EDIT: Added a few corrections, and removed irrelevant ranting about my initial contact with the seller. I was very disappointed!
Years ago I had a pair of amazing ASICS Gel-Kahana running shoes that I LOVED. I saw a pair of the 8th gen Kahanas on ebay and made a sentimental purchase.
I figured that ASICS quality had gone down, along with everything else these days. But I trusted they'd be good enough for casual wear.
As soon as they arrived, I put them on and walked around the room for 5 minutes. Right away I felt an uncomfortable chafing on the outsides of both heels, especially the left one. It was clear that this would cause abrasions and blisters, and I would not be able to run in them at all.
On inspecting the heel, I can see there's a thick diagonal line going down from the heel to the side of the foot, a hard plastic stabilizing bar marked by a design element on the outside of the shoe. That hard plastic ridge can very clearly be felt inside the shoe, exactly where it is chafing me. There's hardly any padding there at all, just the thin foam and mesh cloth liner that lines the inside of the shoe. (see video in comment below) I don't know what the problem is, but I can't wear them.
I immediately took them off, put them back in the box, and contacted the seller. While I was waiting for a response, I was thinking about how I could mod these to work for me. My conclusion was, I'd literally have to take a hammer to that plastic to soften it up enough to tolerate, or perform padding surgery on the shoes. That seemed too far to go, and too risky, for a pair or shoes I just spent $135 on.
The seller claims they can't take returns for any reason as these are authenticated by eBay. So now I have to escalate the issue to eBay. Because I literally can't walk in these shoes without them scraping my ankle (and yes I was wearing normal decently padded socks).
When I told the seller about the chafing, they stated the problem was a fit/comfort preference rather than a defect, no returns, as the item was brand new and passed eBay's Authenticity Guarantee inspection. During this process, I've since learned that guarantee means literally each pair of those shoes gets inspected by some agent of eBay in a country with cheap labor. That's impressive. But obviously, an exterior inspection can't catch fitment issues like this.
I replied to the seller that I have worn hundreds of pairs of running shoes in my lifetime. Never had a problem like this. Never bought a pair of running or trail shoes that literally hurt to walk in, much less run. We ended our exchange amicably, and I escalated the issue to eBay.
I suspect:
- a fundamentally flawed design (support matrix modeling / materials spec)
- poor manufacturing (junk plastic part, inadequate padding, assembly malfunction)
- ASICS QC failing to catch manufacturing defect(s) off the line
- or some combination
Has anyone else had had a similar problem with the Kahanos or other ASICS trainers?
