The Adidas Adizero Adios Pro is a really creditable competitor to the Swoosh.
After a very limited release in June, from September 14 runners will now be able to get their hands on the Adidas Adizero Adios Pro, a shoe that is clearly designed as a competitor to the Nike Alphafly.
It’s the second carbon fibre shoe that Adidas has released this year – the other being the similarly named Adizero Pro – but the Adizero Adios Pro is the one we reckon you should be getting excited about. We’ve had it on our feet over numerous runs and here are our thoughts:
Dream upper
The Celermesh upper (a new innovation earlier this year) is fantastic; we love how incredibly lightweight but super-durable it is. It’s not the most personalised fit and is in no way weatherproof, but it’s bloody breathable, holds its shape and your foot in place really well, and is extremely tough for something so light (If you run somewhere like parks or river towpaths where small stones and sticks getting kicked up are a hazard, you’ll really appreciate this.
Cushioned to the max
There’s a fair wodge of it, that’s for sure. The stack height comes in just under the legal maximum allowed of 40m, at 39mm. It measures 30mm in the forefoot giving a heel drop of 9mm, which is not overly ‘stiletto-y’ but significant enough to get you through higher mileage runs without suffering issues with calves and Achilles. The material used in the midsole is Adidas’s new LightstrikePRO foam. It’s the brand’s lightest foam although not the lightest on the market, but it gives a brilliant mix of firmness and energy rebound. On a bounce scale of 1 = lead boots and 10 = pogo stick, we’d put it at a 6.5.
The carbon count
There’s carbon fibre – but it’s not a plate. Nor even half a plate. Instead there are five carbon fibre rods which are placed in line with your metatarsal bones. The aim is to improve running economy so you can maintain race pace for longer with less effort. To us it feels like a more measured approach to carbon fibre energy return. On other shoes which have a full plate you can sometimes feel a bit out of control, as though the shoe has almost taken over. With these, the ride felt smooth, responsive, light - and we didn’t have to worry about what our feet were going to do when they pushed off. In addition there’s also a heel plate (part carbon-fibre, part nylon) on top of the midsole which provides stability at the ankle joint – particularly useful as you star to tire and heel strike more later on.
Stuff that needs fixing
No shoe is perfect and this one is no different. The heel fit is a tad loose, which is an irritant when you have a shoe with no real heel counter to support and provide stability. But this is an issue rectified easily enough by changing the lacing configuration. We were also a little disappointed by the outsole grip. It’s not terrible, but nowhere near as good as the Continental rubber grip on something like the Ultraboost.
Whether you think this is worth £170 (we do) depends on what you’re looking for. It’s not a high mileage, every training workhorse to be used in all conditions, but it’s an excellent and surprisingly accessible race day shoe, and most runners will find it performs well on most sessions except track work. A really creditable competitor to the Swoosh.
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