Asics has been steadily releasing sick looking skate shoes over the last few years and adapting their classic models for skateboarding.
So we were hyped to grab a few pairs and see how they skate. Asics’ skate program has been active for long enough to have introduced an upgraded version of their Gel-Flexkee Pro, so knowing that we had to find out what the Gel Flexkee Pro 2.0 is like and also to help you decide if they should be the next pair that you should go out and get.
Read our Asics Gel Flexkee Pro 2.0 review below and check our wear test to see for yourself.
(0.) – Gel-Flexkee Pro 2.0: “The Next Generation”
The Asics Gel-Flexkee Pro 2.0 builds on the aesthetic silhouette of the Flexkee Pro but enhances it with several upgrades, including a new toecap, outer heel construction and lots of other well-considered protective, stylistic features to increase the shoe’s performance.
(1.) – Design: “Unique Grooves”
The shoes’ most distinct feature is the continuous set of grooves embedded into the outsole, that extend from the middle of the outsole to the outer toe cap.
This lightweight model’s large tongue takes inspiration from classic football boot designs.
The Flexkee 2.0s have an asymmetric construction that keeps your foot in contact with the board and protects your laces from ripping.
This construction makes the toes of the shoe point outwardly at an angle, which helps with lace protection and gives this model a very unique look.
There’s an embroidered Asics Tiger logo on the side, which is more subtle than the original, which had a larger version, spanning from sole to collar.
(2.) – Laces: “Proper Lace Protection”
Ripped laces can literally tear a great skate session apart but you will most likely never have this issue with the Flexkee 2.0s.
The laces are positioned high up and very centered on the shoe and the model’s asymmetric design places your laces about as far away from the grip side of the board as possible, completely freeing up space for you to get even more flick.
It has a dual lace locking system that you can lace up from the inside or outside, further positioning your laces from zones that are prone to snappage.
We would recommend you lace these up from the inside as this means your laces are secure in the side of the shoe ensuring safe distance from your grip.
The orange-tipped black laces are a dope touch and they match with the orange Asics logo on the heel and insole. However, they also come with a pair of cream-coloured laces if you want a look that seamlessly blends with the suede upper.
(3.) – Sizing: “Go a Half Size Up”
The Gel-Flexkee 2.0s hug your feet and the fit is true to size. The shoe is narrower than many models out there, so expect yours to have a glove-like fit.
If you have wider than average feet and find yourself squeezing into shoes that are your size, we would recommend going a half size up on the Flexkees.
(4.) – Toecap: “Tough, Flexy, Solid Flick”
The rubber toecap of the shoe is pointy, grippy, and flexible. This makes these slim-fitting shoes incredibly resistant to wear. The shoe’s asymmetric curves accentuate the toe, making it solid for flip tricks.
The durable toe cap gives you such solid flick you can easily over flip your board but you get accustomed to gaining controlling over that detail quickly.
There is a micro embossed Asics logo on the side of the toe, alongside a few micro grids and lines, in the top layer of the rubber, enhancing grip and style.
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(5.) – The Grooves: “Support Your Feet to Shred on the Streets”
The grooves on the toecap don’t just look tech, they are made to support your feet and they do have a decent impact on the flexing movement of the shoe.
But where the grooves come into force is giving your feet a high level of impact protection at the side similar to the toecap. Both of them in working in combination will protect your feet from a board that comes rolling at you from the floor or flip tricks on flat gone awry, that cut down your time on you board.
Also, the grooves don’t get in the way of your flick. So you can flip your board just the same in the Flexkee 2.0s as you can in shoes with a more standard toecap.
(6.) – The Tongue: “Style and Function”
The Flexkee Tongue is a dope looking part of the shoe that aside from the laces, is a feature that ties this unique model together. Borrowing from football boot aesthetics, it gives the shoe a look rarely seen or ever done this well on a pair of skate shoes.
The tongue stays locked down in place with velcro strips located on the underside of the tongue and in the middle of the lace loop. It handily hides your laces after you’ve tied them up and gives the shoe an overall clean look after its been strapped down.
The Flexkee’s lower tongue ventilation is another rad feature. Constructed from a breathable, padded, shiny black mesh, it keeps your feet from getting too hot during a session and you are reminded of its smooth, comfortable feel every time when you are tying up your laces and adjusting the tongue.
(7.) – Out of The Box: “Takes a Few Sessions to Break In”
The Flexkee’s will take a couple sessions to really break in but from the first time that you put them on you can immediately feel the support they give to your pushing and cruising. The toecap is noticeably very stiff at the start but it softens up after a few sessions.
Chances are you’ll never put a single dent in the Gel-Flexkee 2.0s’s toecap, it’s incredibly tough and durable. It’s main job is to protect and support your feet but it is also decently grippy and slippy enough to keep giving you consistent flick.
If you like to wrap your foot around the pocket for tricks like Tre Flips, it will take a few sessions of skating to wear in the toecap to get to the point where you can get that board hugging feeling .
Although the toecap is tough, the stitching may show signs of wear after a few months of continuous flip tricks. But that’s not a big issue as including the stitching, the toecap is firmly glued to the upper.
Unlike a lot of flimsily built footwear out there, it shows no signs of losing its hold after the stitching is worn, due to the high strength and precision of the glue that welds it to the side of the shoe.
Depending on the width of your feet, you might need to make adjustments to your lace tightness to get used to the feel of the toecap, as it’s thickness is mainly on the inside but overall, the Flexkee 2.0s are a very easy and comfortable shoe to skate in right away.
(8.) – Skateabilty: “Cool for Cruising, Solid Board Feel”
You will not get 100 percent board feel skating these in the first few minutes but you will definitely get there within just a few hours.
Looking down at the Flexkee 2.0 feels a lot different to traditional skate shoes due to their asymmetrical design. So if you do look down at your feet quite often, there are some minor visual adjustments that you may have to make to factor in the difference.
The shoe’s inner is suitably padded on the sides and has thickened areas in the heel and around the collar where you need it.
(9.) – Skateabilty: “Tread w/ Care”
The Flexkee’s sole is decidedly minimal and stylish. It uses a classic and reliable herringbone tread which for basically every trick works fantastically but when pushing over very rough services or slippy surfaces is not quite as reactive as soles of other shoes we’ve skated.
(10.) – Skateabilty: Insole: “Knows Its Roll”
The shoe also comes with a pair of very slim, curved black insoles with the Asics logo on the heel side.
They are good enough but they don’t offer more levels of protection than the absolute basic requirements, which is most likely because the focus of this model’s heel protection tech is located in Asic’s patented gel tech that’s packed into the heel of the sole.
(11.) – Skateability: Heel: “More Cushion for Pushing”
Including the heavily reinforced rubber toecap, the Asics gel technology in the heel is the second most prominent protective feature of the Flexkee. The shock impact protection is solid, which is most likely why they don’t come with overly padded insoles as standard.
For small drops, they do a great job of protecting you from heel bruises but if your stepping up to a big drop or double set, you could benefit from adding padded insoles to these, to enhance the already high level of foot protection that the Flexkee 2.0 already provide.
(12.) – FlexKeen: “Unique Flair and Strong Construction”
After months of skating the Flexkee 2.0s, apart from their completely unique look, another one of its most stand out features has got to be its rock-solid durability.
The reinforced double stitching present throughout its suede uppers is built for skaters who want shoes that look good and last.
It keeps the shoes in shape and your feet secure with lowkey protective features like the rubber lining on the collar lining next to the top eyelet, which keeps an often forgotten but typically very tear prone zone of the shoe totally shielded from being ripped by your griptape.
The Flexkee’s sturdy rubber toecap and grooves, high quality lace protection, sticky under tongue velcro and tough gel heel technology make these shoes as strong as they are stylish and add to their ability to maintain its shape against a high level of skate wear and tear.
(13.) – Colorways
We’ve skated the Cream/Black model but the Flexkee 2.0 comes in Black/Safety Yellow and a toned down Black/Graphite Grey.
(14.) – Price (UK and USA)
UK –£155
US –$135
(15.) Rating – ‘7/10’
The Gel-Flexkee Pro 2.0 are definitely different. They’re a stylish shoe with advanced protective features. They have a lot of dope features you expect to see in high-end skate shoes and loads more that you don’t. They do everything they should with unique style and functional features that will boost their longevity in the long run.
It’s a versatile anywhere-anytime shoe you can rock from a skate spot into a bar that truly stands out amongst a sea of skate shoes that are all beginning to look incredibly similar.
