Asics Gel Resolution Tennis Shoe Review

From the styling to the feel upon first lace-up, the Asics Gel Resolution is a shoe that screams speed.

Such is the lightweight, speed-like feel of Gel Resolutions. It's a wonder they can be contained in a simple shoebox.

Weighing less than 15 ounces for a men's size 10.5, and offering a comfortable ride right out of the box, the Gel Resolutions immediately feel ready for action.

Another hint of the on-court performance potential comes from the shoe's popularity with touring pros. It is a popularity that extends beyond Asics-sponsored players. Seeing the shoes on non-sponsored journeymen players is always a good sign. Lower ranked players living the grind of the professional tour tend to wear what works best, rather than what a sponsor wants them to wear.

All signs pointed to impressive on-court performance. At the end of a month-long playtest we found there was plenty more to the Asics Gel Resolution than merely good looks and a svelte fighting weight. Read on for the complete review.

Comfort

Impressed from the initial lace-up, our team raved about the comfort of the Gel Resolutions. Finding excellent comfort right out of the box was Jason. "These shoes were an absolute joy to wear. I loved how they felt from the moment I took them out of the box. I wouldn't describe the cushioning as low to the ground, but it was very comfortable and responsive. I wore these every day while working down at the Pacific Life Open, and they were great for a long day of standing. These were exceptional both on and off the court."

Chris felt the level of cushioning was ideal. "I loved the fit and feel of these shoes. The level of cushioning was perfect and the uppers wrapped my feet very well. I never experienced any pinching or rubbing inside the shoes. No matter how hard I pushed, I felt I was getting all the cushioning and comfort I needed. I found these to be one of those pairs of shoes I could put on for a match and know I would be playing in comfort. I can't ask for more than that." Also enjoying the cushioning was Granville. "Cushioning is well above the average, and I can feel the cushioning (memory foam) at both the forefoot and heel. The cushioning and fit created one very comfortable tennis shoe."

Danny was pleasantly surprised with the comfort. "The shoes were surprisingly comfortable both on and off the court. It's nice to have a tennis shoe that is comfortable with low-profile cushioning." Troy was happy with the comfort from the first wear. "These shoes felt very comfortable to me from the moment I tried them on. The cushioning was very spongy feeling -- especially in the heel. Solid heel cushioning is something that I like in a shoe. I never noticed any pinching or poking inside the shoes. The cushioning and comfort that I got from these shoes was surprising. Most lightweight shoes I've tried in the past were not nearly as enjoyable to play in. I've used Asics running shoes in the past, and found superb comfort. I've found that they've translated the comfort level nicely into tennis with the Gel Resolution."

Experiencing good comfort after a brief break-in period was Spencer. "They felt very snug and cushy out of the box and on my way to the courts. The upper was nice and soft feeling with plenty of cushioning. After a half hour of playing, however, I experienced some discomfort on both pinky toes as this shoe narrows too much for me in the forefoot. It felt and fit great from the heel to the midfoot, but from the ball of the foot to the toe was a little too narrow for me at the beginning. So, there was a slight break-in period that was necessary. After a couple of hitting sessions, it did loosen up comfortably. The cushioning was better than expected. I also felt that I was 'in the shoe', as opposed to 'on the shoe'."

Arch Support

The Gel Resolutions' medium height arches and correct placement worked well with our testers. Troy felt the support was perfect. "The arch support fit my foot perfectly. Most shoes that have a medium arch, like these, generally contour to the bottom of my feet nicely. I typically don't notice problems in my arches unless the support is extremely low and flat. The Gel Resolution gave me just the right amount of arch support. I never had to worry about any pain in my arches and my full focus was on my tennis." Experiencing no ill effects was Granville. "The arches were just right. I didn't think about it when on the court, which is just the way I like it."

Feeling good support when accelerating was Chris. "My arches felt well supported in these shoes. I felt confident sprinting forward at full pace without stressing my arches. Whenever I feel stress in my arches, it is almost always at push off and I never felt any of that in these shoes." Danny felt the arches ran low, but with no repercussions. "I thought the arch support was low, but that didn't bother me. I would prefer a higher arched shoe, but this one worked fine for me. The low arch didn't affect my play whatsoever."

Happy with the medium height of the arches was Spencer. "I liked the medium height support of the arches. I never had any issues with my arches during or after play." Jason agreed. "Listed as medium arched shoes, I felt no discomfort wearing these shoes. I experienced no soreness in my arches, even after wearing them all day long."

Foot Support/Stability

Even with the ample cushioning provided by the Gel Resolutions, many of our testers noticed their feet sat low inside the shoes. The low-down feel created a solid sense of stability for most. Impressed with the fit and feel was Granville. "If feet had bucket seats, I think it would feel like the Gel Resolution. I did not experience any 'roll over' inclinations - to the contrary, sitting low inside the shoes with the contoured fit (and traction), I found the Gel Resolution to be as stable as any shoe in recent memory."

Spencer was happy with the response when starting and stopping. "I was happy with the support as well as stability when wearing the shoes. I enjoyed a snug fit for support, and my changes of direction were sturdy and consistent. With that snug fit there was no sliding around, as the upper wrapped my feet quite well. When coming hard into the net and having to stop on a dime, there was no toe jamming either." Giving high marks for stability and support was Danny. "Considering how low-cut the Asics shoes are, I thought the foot support and stability were top notch. I find that shoes with a glove-like fit, such as these, are generally more supportive and stable."

Jason found that lacing them up all the way made for a secure fit with no slipping or sliding. "I felt very secure in these shoes once I had the laces all the way up to the highest eyelet. But just going down one notch made a noticeable difference in the support. When I laced them up tight, and to the top, my feet didn't slip or slide."

Feeling secure with the fit and pleased with the flexibility of the upper was Troy. "These shoes wrapped around my feet very well. After the full break-in of these shoes, which didn't take long, I really began to love how these shoes felt around my feet. I always double-up on socks and found with the very flexible upper I was able to tighten them up and have them feel molded to my feet. The low-to-the-ground feel that this shoe offered, especially in the forefoot, allowed me to plant and cut very aggressively without fear of tweaking or twisting my ankles." Chris was thrilled with the combination of support and comfort. "I was very impressed by how well supported my feet felt considering these are not stiff or restrictive shoes. Many shoes succeed in support but fail in comfort, but these struck the perfect balance of both. When moving laterally across the baseline, my feet felt very well supported thanks to the glove-like fit."

Overall Sole Durability

The Gel Resolutions don't feature a durability guarantee, but our team was pleased with the longevity of the outsoles. Danny was pleased with the durability of his pair. "To be honest, I didn't see many signs of wear on the outsoles. It's surprising how slight the wear was compared to the amount of times I wore the shoes." Seeing no signs of premature wear was Granville. "Light wear over entire sole. I did not see any wear I would call premature. Seems like a quality outsole on par with the overall quality of the shoe."

Finding the outsole to have good durability was Jason. "I found the outsole material to be very resilient. It was remarkable how well the outsoles held up after an extensive playtest. I noticed some tread loss on the forefoot lateral side of the shoes as well as the pivot points. Other than that, the herringbone pattern seemed unfazed." Troy offered the most rigorous test concerning durability and gave a passing grade. "The outsole of these shoes seemed to hold up to my expectations. First off, anyone who has played college tennis and has been through 3-4 hour practices a day for a period of three to four months at a time knows that you are going chew up shoes like an angry dog that's been caged inside a house for too long. The main thing that was important for these shoes was that after they had been put through some excessive use, they still maintained good traction and grabbed the court well."

Chris was also impressed by the durability. "The outsoles on my shoes held up decently. The rubber seemed built for traction rather than outright durability, but the level of wear was more than acceptable for me. Oddly, I started to see wear around the lateral edges of the outsoles rather than the medial side of the outsole under my big toes, which is where I usually see wear first. In my high wear areas, the shoes held up well. At the end of the test, I still had lots of tread left, and the shoes still had lots of life in them."

Spencer concurred with Chris. "I felt the outsoles wore evenly, though slightly faster than some of the other, more durable shoes out there. It did seem to have a softer material that offered excellent traction, thus wearing a little quicker. I was willing to accept the wear, as the overall assets of the shoe were impressive."

Toe Durability

Chris felt the toe bumper offered plenty of abrasion resistance. "The toes held up pretty well. The tip is built up and offered good protection from court abrasion. I didn't have any issues with excessive wear, and the toes still had lots of life left in them at the end of the test." Happy with the lack of wear on the toe was Danny. "I had minimal signs of wear at the toe. Asics offers a beefed up toe guard for those who drag their toes. It worked great for me."

Eventually wearing through the toe, but happy with the durability, was severe toe dragger Troy. "The toe durability wasn't quite strong enough for the demands that I place on the shoes that I lace up and take to battle with me. The toe area on the Gel Resolutions lasted just about as long as I expected, which was about 2 1/2 to 3 weeks, practicing 4-5 times per week, for about 3-4 hours per day. In this amount of time they withstood a lot of drills, match play, heavy toe-dragging and some pretty quick feet pounding them into the concrete."

Traction

The Gel Resolutions feature ASICS High Abrasion Resistant Rubber (AHAR) outsole material in a hard-court friendly tread pattern. Impressed with the grip of the outsoles was Granville. "The Gel Resolutions offer excellent traction - the outsole rubber (AHAR) seems slightly softer and more pliable than other popular shoe outsoles. This gives the shoe a sense of 'stickiness' on the court, enhancing traction. Combined with the low-profile fit this shoe really gives me a new sense of security on the court. Secondly, there are no 'sharp corners' on the edge of the forefoot and heel, so the roll-over factor seems diminished." Chris felt the fit aided in the traction, enabling him to go full force on changes of direction. "The level of traction I found was excellent and I gave the shoes top marks in this category. I was able to start, stop and change directions at full force with no worries about losing grip. The fit and support of the shoes complemented the traction, enabling me to move at full speed."

Jason liked the traction performance, particularly when going against tough competition. "This was another area where I felt these shoes excelled. After 5-6 weeks of testing, I only experienced slight slippages a couple of times. Cutting and turning, making direction changes, all were done with above average traction. Playing against players much better than myself was where I could really put these shoes to the test. Going up against our open level player, Danny, I really noticed how well these shoes gripped the court. I was getting pulled from side to side, then up to the net and back to the baseline and never had any traction issues." Feeling the low-to-the-ground design enhanced the traction was Danny. "I came close to giving a perfect score for traction with these shoes. What makes this shoe so good for traction is the low-to-ground design. Most shoes that have this design are good for traction if the herringbone tread is solid, and I found that in the Gel Resolutions."

Troy liked how the level of grip complemented his style of play. "I felt like I could stop-and-start on a dime with the Gel Resolutions. Traction is key to me in the overall quality of a shoe. The sole of this shoe gripped the court extremely well. I could really explode out of the blocks with these shoes. The combination of the low-to-the-ground feel and the outsole's good grip helped me make sharp, aggressive cuts and plants." Experiencing superb stick on the hard courts was Spencer. "The traction was excellent. There were no incidents of sliding out whatsoever. They really did seem to grab the court surface."

Weight

Our testers found the Gel Resolutions to offer a very light feel on the foot. Chris liked the blend of performance and weight. "The shoes felt very light on my feet. Considering the overall performance, I would say the performance-to-weight ratio was excellent. I really felt like I was getting a lot out of these shoes without any additional weight to slow me down." Considering the other assets of the shoe, the weight was impressive, according to Granville. "I'd still call this a light shoe, at under a pound per shoe. Considering the excellent padding and traction, the shoes seemed very light for the features and benefits they provided."

Danny's attention was immediately drawn to the light feel of the Gel Resolutions. "The first thing that I noticed when I put these shoes on was the weight. They are very lightweight shoes and great for fast court movements. I thought they felt shockingly lightweight considering they are not the most ventilated shoes. Most shoes that I've worn that are lightweight have extreme ventilation, but these were an exception."

Liking the weight distribution was Jason. "These shoes felt nice and light on the court. I think it's due mainly to the fact that the weight of the shoe is well dispersed throughout."

Feeling very light on his feet was Troy. "I found that the weight of these shoes was very beneficial to my speed compared to some bulkier shoes that I have recently tried. I felt as though there was nothing holding my feet back or making them feel sluggish. I felt like I could get my feet going very quickly in the Gel Resolutions." Spencer agreed. "These were definitely light feeling shoes. Whether it was mental or not, I did feel I could get to a lot of balls that might have otherwise been just out of reach."

Overall

The ASICS Gel Resolutions do indeed scream speed, and they managed to keep on screaming for the duration of our test. Several factors combined to increase the foot speed of our testers, including support, traction, cushioning, a low-to-the-ground feel and a comfortable ride. We found comfort to be a 360-degree experience thanks to the Asics Gel cushioning system and uppers that wrapped our feet securely. The glove-like fit offered nice support while the low-to-the-ground feel provided superb stability during aggressive court movements. We also found the durability of the outsoles to be sufficient, even though there is no durability guarantee offered. When all is said and done, it is not surprising that this shoe has become a popular choice for recreational tennis players all the way up to touring pros.

Asics Gel Resolution Scores
The Up Side	The Down Side	Play Test Scores
Weight Comfort Traction Cushioning Support Cosmetics	No durability guarantee	Comfort 4.4 Arch Support 4.1 Foot Support/Stability 4.4 Overall Sole Durability 4.0 Toe Durability 3.8 Traction 4.7 Weight 4.6 Overall 4.5 Scores (1-Horrible 2-Poor 3-Average 4-Good 5-Tremendous)

Playtesters' Foot Types: Chris - Narrow width/Medium arch, Spencer - medium/medium arch, Danny - Medium/Medium arch, Granville Narrow/low archJason Wide/Low arch, Troy Narrow/medium

Review date: May, 2008. If you found this review interesting or have further questions or comments please contact us.

All content copyright 2008 Tennis Warehouse.