33% of 145 verified ASICS Novablast 5owners don't recommend it — based on real owner comments from Reddit, enthusiast forums, and YouTube.
For balance: 41% recommend it. This page collects the complaints so you know what you're signing up for — read the full owner report for both sides. How we score
“novablast has way too much cushion for me. too soft for my taste.”— @MrJoshbono5 on YouTube
“All looks the wrong size to me. Too small.”— @TomUK7 on YouTube
“Confirmado la talla, vienen muy chicos y tuve que devolverlas.”— @gaelopacheco1138 on YouTube
“Get whatever, skip Novablast.”— @supertramp1692 on YouTube
“Menudas vueltas para decir que tiene un mal agarre en mojado”— @PiPibex on YouTube
“en mojado es de lo peor”— @luiscastro-jj1iu on YouTube
“A mi lo que no me gusta de asics es el drop de 8mm, para mi gusto maximo 6 y si puede ser 4 mejor.”— @cascarification on YouTube
“All of a sudden I’m having terrible IT band pain and hip pain and feet numbness even with the shoe tied loose. I have a big race in 10 days. I’m wearing the 4s with 350+ miles on them instead of the 5s”— Relevant-Grass8311 on r/RunningShoeGeeks
“This arch pain has made me drop running. I'm so glad I found this thread. I thought I had done some serious damage after a half marathon. Time to get out the old trainers and get these on eBay I think.”— FatBoyFatBoy4 on r/RunningShoeGeeks
“put 100km+ on my NB5 unfortunately they are not as responsive as before… If analogy helps: Under my feet those FFBlastmax foam turns into a smash burger everytime… Ordered Hoka Mach x2 to replace Nb5”— silverhorse_dxb on r/RunningShoeGeeks
“The foam in mine started to die after around 100 km. Especially in the forefoot. After 250 km, it was dead. All of the bounce and energy return, has completely gone.”— Soul-Assassin79 on r/RunningShoeGeeks
“I put 80km into my NB5's and realised they did not give me anywhere near enough stability, so I'm selling them on. Shame as I got them in Teal and they look incredible”— blodsplods on r/RunningShoeGeeks
Not complaints — practical notes from owners that didn't affect the score.
“Asics Novablast 5 - soft daily trainer, still getting used to the softness”— YogurtSmegma on Reddit
“I think they're true to size. Toe box volume on the 5 is better, I think, than the 4. Maybe not as much height as on the 4, but definitely a little wider”— Commercial_Piano4384 on r/RunningShoeGeeks
“the SB2 are still a price increase over NB5 for no significant benefit unless one really tries to improve their performance”— Old-Tax9892 on r/RunningShoeGeeks
“I have run in multiple pairs of NB and SB and they are both true to size. They are so different but I keep buying them!”— too105 on r/RunningShoeGeeks
“Id say these are slightly wider than the NB4.”— PhosGen3 on r/RunningShoeGeeks