A running review of the adidas Ultraboost 19

Behind the usual fashion orientated noise that proceeds a running shoe launch these days, adidas have been working hard on their flagship running shoe and they’ve now unveiled the new Ultraboost 19.

The Ultraboost has seen many iterations come and go along the way but it’s never really strayed too far from what was first put out in January 2015 and in that time, some of the biggest leaps forward in performance footwear have been made. So what have they done to bring the shoe up to date?

The main sell from adi is a reduction in the component parts that make up the shoe; the original was made of 17 pieces and the new one is only made of four (well, four main pieces, this doesn’t include laces, the rubber on the out sole etc).

These four main parts are optimised BOOST with a reported 20% increase in energy return, a new torsion spring that runs the length of the shoe, a Primeknit 360 upper that behaves like a sock and a new 3D Heel Frame.

the heel counter on the original ultraboost

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Digital Spy

We’ve had these on test now for a while and from a running point of view, the most significant of the changes comes with the heel frame. The previous ultraboost (see above) had a bulky collar at the ankle and those cups highlighted that sat either side of the achilles provided minimal support for the back of the foot. It wasn’t designed as a support shoe so that’s ok, but to get a reasonable fit so that the foot felt secure and didn’t move about, many runners had to do the laces up quite tight across the foot and this created pressure point from the plastic lace guides.

adidas ultraboost 19 running shoe

Bear Grylls

Digital Spy

The new heel changes this. When you put the shoe on, there is real purpose at the heel to lock the foot in place at the back of the shoe. The fact the frame extends over the midsole highlights how much adidas have rethought the design here; rather than there being an upper attached the midsole, the 19 has a more unified feel to it, the midsole and upper behaving as one.

This is in part to the way that the Primekit 360 sock is recessed into the BOOST foam, creating more of a cradle and thus increasing the feeling of the foot sitting IN the shoe rather than on top of it.

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The collar bulk has been removed too, meaning the fit feels more precise and less clumsy, all of which contribute to a more streamlined and compliant rear to the shoe.

The other improvements then simply compliment this new feeling of security in the shoe. The original ultraboost has a knitted upper but it’s bonded directly to the top of midsole, where as the new Primeknit 360 encompasses the foot, giving it a very planted feel and is a marked improvement when placed under lateral movement. The plastic lace guides have also been removed and have been replaced with a rigid mesh and reinforced eyelets. The only issue with the lacing tends to be psychological as there are only four lace holes, meaning there isn’t much scope for varied tension across the foot. Some testers were worried that they’d never get the shoe tight enough, yet feet slipping inside the shoe wasn’t an issue for anyone.

[The latest and greatest running shoes available and coming in 2019]

According to adidas, there’s no weight gain or loss with the 19 (310g for UK 8.5) so for 20% more boost, that seems like a good deal. They are however still on the heavy side (and won’t be breaking any marathon records any time soon), but these shoes will munch up miles. Whether you’re a lighter runner looking for a big milage shoe or a larger runner looking for that comfortable race shoe, the ultraboost 19 would be a worthy consideration.

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