Monsoon Patrol x Asics Gel Kayano 14
The first time I saw these, Marc posted them on his page & I saw that these had a waterproof cover over the toe box & honestly is a big reason why I picked these up. These came in 2 different colorways and I have to say that Monsoon Patrol really did an excellent job with this Collab.
Materials: the base layer of this design is a white mesh, but on the toe, it has a clear/foggy silicon cover that wraps around the bottom half of the sneaker. The cover feels nice on foot & still allows you to have good movement and flexibility. Moving to the stripes, they used a synthetic leather in a cream/white color. The stripes grey inlays to add a nice contrast to the color blocking. From the midfoot to the back heel, there's a clear rip stop material that covers the base layer of mesh. Also, I like that they added a Matte Metallic print that gives some of specs of the shoes, i.e. MONSOON PATROL, GEL KAYANO 14, & SILICONE COVER. As for the tongue, you have the option to remove the pouch by unclipping & removing the cover if need be. The cover is waterproof & has a zipper on the back if you need to throw some supplies in them. Overall, this was a pretty awesome design & I'm really glad i picked these up. They have a nice gorp-core feel, while also continuing to remain functional given certain weather conditions... like a monsoon 🫣.
Comfort/Sizing: I personally find this model extremely comfortable. This model has no break in period and is comfy & soft straight out of the box. The feel on foot is very squishy but doesn't feel unstable like boost. In terms of sizing, I always get the Kayano 14 in my tts, size 8, and it has always fit my foot perfectly.
Overall Opinion: this is my first time picking up a design from Monsoon Patrol & I'm pretty happy with my purchase. Like i said b4, I really like the overall functionality & aesthetic of this sneaker. I feel like they did a really good job with this design & pushed the overall boundary of what you'd normally see on a Kayano 14. They were able to tap into the group scene & still make it an easy pair to just throw on & go ⛈️ or ☀️.