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It’s officially Mesh Boyz Summer. The thermometer is high and the sneakers are low. The humidity is thick and the shoes are breezy. If you’ve been paying attention to footwear trends for the past couple of years, you’ve seen the re-emergence of styles from the Y2K era, and here is your guide to the best mesh running shoes to buy this summer.
Brands such as ASICS, Saucony, and New Balance have seen a surge in popularity thanks to the reintroduction of shoes from the 2000s that are replacing a lot of basketball and plain retro shoes in people’s collections. The trend is still going strong, and as a result, you’re seeing way more white and silver sneakers hitting the streets. They’re comfortable, they’re readily available, and they’re affordable—for the most part. They’re the antithesis of hype culture, even though there are now hyped versions of most of these shoes. But if you want a pair of sneakers you can literally run all summer, here are the best options.
This is such a surprise sneaker. By now, almost everyone has seen someone wear a pair of ASICS 1130s. They’re everywhere. And for good reason: they’re $100. But it’s even more of a shocker that it even became a thing at all. I remember selling the heck out of these shoes back in 2008 when they first came out. Back then, they were sold strictly to runners or old people. It wasn’t a “cult classic” IYKYK sort of shoe. Never. They were the takedown version of the 2130. If my memory serves me right, they were $80 and the 2130s were $100. And they’d go on sale, too. But now, with the mesh trend booming, they’re a not-too-busy, no-frills mesh runner that looks good in white and silver. There are collabs, most notably with Kith, but the best pairs are just the general releases, which are even getting hard to buy now.
Shop the ASICS Gel-1130 on Complex Shop.
The New Balance 1906R has been a slow burn. We first saw it through collaborations with the likes of Aime Leon Dore and Taiwan’s Invincible. And then it kind of played the background to the 2002R and 860v2. Eventually we saw the original colorway of white, black, and gold get a continual push at retailers like JD Sports. And then New Balance shifted to making it their big sneaker in 2024. There are projects with Action Bronson, Salehe Bembury, Kith, and Jack Harlow. The 1906 is it. But you can also get pairs at your local chain retail store, too.
Shop StockX’s inventory of the New Balance 1906R here.
The Nike Vomero 5 is a huge shoe now, but that wasn’t always the case. The sneaker first came out in 2010. And it wasn’t a hit back then. It was part of NIke’s core running Bowerman Series. At the time, the brand was getting its behind handed to it by the likes of ASICS, Brooks, and Saucony in that department. Nike was more focused on Shox than actual running shoes then. And it sort of slipped through the cracks. The brand brought the Vomero 5 back in 2019, but even with an A-Cold-Wall collaboration, it didn’t do much. Then the mesh running shoe trend hit in 2022 and Nike brought the shoe back. And now it’s one of the biggest shoes in the category. It’s not fair to say Nike is dominating the trend, because it was never theirs to begin with. But you see this sneaker everywhere.
Shop StockX’s inventory of the Nike Zoom Vomero 5 here.
The one thing Saucony does extremely well is running shoes. When it comes to mesh running, that’s the brand’s sweet spot. We have recently seen the reemergence of the Progrid Omni 9. Not a notable shoe in the sneakerhead space, but perfectly on trend. The sneaker first came out in 2010 and no one ever imagined it would be retroed. But it came back in some original colors and then was re-worked by Jae Tips. And it’s still not a huge sneaker in terms of units and seeing it everywhere. But it’s a good one to get if you want something different.
Shop the Saucony Progrid Omni 9 on Complex Shop.
The Kayano is the pinnacle of ASICS’s running line. It was always the top shoe when you were working in a retail store. There was the 1100 line, then the 2100 line, and the Kayano line sat on top of that. Nimbus and Cumulus were somewhere in the middle. Kayano was always the biggest expression of Gel. And usually the most expensive. But still, it was never a shoe that greatly transcended core running. There have been attempts over the years, mainly the Kayano OG and Kayano 5 retros. But they didn’t really captivate people. The Kayano 14’s bring back has been different though. It’s seen collaborations from JJJJound, Kith, Ice Studios, Zack Bia, Atmos, and more. But also the general release pairs have been just as hot. The overload of Gel still looks as cool now as it did in 2008.
Shop the ASICS Gel-Kayano 14 on Complex Shop.
This is another funny one. New Balance brought back the 860v2, first released in 2011, in 2019. The sneaker kind of didn’t hit the mark then. Some people were into it, but it was ahead of the curve for New Balance. There was a collaboration with Dime on the shoe in 2020. The shoe disappeared for a couple of years and re-emerged in 2022 with a Thisisneverthat collaboration and a three-shoe project with Aime Leon Dore in 2023. It’s not the most popular of New Balance’s mesh offerings, but certainly one of the best.
Shop StockX’s inventory of the New Balance 860v2 here.
With 1130s, Kayano 14s, and 2160s being everywhere, it’s obvious that the ASICS train is still going strong. Next up is the Gel Nimbus 10.1. The sneaker combines the upper of the Nimbus 10 with the tooling from the Kayano 14. We’ve seen collaborations on it from Stefon Diggs, Vandy, and an upcoming one with Kith. But there are also general release pairs on the market that are worth some attention. The model is in the same vein as the other popular ASICS, but has a little more techy style. And the colorways are a bit more daring, too. I’m sure you’ll see these flood the streets soon.
Shop the Asics Gel-Nimbus 10.1 on the Complex Shop.
I kinda feel like a minotaur when I wear these. The separated midsole and raised heel is hoof-ish. With that said, the Saucony Pro Grid Triumph 4 is still a good shoe. It first came out in 2007 and has since received collaborations from Minted New York and Highsnobiety. But the general release pairs are great, too, and they’re easier to purchase.
Shop the Saucony Pro Grid Triumph 4 on Complex Shop.
Adidas doesn’t get enough love in the mesh runner category. It’s weird, because the brand was early on the trend. Maybe almost too early. Adidas brand re-launched the Response CL in 2020. And it didn’t really catch on. (I wore it and loved it.) It got more attention through its Bad Bunny projects in 2023. Now the brand is on the Adistar Cushion 3. It still hasn’t caught on widely, but here we’re to say these are good shoes, and if you want some Adidas mesh shoes, go for these.
Shop StockX’s inventory of the Adidas Adistar Cushion 3 here.
When it comes to running shoes, few brands have as many credentials in the space as Mizuno. The Japanese brand can get overshadowed by ASICS at times, but it’s because they don’t step out into the lifestyle space as much. But with the current trend shifting towards Y2K sneakers, the time was right to bring back the Mizuno Wave Rider 10, which first released in 2007. It stands out mostly because of Mizuno’s Wave technology. Instead of using Gel like ASICS, the brand’s cushioning comes from the suspension of a plastic plate throughout the midsole that absorbs and returns energy. The brand hasn’t done a widespread bring back of this shoes, and they’re harder to find, but still worth getting if you can.
Shop StockX’s inventory of the Mizuno Wave Rider 10 here.
Is this shoe good? People are still on the fence. When it first came back in 2023, I wasn’t sold on it at all. We always told Joe La Puma that he didn’t need his CDG pair. And I sort of still feel that way. But then it came back in more colors. A black and pink and, in my opinion, a more notable white and green that’s perfect for Mesh Boyz Summer. The Pegasus is Nike’s longest running shoe line, so it’s never a bad decision to get a pair.
Shop StockX’s inventory of the Nike Air Pegasus 2k5 here.
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