Asics Gel Fastball 3 Review

The Asics Gel Fastball 3 is a low profile, ultra lightweight shoe from Asics.

Worn by both Mohamed and Marwan ElShorbagy, alongside Camille Serme, Salma Hany, Joelle King, Mazen Hesham and many more, they’ve become hugely popular on the pro tour.

And for good reason. With the speed and ferocity of the game they’re playing, they need a shoe that performs at the highest level.

Make no mistake, this is a light pair of shoes. My personal shoe of choice, the Gel Tactic 2s weigh 350 grams, whereas these weigh just 300. This is fantastic for a squash shoe – the short, sharp movements that the game requires you to make are far easier with lighter shoes on your feet.

Asics Gel Fastball 3 – Underfoot Feel

With a very low profile, Asics has still managed to retain a significant amount of underfoot cushioning in the heel, it’s quite an achievement. According to the Asics website, they have a 10mm heel drop, meaning the back of your foot sits 1cm higher than the front, leaving plenty of room for impact absorbing material in the heel.

There is a definite absence of cushioning towards the front of the shoe though, so you do notice a fair bit more ground contact on your front foot area. I personally like shoes that have a little more cushioning here, I can’t escape the feeling of ‘PE pumps’ when wearing these for long enough periods of time.

They do have a fairly flexible sole, which makes them comfortable when it comes to keeping on your toes.

One strange thing I found with these was that during a high impact game, my feet would feel like they were absolutely on fire, more noticeably towards the front of my feet. I’m really not sure what would cause this, it’s something I’ve only ever experienced with this shoe. It’s not a dealbreaker by any means, but was still something I found quite odd.

Asics Gel Fastball 3 – Stability

The shoe has a wide rubber sole around the midfoot position, which becomes really obvious from the top-down view. I found this to really help with stability and I imagine this would in turn reduce the risk of things such as ankle rolls.

The fabric upper these shoes are made out of is surprisingly well cushioned, especially around your heel/ankle. Your foot feels well supported in this shoe, even given the substantially light weight.

Towards the front of the shoe however, the material thinner, meaning they feel a little less supported than something like the Gel Tactics or Gel Rockets.

How durable are the Asics Gel Fastball 3?

One area where these shoes really did impress me was in their durability. When I first wore these shoes, I had fairly low expectations for how long they’d last given their light weight.

I’m pleased to report that they’ve actually lasted considerably longer than I’d anticipated. The rubber underneath seems to be incredibly hard wearing, even for someone like me who drags their toes all over the place.

They probably rank as the most durable pair of shoes I’ve owned, hats off to Asics here!

The material in the sockliners seemed to deteriorate fairly quickly however, though they can easily be removed and replaced.

Asics Gel Fastball 3 – Sizing

I found these shoes to fit slightly on the larger side. I’m usually comfortable in a UK size 9, however they did feel fairly roomy compared to other shoes. If I was to buy another pair I’d possibly drop down half a size.

In Summary

These shoes are brilliant for if you’re looking for a lightweight shoe to help manoeuvre around the court quickly.

I found their durability to be fantastic. You should comfortably be able to use these for just as long, if not longer than most other squash shoes.

Their cushioning is also great, however I didn’t find them quite as well supported as other Asics models towards the front of the foot, however that’s a reasonable trade off for the light weight.

It’s no surprise that so many professional players wear these shoes. Given their light weight and ability to keep up with the high demands of squash, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend the Asics Gel Fastball 3 to amateur players.

Purchase links

Amazon UK (affiliate link – following this link costs the exact same as usual, and I’ll receive a small commission from the sale. This helps to cover some of the costs of running this site)
PDH Sports 
Asics Outlet