Originally Posted by
SouthFLpix
It probably is softer, but it's also rough like sandpaper. I don't think that necessarily you take less damage on asphalt.
I am skeptical of the claims it makes a difference. How many people are so heavy they can measurably compress asphalt??? And if you really care about your feet/knees/legs, you don't use shoes with fat padding that make you heel strike. I run in Vibram Five Fingers which let me run the way man was intended, i.e. landing on the forefoot, so the calf can smoothly lower the heel to the ground.