Salomon Aero Glide 3 vs Asics Gel-Cumulus 28:
Which to Choose

Start with the overlap, because it's substantial: both are tall neutral cushions with no medial post and no plate, both sit around a 42–43mm heel stack, and both are happiest at conversational-to-steady effort rather than tempo. The differences are in the details that actually matter day to day. The Aero Glide 3 is the lighter shoe at 248g versus the Cumulus 28's 275g, and its Energy Foam Evo (a supercritical TPU) carries a more energetic, bouncy character — it still rolls into a pleasant cruise when you reach for turnover, but it holds a faster gear more willingly than its weight-and-stack profile suggests. The Cumulus 28 goes the other direction: its FF Blast Max foam is tuned deliberately soft and absorbent, and the PureGEL heel insert makes landings genuinely gentle, so it smooths the road more than it springs you off it — push the pace and the foam starts to feel a touch vague. Drop is the other concrete split: the Cumulus runs a tall 13mm offset against the Aero Glide's 10mm, and that higher heel, paired with the gel insert, makes the Asics the more natural fit for committed heel strikers, while the slightly lower Salomon feels a hair more neutral through the gait. Forefoot stack is close (roughly 32mm Salomon, 30mm Asics), so both protect well on long days; the Asics simply does it with a plusher, more planted, cushion-first feel and the Salomon with a lighter, more responsive one.