Squash Source

This article covers the Asics Gel Blade 7 indoor court shoe.

Asics Gel Blade 7 Info

The Asics Gel Blade 7 came out from 2019 to 2021 and was the successor to the Asics Gel Blade 6, which was popular in squash and was used by several squash pros including Nour El Sherbini, Nicol David, England’s Josh Masters, and several more.

Note: the Asics Gel Blade 8 — the successor to the Blade 7 — started landing in 2021, although it seems to be affected by supply chain issues.

Here’s the marketing blather from Asics. Interestingly, they actually name squash as one of the sports this shoe is designed for, in addition to badminton. That’s rare — squash players are usually forced to pick shoes marketed towards other court sports.

Cover the ground in style and comfort with the men’s GEL-BLADE™ 7 squash and badminton shoe by ASICS, featuring an EVA midsole for bounce and cushioning. The mesh insole and ORTHOLITE™ sockliner allow the foot to breathe as things heat up, while the shoe’s TRUSSTIC SYSTEM® technology gives you the stability and guidance you need to stay on top. The GEL-BLADE™ 7 shoe’s standard width accommodates a wide range of foot sizes, while the removable sockliner can be replaced with orthotics for those requiring further arch support. The AHARPLUS™ outsole is all about protection, lending a hardwearing quality to the design and minimising scuffs as you slide across the court. The GEL® technology to the rear provides comfort, cushioning your feet no matter how long you play.

Here’s a review I did of the Asics Gel Blade 7. You can also click here to read the transcript if you can’t watch a video right now.

Versions: Men | Women

Men’s Asics Gel Blade 7

Navy / Orange

Spotted this new colorway in 2021. Looks nice:

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Shocking Orange / Mako Blue

Spotted April 2021 (thanks iraklis):

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White / Red / Blue

These photos were sent in by Alex. Word is this model is only available in Asia. The Chinese character in red is “blade” and the one in blue is “sharp”. Thanks Alex!

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White / Red

Spotted August 2020:

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Spotted

Karim El Hammamy, at the 2021 Black Ball Open:

Dimitri Steinmann at the 2021 British Open:

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Black / Orange

This black and orange model was spotted in November 2019 at racketlon.co.za. It will be available in Europe in January 2020 (thanks Keir) :

Spotted

Greg Marche was spotted in these (thanks Andrew):

Photo via SquashSite →

Racket: Tecnifibre Carboflex X-Speed 125
Location: 2020 Manchester Open

Richie Fallows, at the 2020 Qatar Classic (thanks Andrew):

Todd Harrity at the 2020 Qatar Classic (thanks Andrew):

Josh Masters at the 2021 British Open:

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White / Blue

This color has been spotted for pre-order on sportsdirect.com (thanks, Keir):

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Speed Red

This color is called Speed Red. Spotted on Asics.com. Wow that looks nice.

Women’s Asics Gel Blade 7

Peacoat / Pink Glo

That looks nice (thanks momus):

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White / Laser Pink

Here’s a women’s color, spotted at Control the T:

Reviews

Here’s a review I did of these shoes. You can watch the video or read the transcript below:

What’s up you guys it’s Pierre and I have a review today of the Asics Gel Blade 7. I’m a little bit late in doing this because the Asics Gel Blade 8 is already out but this was a popular shoe amongst pros and I bought myself a pair a while back. I’ve been meaning to do this review for a while. I might as well register my opinion on the Blade 7 while I can before it goes out of style.

Many fans of this on Squash Source. I’ve gotten a lot of positive comments about it.
I had a rough time with these. I’m going to tell you why. First I’m going to take you through some a couple of the cool factors here a couple of the cosmetic elements which I think look amazing. This color scheme is great. It’s kind of like navy and orange. I think I bought this for 100 Euros from Handball Shop I believe. So we’ve got a gum rubber sole with this kind of stability piece um in the middle here and the gum rubber kind of goes around like this. You got the sort of tooth mark looking pattern here which some squash players have found to be not that durable.

They’ve had issues with the shoe coming apart here. I did not have that but partly because I didn’t use these very much like I’m going to explain in a second. The lace-up is pretty nice.

It’s just uh pretty snug lacing although nothing particularly special about it. There’s kind of a protective outer piece here on the outer part of the instep

and so that gives your foot some protection from drag. Now let’s look at the left shoe so where I normally drag is on my left toe here and you can see it’s getting worn down right at the point where it’s protected so that’s doing its job very nicely. These felt pretty normal true to size for me. I’m a US 11.5. On the weight side of things these are incredibly light. They are 320 grams which is the lightest shoe I think I’ve ever weighed. The Fastball, which is what I’m currently playing with, is 337 (grams) and this is really light so this is almost 20 grams lighter.

The design is just pretty cool it’s just kind of subtle you got like almost um this blue mesh over some orange and blue pattern in the back. It looks … they look really nice I gotta say. Here’s how they look on your feet as you’re staring down at your toes. They look fast and agile.

They have removable insoles if you have to take out orthotics. They’re not as good as the insoles on the Asics Fastball 3. They’re just a little more sort of spongy and flimsy but they’re still pretty good. They slide in and out relatively easily if you have orthotics or need to change them out. So the downside of these was that I did not get good grip on the court. I repeatedly slipped in these shoes even after using them you know like the fifth sixth seventh time I tried them. I was still slipping and not like on every lunge or anything but just in a match invariably there’d be a moment where I would stretch for something and it really happened mostly with this shoe, the right shoe, the one that I’m holding.

I’m looking at you, right shoe. And I think the issue is that the design of these shoes… I don’t know if it’s going to come out too well on the screen but you can sort of see how this almost curves uh towards the back and maybe if I hold it this way it’ll be easier to show you.

It’s almost like it’s angled in the back and let me show you the Fastball by comparison.

Watch it’s gonna be angled as well. Well, now that I’m comparing it to the Fastball, which I had great grip with, I’m like wait what’s the difference again? All I know is that multiple times going in with my right foot for a lunge I would skid out in a way that I’ve never really experienced on the squash court. I think it has something to do with the angle of the heel. That’s all I can think of just like somehow that heel strike. It could also be a little bit of lack of grip here in the heel. That part I know the Fastball has covered. It’s all it’s grip all the way through whereas the um whereas the Blade has this this open area here and maybe I need that extra bit of grip as I’m sliding in. So I was you know after playing with these for a while and wanting them to work because they look so boss I was just like, I can’t play with these, I can’t risk an injury, I just can’t. So these shoes are well loved. I’m gonna put these up for sale on
eBay. They’ve only been used a few times and I hope somebody um gets some good use out of them.

They’re a European colorway that will be in US 11.5 for anyone in the US market who wants to uh to give it a gander and hopefully I’ll get a chance to try out the Blade 8 at some point despite all this. I have heard that they’ve redesigned that and I’ve heard uh comments from Squash Source readers that they’re um that they are kind of continue the tradition of success that the Blade has in the squash um in the squash world. So we’ll hopefully give that those a try later on but anyway those are my thoughts for now on the Asics Gel Blade 7 as a squash player. Hope that was helpful and I will see you in the next video. Subscribe. Bye!

Richard Holland also left this review in the comments. Please leave feedback below if you have tried this shoe.

Just received these today. In terms of fit and feel, very similar to the gel blade 6. I had a pair of those and liked the feel but wore a hole in the toe guard within 3 weeks. Asics claimed it was normal wear and tear but PDH gave me a store credit. The toe guard on these looks more sturdy so hope these will last better. The open mesh vent looks like it will be nice and breathable, but the 6 was so light that was not much of a problem. The only other thing is that I am a UK 10 in every Asics shoe I try, but as also with the 6, this feels a tiny bit too long. Have the 9.5 on order, will see if that is too small, just for peace of mind.