HAL Studio x ASICS Gel 1130
I have been waiting for the opportunity to write this review... I saw this shoe through Hal Studio leaking recently, and I immediately knew it was going to be an issue for me. This shoe is absolutely beautiful in hand. Imo, this is the one of, if not the best sneaker to release so far this year for me.
Materials: The materials are stunning. The Asics logo on both sides consist of a chunky, soft, hairy suede that has a nice color change while moving your finger across it. The Asics stripes have this little embroidered 'a' logo, which for me, is a subtle, but a unique little touch. Underneath the stripes is this almost cinder looking suede that is soft as well, but much thinner than the logo above it. Then on areas around the eyelets you have this very soft leather. If I were to compare the leather to another shoe, it is similar to the leather used on the OG OW Dunk Low. As for the rest of the sneaker, it has this very breathable and comfortable mesh that feels really nice on foot. Honestly, this is one of the nicest quality Asics that I have seen in a long time.
Comfort/Sizing: Right out of the box, this model felt already broken in. Imo, this model has a mixture of the feeling of squish that you'd feel in Boost but with much more stability. By saying that I mean it is a squishy & comfortable sneaker, but you don't feel like you're unstable like on models with big chunks of Boost on them. This is a type of sneaker that I would prefer to wear if I knew I was going to be out all day and didn't want to have any discomfort. In terms of Sizing, I would go tts, even if you had a wider foot, I would go tts. I would NOT go down a half size. My foot fits perfectly in a size 8, which is my tts.
Overall Opinion: Based on what I have seen that is coming out this year as of now, I really don't see another sneaker topping this one for me as my SOTY. The materials are premium, the comfort is amazing, the colorblocking is gorgeous. I honestly wouldn't be able to find a single thing I didn't like about this sneaker if I tried. Hal Studio did an incredible job and I am very excited to see what they come up with next.
If you made it this far, I just wanted to thank you for taking time out of your night to read my thoughts on this sneaker. Thank you for the overwhelming amount of love and support. I hope everyone has a good rest of your night/day.