I’ve tested almost all of the best carbon plate running shoes available and until the Asics Metaspeed Sky Paris came out, I’d always opt to use a Nike shoe when it came to my biggest races, be it the Nike Vaporfly 3 or Nike Alphafly 3.
The Asics Metaspeed Sky Paris changed that. It’s become my go-to racer and I ran my marathon PR of 2:27:34 in the shoe at the London Marathon this year. It’s one of the best running shoes available and a sensational racer for any distance.
Asics Metaspeed Sky Paris: price and availability
The Asics Metaspeed Sky Paris launched in February 2024 and costs $250, the same price as its predecessor, the Asics Metaspeed Sky+. It’s available to buy directly from Asics and third-party retailers. While far from cheap, the price of the Metaspeed Sky Paris is about par for carbon plate super-shoes, and it’s cheaper than some, including the Nike Alphafly 3.
Asics Metaspeed Sky Paris review: design and fit
At 6.6oz in my U.S. size 10, the Asics Metaspeed Sky Paris is the lightest carbon plate running shoe I’ve tested. It’s remarkably light for a shoe with a stack height of 39.5mm at the heel, which drops to 34.5mm at the forefoot for a 5mm heel-to-toe offset.
The shoe is currently available in one color with a unisex fit, and is one of two carbon plate racers in Asics’s range. The Metaspeed Sky Paris is designed to suit bounding runners with a long stride length, while the Metaspeed Edge Paris is for runners with a high cadence. I’ve not tested the Edge Paris yet, but with past models of the two shoes I’ve preferred the Sky even as a high-cadence runner.
I found that the shoe fit me well in my normal running shoe size. I’ve used the same size for all three generations of the Metaspeed Sky to date, along with any other Asics shoe I’ve tested in recent years.
Upper
The Asics Metaspeed Sky Paris has a Motion Wrap 2.0 upper, which is a lightweight and breathable mesh material. There’s a little padding on the collar of the shoe for added comfort over long distances, but for the most part the focus is on keeping the upper as light as possible and it has a very thin tongue.
I’ve used the Sky Paris for several races including a marathon and run in all conditions and the upper has been breathable on hot runs and drained well when it’s been raining. It’s comfortable around the heel too — I’ve experienced no irritation of my Achilles — and it holds the foot securely in place when running quickly and taking corners at speed.
Midsole
The key update to the Metaspeed Sky Paris compared with the Metaspeed Sky+ is the new FF Turbo+ foam in the midsole. This is lighter, softer and bouncier than the FF Turbo used on past models, and creates a better and faster ride as a result.
Running through the midsole is a carbon plate, which sits higher in the foam than the plate used on the Asics Metaspeed Edge Paris. This is the main difference between the shoes, with the more scooped plate in the Edge Paris meant to suit high cadence runners better, while the plate being higher in the Sky Paris is meant to deliver more energy return to bounding runners.
Outsole
As with most racing shoes the Metaspeed Sky Paris has a minimal outsole, with Asicsgrip rubber covering the forefoot and then strips extending to the heel of the shoe along its sides. These strips of rubber don’t go far enough back to cover the heel though, so if you heel-strike you can hit the exposed foam at the back of the shoe and wear it down.
After 100 miles in the shoe as a heel-striker, I do see a bit of wear and tear on the foam on the back of my left shoe in particular — I land further back on my left heel than my right. However, this hasn’t affected the ride of the shoe in any way, and the grip has been fine for me in the wet, so I don’t class it as a major problem.
Asics Metaspeed Sky Paris review: running performance
I enjoyed running in the original Asics Metaspeed Sky and Metaspeed Sky+, and my PR for the 10K was actually run in the original, but I still prefer Nike’s best racers like the Nike Alphafly 3 and Vaporfly to those shoes.
The Asics Metaspeed Sky Paris is a significant improvement on past versions though, and I rate it as the best racing shoe available from any brand. I ran my marathon PR of 2:27:34 in the shoe at the London Marathon 2024, and have also logged a 70:30 half marathon and a 15:51 5K in the shoe, logging over 100 miles in it in total.
It’s unbelievably light for what still feels like such a cushioned and propulsive shoe — it’s 0.7oz lighter than the Vaporfly 3, for example, and over an ounce lighter than the Alphafly 3. This helps it to feel nimble and fast for shorter events and track sessions, but there’s enough foam underfoot for the Metaspeed Sky Paris to be comfortable for a marathon, where the efficiency benefits delivered by the plate/foam combo really shine.
As a high cadence runner I love how light the shoe is because it aids foot turnover, and when I was tiring and starting to really shuffle at the end of the London Marathon I still found it easy to engage the plate in the shoe and get a propulsive feeling from the midsole. It’s not as flat out bouncy as the Alphafly, or the Hoka Cielo X1, but it has a faster transition from heel-to-toe than those shoes and the new FF Turbo+ midsole foam still delivers a springy ride.
It’s more or less a perfect modern racing shoe, being exceptionally light without sacrificing any bounce and cushioning. I’ve run fast at every distance from strides and 400m reps up to the marathon in the shoe, and it’s impressed me every time.
Should you buy the Asics Metaspeed Sky Paris?
I think the Asics Metaspeed Sky Paris is the best racing shoe you can buy right now, with the caveat that I’ve not yet tested the Metaspeed Edge Paris or the Adidas Pro Evo 1, though the latter is so expensive and hard to get hold of that I view it as more a shoe for elites than amateurs.
The Metaspeed Sky Paris is a notable upgrade on past models of the shoe, and sets new standards with how light it is while still having a high stack of bouncy foam in the midsole. For the first time since the launch of the original Nike Vaporfly 4%, my favorite racing shoe is not made by Nike, and I expect other brands will react to the Metaspeed Sky Paris by making lighter super-shoes.
