Asics Solution Speed FF 3 Clay review

Don;t miss out on the Solution Speed FF 3 Clay if:

• you need light and fast tennis shoes to match your agile playing style
• you are a shifty baseline-to-net type fo player
• you are a fan of Alex de Minaur and would love to wear a tennis shoe designed under his influence

If you don't mind a heavier tennis shoe in exchange for more substantial cushioning and stability, the ASICS Gel Resolution 9 Clay and the Adidas Barricade 13 Clay are better options for you.

We felt pretty grounded while playtesting the Solution Speed 3 Clay but the impact protection was there too when we needed it. This ASICS shoe blends court feel and cushioning pretty seamlessly all being a weight fairly light option.

Measuring the shoe's stack height in the heel, we got 27.9 mm which is not much lower than the category average. If you need that cushioned comfort (especially if you've had an injury), It's better to go for the ASICS Gel Resolution 9 Clay instead.

The moderate forefoot stack of this ASICS shoe also helped us feel very connected to the court. At 19.7 mm, we found it to be on par with the tennis shoe average offering a mix of protection and groundedness.

Staying on our toes a lot felt easy in the Solution Speed FF 3 Clay as the shoe is meant for nimble movements all over the court.

According to our stack measurements above, the shoe has a gradual heel-to-toe drop of 8.2 mm.

This is a standard offset for a tennis shoe in which the heel slightly raised above the toes. This helps to keep the forefoot more flexible and maneuverable while keeping the heel and Achilles tendon protected from the impact.

It is only natural to see ASICS' most lightweight EVA foam in the midsole of the Solution Speed FF 3 Clay - the brand's lightest speed-oriented tennis shoe.

We found it to be a pretty dense yet responsive type of foam which contributed to the shoe's nimble design. Measuring its firmness with a Shore A durometer, we got an above-average reading of 30.4 HA. That's a bit firmer than what you might experience in most other tenni shoes.

Even as lightweight speedster, the Solution Speed FF 3 Clay doesn't cut corners on comfort.

We found its insole to be generously padded with 5.3 mm of foam in the heel area. This adds a nice touch to the shoe's step-in comfort.

ASICS found a way to place protective elements all over the Solution Speed's upper without messing up the fit. Having poured a gel mold of the shoe's interiors, we were able to verify this with precise measurements.

First of all, we applied our caliper to the widest part of the shoe's toebox (right below the toe joints) and got a width of 93.8 mm. That is a standard measurement for a medium-width tennis shoe in a men's US size 9.

Despite the shoe's gel mold looking somewhat tapered at the pinkie toe, we didn't find it to be critically narrow. At 67.6 mm in the big toe area, it still makes it into the medium toebox category.

But please note that the Solution Speed FF 3 Clay has a pretty streamlined silhouette which makes it less welcome for players with wide feet.

The shoe's vertical toebox space didn't bring any surprises with a caliper reading of 25.1 mm. This is a standard toebox height for a tennis shoe offers sufficient wiggle room for the toes but not too much to cause undue foot shifting inside the shoe.

When it comes to side-to-side support, the ASICS Solution Speed FF 3 Clay performs very different from the brand's go-to stability option, the Resolution 9 Clay.

But just because it lacks the same pronounced sidewalls and supportive elements doesn't mean that the Speed can't handle forceful split steps or zigzags. We actually found it pretty capable in that regard!

A stiff Speedtruss shank is the shoe's essential stability ingredient. Placed in the midfoot, it embraces the Solution Speed's midfoot both externally and internally which adds a great deal of rigidity in this area. This doesn't allow the foot to twist and wobble uncontrollably during the match.

To asses exactly how stiff this ASICS shoe is torsionally, we performed a manual twisting test. Not being able to get even the slightest bend from the Solution Speed FF 3 Clay, we didn't hesitate to give it the highest stiffness score of 5/5!

This makes it just as torsionally rigid as the ASICS Gel Resolution 9 Clay but in a differrent way.

Shifting our focus to the heel counter, we found it to be just as unforgiving as the midfoot.

Our manual push-and-squeeze test proved that it's impossible to fold or bend which translated into a highly secure experience on the court. Our heels remained locked in with no impromptu wiggling.

As a streamlined and nimble tennis shoe, we didn't expect a ton of platform width in the Solution Speed FF 3 Clay.

But it did show a standard reading of 110.8 mm in the widest part of the forefoot. This offered just enough landing and push-off area for a surefooted experience.

The heel, on the other hand, reveals the shoe's speedy nature with a below-average width of 84.2 mm.

Not only is it narrow and rounded, but the shoe's heel is also notably beveled. Agile all-court players are sure to benefit from this shape as it makes the shoe's rearfoot less burdensome.

Despite its ultra stiff midfoot shank, the ASICS Solution Speed FF 3 Clay remains impressively flexible in the forefoot.

According to our shoe flexing tester, it takes 14.3N to bend the shoe by 30 degrees which is less than it takes an average tennis shoe. That makes it more agreeable for precise footwork during a fast-paced hitting session.

Of course the Solution Speed turned out to be some of the lightest tennis shoe options from ASICS too. Tipping the scale at 10.8 oz (306g), it also proved to be some of the lightest in the category.

This is yet another characteristic that helps this shoe move so effortlessly with the foot.

The Solution Speed FF 3 Clay strips away the burly PU upper coverage of its predecessor becoming notably lighter but not much airier.

Our main breathability test showed a steady albeit thin streak of smoke passing through the shoe's toebox mesh. But because the bellows were not as thick as they were in other tennis shoes, we couldn't rate this ASICS shoe's breathability any higher than 3/5.

That's a slightly below-average score for this shoe category so you may want to keep it for matches in moderate temperatures.

Hovering the shoe's half-cut upper over the LED light revealed its porous nature but it wasn't the most translucent material either.

Our microscope inspection showed overlapping layers of mesh which apparently limit the ventilation capacity of these air channels.

It sees like ASICS went for a bit of a comproimse on its upper reinforcement to keep the Solution Speed's weight down. Particularly in the toe drag area.

As our abrasive Dremel test showed, the PGuard rubber on the shoe's toebox didn't seem to hold up as strongly as the bulletproof toe drag guards of the Resolution and the Court FF.

Given how deep and visible the damage was, we lowered the shoe's toe guard durability score to 3/5. But it's not the worst result either.

We are happy to see that the PGuard also extends to the top of the shoe's toebox which certainly adds life to its upper. Applying our Dremel to the top of the shoe's toebox showed pretty moderate wear and tear and bumped up the Solution Speed's toebox durability score to 4/5.

ASICS seems to be taking internal shoe durability just as seriously and we love that.

The Solution Speed's collar lining showed no signs of wear after the drilling session and we confidently rated its heel padding durability with a maximum score of 5/5.

According its product description, the ASICS Solution Speed FF 3 Clay features the AHAR PLUS rubber for the outsole. However, it can't be the exact same blend as in the shoe's hard court version because we got very different hardness measurements in the two.

It is common for clay court outsoles to be softer because it affords better grip on loose surface as well as better control over sliding. Thus, we weren't surprised to see a lower HC reading of 78.5 on our Shore C durometer. For reference, the hard court Solution Speed FF 3 showed 84.0 HC (notably harder compound).

But did that softness make the shoe's outsole more prone to abrasion? Not so much!

After a demanding drilling session at 10K RPM speed, the shoe's outsole showed a just moderate dent of 0.7 mm. That's not even deeper than average! Solid abrasion resistance, even for a softer rubber.

Our caliper returned a moderate outsole thickness of 3.4 mm in the Solution Speed FF 3 Clay. But we can't complain because it offers a nice balance of durability, flexibility, and lightness.

We thoroughly enjoyed the surefootedness provided by the shoe's Precision Sole design.

Adapted to the clay court surface through a herringbone pattern, it granted a fantastic stop-on-a-dime grip.

The ASICS Solution Speed FF 3 Clay is a high-performance tennis shoe with a moderate price tag. With no glaring drawbacks, it offers fantastic value for money to nimble players who want a clay-court option that keeps the weight down without any major compromises.

We found the Solution Speed FF 3 Clay to be pretty well padded for a lightweight and speed-oriented option. Its tongue thickness, for example, showed a standard reading of 7.4 mm on our caliper.

Because it is not a cheap shoe, we expected to find some gussets on the tongue of the Solution Speed. But, unfortunately, this version doesn't offers any resulting in some minor tongue shifting during intense matches.

The shoe's extended heel collar and a stiff heel counter that doesn't fold onto itself provide a pretty fast and effortless on-and-off.

The Solution Speed FF 3 Clay's insole is removable which allows to modify in-shoe experience with custom orthotics.