Adidas Energy Boost
The Adidas Energy Boost 2 has a new material in the midsole (see ‘Adidas Boost Foam’ below) which changes how this shoe feels. The Energy Boost is immediately comfortable and the foam makes a noticeable difference to the ride. Sadly the Boost is a traditional design, with the typical raised heel and I would not normally recommend considering it. However, because the boost foam works so well, and because removing the insole reduces the drop to 7mm, I think it’s worth considering. The insole is about 3mm in the forefoot and 5mm at the heel. Without that extra, the shoe is 14mm/21mm. Note that the Boost and the Boost 2 are virtually identical. I could not find any differences other than the “2” on the label. I’ve rated the Adios as “worth considering.” (I use The Science of Running Shoes as the basis of how I test running shoes and what you should look for in a running shoe.)
The Energy Boost is immediately comfortable, with a light, flexible upper with no noticeable seams. I’m thankfully Adidas has used a traditional tongue and laces, rather than a sock style upper or Velcro fastening. And while the sole has the traditional raised heel, there is none of the multi-density foam or other intrusions that are so common. I think a lot of people will buy the boost because of its immediate comfort, but stay with it for its extraordinary characteristics.
It’s intuitively obvious that the cushioning in a shoe will reduce the impact on your body when running. However, The Science of Running Shoes indicates that the reality is rather more complex. While slight cushioning may reduce the effort needed to run by improving your Running Economy, most scientific research indicates that more cushioning does further improve Running Economy. In addition, cushioning does not generally reduce impact and may actually increase it. This is counterintuitive, but is likely to be due to the way a runners mind and body adapts to softer cushioning. Unfortunately, the scientific evidence is far from complete and it’s hard to give clear recommendations. I believe that some runners will prefer more cushioning, while others prefer less, and typically those running further have a fondness for greater cushioning. I also believe that a shoe should be as light as possible, and a shoe should justify its weight with the cushioning it provides. My advice is to decide what level of cushioning you’re looking for, and then find the lightest shoes that also fit well and are comfortable.
The Adidas boost uses a new type of foam in the sole that has more bounce and is more resilient. Adidas demonstrates this extra bounce by dropping a steel ball on their new foam and EVA, the industry standard foam. Because of the extra energy return in their new foam the ball will bounce much higher than on EVA. However, when we run our feet do not bounce off the ground, but have a short period of sustained contact, often called the ‘stance phase’. So when your foot lands, it seems that the boost foam would return the landing shock back up your leg rather than absorbing it, which is less than ideal. It would be good to see a study that looks at how the boost foam changes the stresses on knees and hips compared with a standard running shoe. Regardless of how the bounce impacts your running, the increased lifespan of the new foam is appealing. Having a shoe that lasts longer is obviously good, but Adidas also claim that the new foam is more consistent through most of its lifespan, rather than gradually decaying in the way EVA does. Adidas also claims that their new foam does not change characteristics in extreme temperatures like EVA does.
For a more detailed on running shoes see the Recommendations for Best Running Shoes.
This table lists the key attributes of What to Look for in Running Shoes. For more detailed information, on the shoes see detailed shoe comparison.
Full Review
Brand
Name
Rating
Recommended
price
Benefit
Weight
(oz)
Penalty
(sec/mile)
Forefoot
Thickness
Heel
Thickness
Loaded Drop
mm
Cushioning
Flexibility
Saucony Type A Review
Saucony
A/A7
Recommended
$100
6.4
6.7
12.1
19
22
1
4.3
7
Saucony Type A6 Review
Saucony
A6
Highly Recommended
$100
8.2
6.1
9.5
17
21
4
5.0
7
Saucony Type A8 Review
Saucony
A8
Highly Recommended
$90
7.5
6.2
9.7
19
20
-1
4.7
7
Adidas Adios Boost 2 Review
Adidas
Adios
Worth considering
$140
4.7
8.6
13.4
17
27
11
4.0
6
Hoka Bondi 5 Review
Hoka
Bondi
Recommended
$150
6.1
11.6
18.1
38
42
5
7.1
2
Hoka Clayton 2 Review
Hoka
Clayton2
Highly Recommended
$150
9.1
8.3
12.9
23
28
1
7.5
5
Hoka Clifton 4 Review
Hoka
Clifton4
Worth considering
$130
7.7
9.3
14.5
30
35
10
7.2
3
ON Cloudflash Review
On Cloud
Cloudflash
Worth considering
$180
4.4
8.3
14.6
19
26
7
3.7
6
On Cloudracer Review
On Cloud
Cloudracer
Worth considering
$130
5.7
8.2
12.8
19
27
5
4.7
7
ON Cloud X Review
On Cloud
CloudX
Not recommended
$140
4.5
8.3
16.3
21
27
7
3.8
7
Mizuno Wave Cruise Review
Mizuno
Cruise
Worth considering
$120
6.6
5.9
12.5
17
20
7
3.9
6
Newton Distance IV Review
Newton
Distance
Worth considering
$155
7.5
9.1
14.2
26
31
3
6.8
5
Asics Gel DS Racer 10 Review
Asics
DS Racer
Worth considering
$110
8.2
7.0
10.9
21
26
6
5.8
5
Altra Duo Review
Altra
Duo
Recommended
$130
6.0
8.4
13.1
29
29
1
5.0
5
Mizuno Wave Ekiden 8 Review
Mizuno
Ekiden
Worth considering
$115
5.7
5.7
14.6
13
18
6
3.2
8
Saucony Endorphin 2 Review
Saucony
Endorphin 2
Worth considering
$115
8.0
5.1
9.6
15
13
-1
4.1
8
Adidas Energy Boost Review
Adidas
Energy
Worth considering
$160
7.2
10.0
15.6
20
30
7
7.2
5
Altra Escalante Review
Altra
Escalante
Best of the Best
$130
9.1
8.7
13.5
28
25
-1
7.9
6
Altra Escalante 1.5 Review
Altra
Escalante 1.5
Best of the Best
$130
8.2
9.0
14.0
26
27
-1
7.4
7
Saucony Fastwitch Review
Saucony
Fastwitch
Highly Recommended
$90
9.5
7.1
11.1
20
22
4
6.8
7
Topo Fli-Lyte 2 Review
Topo
Fli-Lyte2
Highly Recommended
$100
6.7
9.1
14.2
24
26
3
6.1
5
Reebok Floatride Run Review
Reebok
Floatride
Worth considering
$150
7.7
9.6
14.9
28
34
10
7.4
5
Saucony Freedom Review
Saucony
Freedom
Recommended
$160
5.4
10.7
16.6
25
29
3
5.8
6
Skechers GORun 4 Review
Skechers
GORun
Not recommended
$100
6.1
7.5
11.7
15
23
3
4.5
7
Skechers GOrun Ultra 2 Review
Skechers
GRU
Worth considering
$90
7.5
10.0
15.6
28
34
8
7.5
4
Asics GT 2000 Review
Asics
GT 2000
Not recommended
$120
4.8
11.2
17.4
28
35
5
5.4
2
New Balance Hanzo S Review
New Balance
Hanzo
Worth considering
$110
7.6
6.9
10.7
21
19
2
5.2
5
Hoka Hupana Review
Hoka
Hupana
Recommended
$115
6.1
8.9
13.9
31
36
7
5.4
4
Asics Gel Hyper Speed 7 Review
Asics
Hyper Speed
Highly Recommended
$75
10.9
6.3
9.8
22
26
5
6.8
6
Altra Instinct 4.0 Review
Altra
Instinct 4.0
Worth considering
$120
6.0
9.8
15.3
29
25
-1
5.9
5
Asics Tarther Kainos 3 Review
Asics
Kainos
Worth considering
$130
10.0
6.9
10.7
17
27
9
6.8
6
Altra King MT 1.5 Review
Altra
King MT
Recommended
$140
7.5
10.7
16.7
19
21
3
8.0
5
Saucony Kinvara 8 Review
Saucony
Kinvara 8
Best of the Best
$110
9.3
8.6
13.4
26
31
3
8.0
5
Altra Lone Peak 3.5 Review
Altra
Lone Peak
Highly Recommended
$120
4.2
11.4
17.7
24
25
4
4.8
5
Nike Zoom Streak LT 3 Review
Nike
LT3
Best of the Best
$80
9.8
5.4
8.4
16
21
5
5.3
7
Nike Zoom Streak LT 4 Review
Nike
LT4
Recommended
$90
8.5
5.5
8.5
15
21
3
4.6
6
Nike LunarSpider R5 Review
Nike
LunarSpider
Recommended
$125
6.9
6.7
10.4
17
21
3
4.6
6
Hoka Mafate Speed Review
Hoka
Mafate
Best of the Best
$170
7.6
11.9
18.5
39
40
4
9.0
1
Pearl Izumi EM Road N0 v2 Review
Pearl
N0
Highly Recommended
$100
7.9
6.5
10.1
14
20
4
5.2
8
Saucony Nomad Review
Saucony
Nomad
Worth considering
$110
4.3
10.5
17.2
25
27
2
4.5
4
Hoka Odyssey Review
Hoka
Odyssey
Highly Recommended
$130
8.5
9.4
14.6
37
45
5
8.0
3
Altra Olympus 2.5 Review
Altra
Olympus
Highly Recommended
$150
4.6
11.8
18.4
35
34
0
5.4
6
Altra One 3.0 Review
Altra
One
Recommended
$100
6.1
8.8
13.7
23
23
0
5.4
6
Altra Paradigm 4.0 Review
Altra
Paradigm
Highly Recommended
$150
5.3
11.0
17.1
28
30
5
5.8
8
Asics Piranha SP 5 Review
Asics
Piranha
Recommended
$100
10.1
4.2
6.5
11
15
3
4.2
9
Brooks PureFlow 5 Review
Brooks
PureFlow
Worth considering
$110
6.0
9.7
15.1
26
29
5
5.8
8
Salming Race Review
Salming
Race
Worth considering
$130
6.9
6.5
10.1
16
19
4
4.5
6
Altra Escalante Racer Review
Altra
Racer
Highly Recommended
$140
6.6
7.6
11.8
24
26
6
5.0
8
New Balance RC1600 v2 Review
New Balance
RC1600
Highly Recommended
$110
8.8
5.6
8.7
15
21
5
4.9
8
New Balance RC5000v2 Review
New Balance
RC5000v2
Best of the Best
$125
14.2
4.0
6.2
13
21
6
5.7
7
Skechers GoRun Ride 3 Review
Skechers
Ride
Worth considering
$85
5.9
8.5
13.2
18
28
6
5.0
8
Nike RN Distance 2 Review
Nike
RNDist2
Worth considering
$120
8.0
9.2
14.3
25
28
4
7.4
7
Inov-8 RoadXTreme 220 Review
Inov-8
RXT-220
Worth considering
$120
5.2
8.0
18.2
14
17
3
4.2
8
Salomon Sense Ride Review
Salomon
Sense
Worth considering
$120
8.5
10.0
15.6
26
29
6
8.5
0
Altra Solstice Review
Altra
Solstice
Highly Recommended
$90
7.1
8.1
12.5
23
25
0
5.7
5
Topo ST-2 Review
Topo
ST-2
Highly Recommended
$90
8.2
7.3
11.4
20
18
0
6.0
7
Hoka Stinson Lite Review
Hoka
Stinson
Highly Recommended
$160
7.3
11.6
18.1
35
40
6
8.5
0
Altra Superior
Altra
Superior
Highly Recommended
$110
5.6
9.9
15.5
21
25
-1
5.5
4
Adidas Takumi Sen 3 Review
Adidas
Takumi Sen 3
Highly Recommended
$160
7.7
6.6
10.2
17
21
4
5.1
5
Topo Terraventure
Topo
Terraventure
Review Pending
$110
2.6
10.8
27.5
24
24
0
2.8
10
Altra Timp Review
Altra
Timp
Best of the Best
$130
3.7
11.6
18.1
30
31
-1
4.3
6
Altra Torin 2.0 Review
Altra
Torin
Worth considering
$125
3.4
9.6
20.7
30
25
1
3.3
9
Altra Torin 3.5 Review
Altra
Torin 3.5
Worth considering
$125
5.8
9.3
14.5
27
28
0
5.4
8
Hoka Tracer Review
Hoka
Tracer
Recommended
$130
7.2
7.4
11.5
21
24
2
5.3
5
Merrell Trail Glove 4 Review
Merrell
Trail Glove 4
Best of the Best
$100
3.4
8.4
23.8
13
13
0
2.8
10
Topo Tribute Review
Topo
Tribute
Recommended
$100
5.9
7.3
11.4
20
18
-1
4.3
6
Mizuno Wave Universe 5 Review
Mizuno
Universe
Highly Recommended
$125
10.7
3.1
10.6
9
12
1
3.3
9
Altra Vanish-R Review
Altra
Vanish-R
Recommended
$100
16.1
5.3
8.2
19
21
4
8.5
6
Merrell Vapor Glove 3 Review
Merrell
Vapor Glove 3
Highly Recommended
$85
2.1
6.1
27.6
6
5
0
1.3
10
Nike Vaporfly 4% Review
Nike
Vaporfly
Best of the Best
$250
10.4
7.2
11.2
25
37
8
7.5
2
New Balance Vazee Pace Review
New Balance
Vazee Pace
Worth considering
$110
6.0
8.6
13.4
18
24
6
5.2
5
Asics TartherZeal 3 Review
Asics
Zeal
Worth considering
$140
10.9
6.3
9.8
17
27
9
6.8
6
Saucony Zealot 3 Review
Saucony
Zealot3
Recommended
$130
8.9
9.5
14.8
29
32
4
8.5
6
Nike Zoom Fly Review
Nike
Zoom Fly
Worth considering
$150
8.3
8.7
13.5
29
36
8
7.2
3
