51 Bottom-tier

97 Confidence
GEL-Cumulus 14

2012 · 2 reviews

51 Bottom-tier

91 Confidence

Reader Ratings

8 ratings

5/5 4

4/5 3

3/5 0

2/5 0

1/5 1

See written reviews Write a review

Specs & fit

Sizing and ride details at a glance.

Weight: 11.1 oz
Release: 2016 Q3
MSRP: $120
Stack Height: 30mm heel - 20mm toe
Drop Height: 10mm

Runner reviews

Write a review

Iowa Gravel Runner

5/5

Overall

This shoe is perfect on bike paths and pavement. The bottom gets chewed up and doesn't have a ton of treadlife on gravel, though. Also both of my toes punched through within a couple of weeks.

Anonymous runner · Feb 12, 2018

35 mpw training for a half marathon came from the ASICS GEL-Kayano 22

Comfort: 5/5
Cushioning: 5/5
Durability: 3/5
Appearance: 5/5
Value: 4/5

The Achilles Shoe

4/5

Overall

Before I had this shoe, I had been experiencing Achilles tendon and calf problems for years. After wearing these for just Half a week I felt no pain. The one issue is that the shoe is not very good with certain orthodics as the bottom is very rough and can Cause blisters for toes with short orthodics.

Anonymous runner · Feb 6, 2018

40 mpw training for a half marathon came from the Brooks Launch 5

Comfort: 4/5
Cushioning: 4/5
Durability: 3/5
Appearance: 2/5
Value: 4/5

Good training shoe for daily easy runs.

4/5

Overall

Good daily training shoe with a lot of cushion which means they're on the heavier side. I was rotating these with a lighter training shoe, but eventually switched to just the lighter one. However, now that it's winter and I'm running a lot of mileage on the roads, I'm thinking about adding back in the Cumulus for the cushion.

Soprano · Jan 9, 2018

75 mpw training for a marathon