Adidas Response Review

As you may see from the photos below, the new running shoes Adidas Response have inserted two different layers in the midsole. They combine Boost foam with Cloudfoam. Those are the two highly rated midsoles that form the most successful Adidas running shoes these days (Adidas Ultraboost 20’s popping in my head). But how did this hybrid model, Adidas Response come out after I tested it for a week? Let’s take a look at some more details.

Not the most beginner-friendly running shoes

First of all I have to point out the fact that Adidas Response are really not shoes for everyone. In my man’s version they went over 11.28 oz (around 320 grams). To be honest, I think that they are quite heavy. I am used to running in shoes below 300 grams. My Adidas SL 20 have around 250 grams only and also most of Nikes you will find lighter as well. So for a runner beginner, I don’t think that these Adidas Response are the best option. They are better for you if you tend to run a lot and you are well trained. Then you won’t suffer as a beginner from their heaviness. But still, this is for sure a disadvantage of this model.

Weird shape and feel

What I expected from Adidas Response was a really interesting mixture of the midsole layers. I was looking forward to the Boost midsole that is usually strongly giving the energy return back to your feet. Unfortunately, I felt no responsiveness from the shoes. It is true that I expected Cloadfoam to be making the shoes stiffer and resilient. But Adidas Response were too stiff and had absolutely no flexibility. They felt more as a piece of concrete for me than as a solid running model. It was a nice try from Adidas but in this case, it was a bit unfortunate.

What is also quite interesting is the overall shape of Adidas Response. In the heel you may find it pretty wide, nicely locking your ankles inside. If you tend to run over your heels then you will probably feel lots of material used in the heel. And actually it is nicely padded. But what was strange for me, was the fact that the shoes went very narrow in the front. If these were Nike running shoes, I would not be that surprised but these were Adidas. They got stretched out a bit in time but not as much as I would feel comfortable in them. 

After all…. 

So in the end, I ran in these Adidas Response just for a week approximately. I had them for six runs overall, around 30-40 miles in them. I didn’t do more, simply because I thought that this model wasn’t worth my attention. It is heavy so quite slow, not great for long runs the same as sprints. It is narrow even though I have normal-wide feet. And it feels stiff and not responsive enough.

Adidas Response were a lot of disappointment I must say. I like more the Adidas SL 20 or the older Nike Zoom Air Winflo 6 SE or Asics Gel-Quantum 180 4. That last model is also heavy, but way better responsive and cushioned by gel midsole. After the testing, I cannot recommend this model of sports shoes. Go and grab some of those I mentioned or something completely different :-).