Asics Gel Renma Review

The Asics Gel Renma is a court shoe from Asics that is targeted to pickleball players but can also be used for squash or other indoor court sports. The Gel Renma was first released in 2021. The design has good grip on the sole, and the upper material appears to be quite durable, but the shoe perhaps lacks a bit in breathability.

Product Info

Release year: 2021
Price: $80

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Below you’ll find the following information about the Asics Gel Renma:

Design and Marketing
Review
Men’s Models
Women’s Models

Asics Gel Renma Design and Marketing

Here’s something from Asics explaining the design of the shoes:

This is a dumb video from Asics about the shoe:

This bit in the video though 😂😂😂😂😂:

Specifically designed for pickleball players.
Tested by real pickleball athletes.

I’m laughing right now because the guy in the red shirt violates TWO of the most distinctive rules in pickleball:

You can’t volley the serve return.
You can’t land in the kitchen after you volley.

But damn if he doesn’t lose the point in style with that windmill slam.

In January 2022 I bought myself a pair of these to test out. Here’s an unboxing video if you want a quick peek:

Here’s the part about the Gel Renma:

First up, from Asics in the US, it’s a new shoe that we haven’t tried before. This may be only available in the United States right now, I’m not totally sure. This is called the Asics Gel Renma, which sounds vaguely Chinese, but it is a pickleball shoe from Asics. A pickleball shoe. That’s right: pickleball gets its own shoe and it looks like this. And the reason I got this is both for pickleball and for squash. I’m gonna try it on both sports and see how they play. These cost $80 at asics.com. $80. I got the black and white model. This has got a gum rubber sole that looks pretty intriguing for the squash court. I always like the gum rubber option. Let’s see what else we got here. We’ve got a loud cat. Hang on. You’re all wet! Kitty loves the new shoes. He loves them. Okay, you may go. So. We’re gonna give these a test on the courts and come back to you with some more in-depth reviews of the Asics Gel Renma. First just a quick look-over of these shoes. Got a little stability on the arch there. We’ve got decent styling, decent toe drag protection here, and what looks like a pretty supportive shoe overall. We’re gonna give those a shot.

Since making that video, I’ve also done a more complete video review of the Asics Gel Renma. I’m definitely going to be including it on my list of the best squash shoes.

Here’s the video:

And here’s a trancript:

What’s up you guys, it’s Pierre. Today I have a review of a new shoe from Asics called the Asics Gel Renma, R-E-N-M-A. This is new in 2022 I think — or maybe it came out at the end of last year. This is a court shoe from Asics. It is specifically pitched to pickleball players but I bought it to try for squash because I could see that it was pretty similar to a lot of Asics’s squash shoes and I figured it would translate well. I’ve got some feedback for you on the shoe in this video. I paid $80 (USD) for this. I think I bought it from asics.com. I’ve noticed that it’s not just a US shoe. I saw it on the UK Asics website even though pickleball is mainly thought of as a US sport. It’s going global, and so are the shoes. This is a — what is it? — on my scale, 370 grams, so not the lightest shoe around but not the heaviest.
I’m gonna do a video right after this comparing this with the Asics Gel Fastball 3, the Asics Gel Rocket 10, and the Asics Gel Tactic (the newest model) so if you want to hear more about how this compares to other shoes in the Asics range, subscribe, and you will get that video next. I’m going to record it right after this. But back to the Renma. I tried this out on the squash court and the first day that I used it I played in a very high level training match and it was great. The first thing I always look for is the grip on the court. It’s the most important thing. If there’s any sliding or whatever, to me, that’s just dangerous for my body. I can’t handle — or I don’t want, and I can’t risk — any injuries for that kind of thing. This shoe’s grip was excellent right out of the box. I never once slipped. I’ve used it three or four times now so this review is happening pretty soon after starting to try these because I really like these. These are going to go on my list of best squash shoes which I’ll link below this video. They will hopefully be available worldwide. Like I said, I saw them in the UK.
A couple things. The height off of the ground is … it feels a little higher off … they’re not very low to the ground, let’s just say it that way. They’re kind of medium height, I guess I would say, and a minor criticism is I maybe didn’t feel as close to the ground as the Fastball, which is a much more expensive shoe, but these felt totally adequate. I felt comfortable with my stability in addition to the grip and they provided good padding for my knees. I didn’t have any issues there. They come in a few different styles. I’ve got the black one here. It’s kind of your basic Asics look, this black and white. The materials feel pretty nice all around. I will say that the insole is quite nice. It’s removable and of a good quality, so if you need to take these out for your orthotics or you just want to air them out, it’s quite easy.
One thing that I am a little concerned about is the top of the upper here by the toe. There’s not a whole lot of breathability in this. It’s a fairly closed toe with only a few little air holes here to let your feet air out. I didn’t have any problems with the breathability of the shoes when I was playing with them for the several times that I have, but that’s something to keep an eye out for. I’ve found so far that the toe drag is quite good. This goes up pretty high even for Asics’s court shoes so I feel comfortable that these are going to provide some protection. We’ll see over time. I’m already dragging a little bit there on my right toe as normal. The lace-up on these is nice. The laces are pretty thick. It’s more of a cosmetic thing but for some reason the way they’ve designed this, there’s this fold in the front here, at least for my feet, but that’s really just cosmetic. The width on these, when I was trying them on, I thought they were maybe a little narrow, which is kind of the case for Asics. I’m gonna go through it in the video after this, but compared to the other Asics shoes actually, once I really put them all on, I found that this was pretty standard compared to a lot of the other Asics models. So on the whole, a big fan of these already, and looking forward to continuing to put them through the paces. These are called the Asics Gel Renma. Alright I will see in the next video. See you later. Bye.