ASICS GEL-CUMULUS 28 — Spec Analysis (Not Yet Tested)

Spec analysis — not yet tested

The Cumulus is the Nimbus’s lighter, cheaper sibling — the ASICS neutral shoe for people who want gel under the heel without the Nimbus’s stack or price. The 28 launched in February 2026 on the newer FF BLAST MAX foam. Here is what ASICS publishes, what it leaves to retailers, and what a foot and ankle surgeon reads into the figures.

What ASICS says the GEL-CUMULUS 28 is

ASICS lists the GEL-CUMULUS 28 as a neutral daily trainer built on “FF BLAST™ MAX foam” with “PureGEL™ technology in the rearfoot” and a “FLUIDRIDE™ outsole”. ASICS’s own launch blog says the 28 is approximately 6 g lighter than the 27, swaps FF BLAST+ for FF BLAST MAX, adds new heel outsole rubber for durability and keeps the 8 mm drop. ASICS publishes the weight (9.1 oz men’s, 7.9 oz women’s) and drop; stack comes from a retailer. It is sold in standard, 2E and 4E widths at $145.

Manufacturer specifications

Source column tells you where each figure comes from. “ASICS” means the brand’s own US product page. A retailer name means the brand does not publish that figure and a retailer does. “Not published” means nobody reliable does — those are the figures our bench measures first.

Specification	Figure	Source
Category	Neutral, daily trainer	ASICS
Weight, men's	9.1 oz / 259 g (size not stated)	ASICS
Weight, women's	7.9 oz (size not stated)	ASICS
Heel stack	Not published by ASICS. 38.5 mm men’s / 37.5 mm women’s	Marathon Sports (retailer)
Forefoot stack	Not published by ASICS. 30.5 mm men’s / 29.5 mm women’s	Marathon Sports (retailer)
Drop	8 mm	ASICS
Midsole	FF BLAST™ MAX foam with PureGEL™ rearfoot	ASICS
Outsole	FLUIDRIDE™ with new heel rubber	ASICS
Upper	Engineered mesh	Marathon Sports (retailer)
Widths	Standard, 2E (wide), 4E (extra wide) — men’s and women’s	ASICS extended-widths page; Fleet Feet
Removable insole	Not published	—
APMA Seal of Acceptance	ASICS keeps an APMA-accepted collection; the Cumulus 28 was not confirmed on it	ASICS — not confirmed
List price	$145	ASICS

Figures checked September 7, 2026. Manufacturer pages: men’s · women’s.

What the spec sheet suggests — and what only a test can answer

The Cumulus and the Nimbus 28 now share the same geometry story, and the difference is 2 mm and $25. Both sit at 8 mm drop with gel in the rearfoot; the Nimbus has a few millimetres more stack and a knit upper, the Cumulus a lighter build and a mesh upper. For a heel-pain patient the 8 mm drop is the number that matters and both have it. The Cumulus is the one we would suggest to a lighter runner or walker who does not need the Nimbus’s height.

Gel under the heel, foam under the forefoot. As with the Nimbus, PureGEL is placed in the rearfoot. Forefoot-pain patients should look at the forefoot stack (30.5 mm per Marathon Sports), which is respectable but not the reason to buy this shoe.

Three widths including 4E at $145 is unusual. A 4E neutral shoe at this price is one of the cheaper routes to a genuinely wide daily trainer, if the toe box is actually wider and not just deeper — which is what our caliper measurement checks.

What only the test can answer: the true stack (retailer-sourced), toe-box width and depth in the 2E and 4E, insole removability and orthotic volume, heel-counter stiffness, and whether the softer FF BLAST MAX packs down.

Who this shoe is probably for

Read from the published specification, not from wear. Treat these as hypotheses the test will confirm or overturn.

What changed from the previous version

Per ASICS’s own launch blog (February 1, 2026): the Cumulus 28 is approximately 6 g lighter than the 27, moves from FF BLAST+ to FF BLAST MAX foam, adds new heel outsole rubber for durability, and keeps the 8 mm drop and the PureGEL rearfoot. Those are ASICS’s claims; the weight is the one a scale checks.

Where to buy

Disclosure: the links below are paid links. If you buy through them Amazon pays us a commission at no cost to you. Commissions never influence a score, a ranking or the seal, and this page carries no score because the shoe has not been tested — see our independence policy.

Amazon listings are colourway-specific; the button opens one common colourway and you can switch colour and width there. Manufacturer list price $145 on September 7, 2026; prices move, check the listing. Also sold directly by ASICS.

Questions people ask about the GEL-CUMULUS 28

Cumulus 28 or Nimbus 28?

Same 8 mm drop and gel heel; the Nimbus has more stack, a knit upper and costs $25 more. Lighter runners and walkers usually do not need the extra height.

Is the ASICS Gel-Cumulus 28 a stability shoe?

No. It is ASICS’s neutral daily trainer; the GT-2000 15 and Kayano 32 are the stability options.

What is the drop of the Gel-Cumulus 28?

8 mm, per ASICS — unchanged from the 27.

Does the Cumulus 28 come in wide?

Yes — standard, 2E and 4E for men and women, per ASICS’s extended-widths listing and Fleet Feet.

What happens next

This model is in the queue for bench testing under Standard v1.0: weight on our scale at men’s US 10, heel and forefoot stack with calipers, internal toe-box width and depth, torsional rigidity, heel-counter stiffness and an Orthotic Volume Rating with a real orthotic inside it. If it goes on to wear testing, the nine-criterion scorecard and the seal decision follow. Every number will carry its own provenance label so you can see which figures we measured and which we are still quoting. If you own a pair and something on this page contradicts what is on your feet, tell us — corrections are logged.

Page type: spec analysis. Acquisition: not yet purchased. Last verified: September 7, 2026. Author: Tom Biernacki, DPM, FACFAS — board-certified foot and ankle surgeon, about.

Other shoes we have looked at

Drop is the figure that decides how load splits between your heel and your forefoot, so it is the fastest way to tell these apart. Where a figure was independently measured rather than taken from the brand, it says so — and on several of these the two disagree.