ASICS vs Nike vs Under Armour is the comparison that stalls a lot of baskets. Three enormous names, three ideas of what a two-piece should do, no obvious loser. Anyone telling you one brand beats the other two outright is selling you something.
So this is not a stitch-up. Nike takes the nod on ubiquity and silhouette. Under Armour takes it on training-first fit. ASICS takes it on coordinated sets, tonal colour and the trainer crossover. For the deep detail on the ASICS side, our complete UK buying guide to ASICS sets is the place to start.
Below: how to make the call, the honest case for all three, a side-by-side table and four reader profiles so you can find yourself in one and stop deliberating.
How to actually choose between the three
Forget brand loyalty for two minutes and answer three questions. They sort this faster than any review.
- Where is this fit going most of the time? Gym floor, high street, or both. Be honest. Most people buy for the version of themselves who trains five days a week, then wear the thing to Tesco.
- Do you want it to match, or do you want pieces? A coordinated set is one decision. Separates are three or four decisions and far more scope to get it wrong.
- What is already on your feet? Your trainer rotation dictates more of this than people admit. The set has to sit right against the shoe, not the other way round.
Answer those and the brand mostly picks itself.
What each brand is known for
Nike: the default, and there is a reason
Nike is the most recognised sportswear brand on earth and it earned that. The silhouettes read at fifty paces, the tick reads instantly, and the range is wide enough that there is a Nike answer to almost any question. Nobody has to work out what you are wearing.
Under Armour: performance first, styling second
Under Armour built its reputation in the gym, not on the pavement. The character is training-led: kit designed around movement, sweat and close fit, with a strong compression and baselayer heritage. If you care how a top behaves in the third set rather than how it photographs, that is exactly what you want. The Under Armour range at Tempo shows the emphasis straight away.
ASICS: running heritage that turned into streetwear
ASICS came at this from the opposite direction. Decades of serious running shoes, then the Gel silhouettes got picked up by people who had never run a 10k, and the clothing suddenly sat alongside a genuinely cool trainer line. That crossover is what you are buying. The full ASICS collection leans tonal, coordinated and quiet, which is either exactly your thing or not at all.
The ASICS case in detail
Three things carry it.
The sets are properly coordinated. Not "these two happen to both be navy". The Core sets are sold as a matched top and bottom, cut and coloured to be worn together straight out the bag. That takes the styling decision off your plate entirely. The ASICS Black Core T-Shirt Set at £74.99 is the one most people start on, and if you want the full breakdown of what you get, our Core T-Shirt Set explainer goes through it piece by piece.
The colour palette is unusually wearable. This is the underrated bit. Alongside black you get proper muted tones: the 'Cream' Core T-Shirt Set, the 'Smoke Grey' Core T-Shirt Set at £69.99, and the 'Maroon' Core T-Shirt Set, which is the one that stops it looking like gym kit. There is a full ranking of them in our rundown of every Core colourway for everyday wear. For summer the Black Core Vest Set does the same job with the sleeves gone.
The trainers finish the fit. This is where ASICS pulls away for a lot of people. A tonal set plus a mesh runner is a complete outfit, and the shoes are right there: the 'Grey Graphite' Gel Kayano 14 at £199.99, the 'Oyster Grey' GEL-NYC, or the slightly cleaner 'Shark Skin' GEL-1130 at £169.99 (price correct at time of writing). Grey set, grey mesh, done. That is a much harder trick to pull off across two different brands.
Going heavier, the ASICS Black Core Tracksuit at £149.99 and the Black Core Windrunner Set at £129.99 cover autumn, and the Black Core Tracksuit Tri-Set adds a third piece. If you cannot decide between the tracksuit route and the two-piece route, the tracksuit versus set comparison settles it.
The Nike case
Nike's advantage is reach. The silhouettes are part of the visual furniture now, so a Nike two-piece never needs explaining and never looks out of place, whether that is a school run or a five-a-side pitch. If you want kit that reads as sportswear to absolutely everybody, that is a genuine argument.
It also means choice. The catalogue is vast, which cuts both ways: more chance of finding your exact thing, more chance of ending up with a top and a bottom that are almost but not quite a match.
Rather than describe pieces we cannot show you specs for, go and look. The Nike collection at Tempo has the current range with prices and photos on every product page.
The Under Armour case
Under Armour is the pick if the gym is the point. The identity is performance-first: close, considered fit built around training rather than around a look. If you lift, run intervals or play something competitive, kit designed to that brief behaves better than kit designed to hang well.
The trade-off is styling range. It reads as training gear because it is training gear, with less of the tonal streetwear vocabulary ASICS trades on. That is a different job, not a flaw. Plenty of people want their gym kit to look like gym kit.
Fit is the thing to check carefully here, because a performance cut and a relaxed cut at the same letter size are not the same garment. Our sizing guide comparing ASICS against Nike and Under Armour explains the method, and the Tempo size charts have the actual numbers.
ASICS vs Nike vs Under Armour: side by side
| Axis | ASICS | Nike | Under Armour |
|---|---|---|---|
| Set coordination | Strongest. Sold as matched two and three-piece sets by design | Good, but often assembled from separates | Good within training lines, less emphasis on matched styling |
| Colour range | Tonal and muted: cream, smoke grey, maroon, plus brights | Broadest overall range across the whole catalogue | Performance-led palette, more black, grey and accent colour |
| Trainer crossover | Strongest. Gel silhouettes match the sets directly | Very strong, huge footwear line, though matching takes more work | Weakest of the three for street-facing crossover |
| Gym focus | Balanced gym and street | Covers everything, from performance to lifestyle | Strongest. Training is the starting point |
| Price | Sets from £69.99, tracksuits from £149.99 | Check the collection page for current pricing | Check the collection page for current pricing |
Which one is right for you
The gym-first buyer
You are buying kit to train in and the rest is a bonus. Start with Under Armour, then the performance end of Nike. If it needs to train well and still walk out the door looking coordinated, an ASICS vest set covers both.
The street-first buyer
You want the fit to look right at the pub, not in a squat rack. This is ASICS territory, especially in the muted colourways, with Nike a strong second if you like a recognisable silhouette. Browse all sets across every brand and see which palette pulls you.
The one-set-only buyer
You want one two-piece that does everything and you do not want to think about it again. Buy black, buy coordinated. The Black Core T-Shirt Set or, if you need a layer, the black windrunner set. One purchase, no styling homework.
The trainer collector
You already own the shoes and the clothes have to earn their place next to them. ASICS wins this one comfortably because the sets and the Gel trainer line-up are built from the same colour language. Grey on grey, cream on off-white, no clashing.
Quick answers
Is ASICS better than Nike for sets?
For coordinated, tonal two-pieces that match a runner, yes. For sheer choice and instant brand recognition, Nike. Different strengths, and it depends which one you actually care about.
Which brand is best for the gym?
Under Armour, on brand character alone. Performance fit is the founding idea rather than an afterthought.
Can I mix brands in one fit?
Yes, and most people do. The easiest version is one brand for the set and another on your feet. Mixing two brands within a top and bottom is where it usually goes wrong.
Do the three brands size the same?
No, and they never have. Compare garment measurements rather than letters, because a training cut and a relaxed cut at the same size are different garments.
Have a look for yourself
The only way to settle this is to see the three ranges next to each other. Start with the full ASICS line-up if coordinated sets and tonal colour are what you want, then compare what Nike has in stock against the Under Armour training range.
For the heavier end, the tracksuits collection has it. Free UK delivery lands on orders over £100, with same day dispatch.