ASICS GEL-Nimbus 15

Name: ASICS GEL-Nimbus 15
Brand: ASICS
Rating: 4.5 (53 reviews)

Daily trainer · Neutral · Road · 11.5 oz

Discontinued — we no longer see this shoe in stock. The ASICS GEL-Nimbus 16 replaced it

How it ranks

The ASICS GEL-Nimbus 15 sits about average for daily trainers in our data. Cushioning and comfort are its strongest sub-ratings. Value scores well below its other sub-ratings. The rating rests on 53 runner reviews and 13 other rated shoes in the GEL-Nimbus product line.

Decent

73/100

Overall

Decent 73

Cushioning

Exceptional 97

Durability

Very good 90

Comfort

Good 90

Appearance

Decent 71

Value

Bottom-tier 57

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

96/100

Very high 96

What runners say

“Cushioned but fast—good forefoot flexibility, soft landing, not bulky or heavy.”

5/5 Full review 50 mpw 869 miles in this shoe training for a marathon

“Switched from Brooks Beasts (which caused PF and tendonitis) to Nimbus—now injury free.”

5/5 Full review 18 mpw training for a half marathon

“Heavy but durable—ideal for injury-prone runners doing high mileage.”

4/5 Full review 65 mpw training for a half marathon

“Cushioning is good, but not great for running fast.”

4/5 Full review 38 mpw 826 miles in this shoe training for a half marathon

“Run about a half-size big.”

4/5 Full review 20 mpw training for a half marathon

“Good training shoe, not a racing shoe due to weight (10 oz).”

4/5 Full review 30 mpw training for a half marathon

“Doesn't fit like a glove the way newer Nike LunarGlide does.”

5/5 Full review 50 mpw 869 miles in this shoe training for a marathon

“Starts losing cushion around 600-800 miles.”

5/5 Full review 35 mpw training for a half marathon

“Heavy. Would prefer same comfort and cushion in a lighter shoe.”

4/5 Full review 40 mpw training for a marathon

“They got rid of this logo for the new model, so I may need to find a new shoe.”

5/5 Full review 65 mpw

Prefer this shoe over another

29% 7/24

Where to buy

No offers available

Affiliate links included. They never affect our ratings.

Prices updated daily. Last checked Sep 14.

Pros

Reviewers consistently praise the deep cushioning and comfort on long, daily road miles.
Many reviewers report several hundred miles per pair, several having run the line for a decade.

Cons

At 11.5 oz reviewers call it heavy for fast running.
Value draws the lowest ratings of any dimension at 4.0 out of 5, with reviewers repeatedly naming the price.
Some runners find the cushioning or the heel lining breaking down early, one at 200 miles.

GEL-Nimbus 15 rates 73. This shoe has very high certainty. See how we rate shoes.

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

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

Rating

40 60 80 100

73 2013 69 79 2015 82 66 2017 78 84 2018 81 76 2020 92 98 2023 90 76 2024 78

Release year

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

GEL-Nimbus 28

2026 · 5 reviews

78 Decent

59 Confidence
GEL-Nimbus 27

2024 · 2 reviews

76 Decent

74 Confidence
GEL-Nimbus 26

2024 · 24 reviews

90 Good

90 Confidence
GEL-Nimbus 25

2023 · 88 reviews

98 Exceptional

98 Confidence
GEL-Nimbus 24

2022 · 18 reviews

92 Very good

91 Confidence
GEL-Nimbus 23

2020 · 4 reviews

76 Decent

73 Confidence
GEL-Nimbus 22

2019 · 1 review

81 Good

54 Confidence
GEL-Nimbus 21

2018 · 9 reviews

84 Good

82 Confidence
GEL-Nimbus 20

2017 · 7 reviews

78 Decent

83 Confidence
GEL-Nimbus 19

2017 · 11 reviews

66 Below average

87 Confidence
GEL-Nimbus 18

2016 · 4 reviews

82 Good

80 Confidence
GEL-Nimbus 17

2015 · 3 reviews

79 Decent

74 Confidence
GEL-Nimbus 16

2014 · 38 reviews

69 Below average

93 Confidence
GEL-Nimbus 15 This shoe

2013 · 53 reviews

73 Decent

96 Confidence

Reader Ratings

53 ratings

5/5 27

4/5 26

3/5 0

2/5 0

1/5 0

See written reviews Write a review

Specs & fit

Sizing and ride details at a glance.

Weight: 11.5 oz
Release: 2013 Q2
MSRP: $145

Runner reviews

Write a review

A great shoe!

5/5

Overall

So I know that this shoe is out of production- but I bought a bunch of pairs when they were on close-out. I became aware of this shoe when it was current and I saw a pic of some Mammoth Track club athlete wearing it. I tried them on shortly after that and knew almost immediately that they would work really well for me. Good cushion, but not too much, fir my fit fantastically ( though I remember some complaints in reviews of it being too wide). pretty good durability. I did have one "bad" pair that I had to return as they where defective in the alignment of the construction. RWH took them back with no issue. BTW - mine are just the regular Nimbus not the LS, but i didn't see it listed.

Anonymous runner · Feb 6, 2018

40 mpw training for a half marathon

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

Reader review

4/5

Overall

Love the shoe. I preferred the offset lace that they went away from. I've tried other shoes but I always come back to the Nimbus. My only issue is that the shoe has a high heel fit that sometimes causes issues on long runs. Mitigated with higher socks which is not a preference for me.

Anonymous runner · Feb 27, 2016

35 mpw came from the Brooks Glycerin 11

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

Reader review

5/5

Overall

Anonymous runner · Dec 9, 2015

65 mpw

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

Reader review

4/5

Overall

Anonymous runner · Jun 16, 2015

40 mpw

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

Reader review

5/5

Overall

I tried several brands with various levels of success with knee problems specifically. The Nimbus was recommended by my specialty shoe store and I have worn various versions ever since.

Anonymous runner · Apr 14, 2015

16 mpw training for a half marathon came from the adidas Supernova Glide 5 Boost