Vaporfly NEXT%2 & Adidas Adizero Adios Pro

So far in the past 12 months, despite everything going on in the world, Adidas and Nike have made some milestone moves. When you look at the podium of a road race now, it’s likely the athlete will be sporting either the Adidas Adios Pro, or the Nike Vaporfly NEXT%. 

Both shoes have been record breakers: Kibiwott Kandie, broke the half marathon world record in a time of 57:32, wearing a pair of the Adidas Adios Pro. Kenya’s Brigid Kosgei smashed the women’s marathon world record in a a time of 2:14:04, sporting the Nike Vaporfly NEXT%. 

Most Nike advocates will be familiar with the technology in the Vaporfly NEXT% - the combination of ZoomX foam and the full carbon plate. But in what way is it similar or differ to the Adidas Adios Pro?

Adidas Adizero Adios Pro was created using athlete insights from runners such as Joyciline Jepkosgei and Rhonex Kipruto. The shoes design is driven by anatomy testing, with a structure that mirrored the metatarsal bones of the foot. The result is 5 carbon-infused rods that lie through the “Lightstrike Pro” midsole lining up with your bones. Adidas’s answer to ZoomX foam and carbon plate combination.

Adidas have released an updated colourway of their elite shoe, just in time for summer. This time with added colour to the Lightstrike Pro midsole - which definitely makes the shoe look more streamline.

Recently however, Nike has opted for advancement rather than complete redesign with its new Vaporfly NEXT%2. All the updates to the new Vaporfly are to the upper with comfort in mind. Replacing the Vaporweave with a more breathable mesh that conforms to the foot more. Vaporweave was not a bad material by any means, but it had a tendency to bunch up and not ‘hug’ the foot. Although, runners may have to surrender a little water resisdance with this new upper. Extra padding to the tongue has been added to reduce lace pressure and a reinforced toe box for increased durability. With these added comforts, Nike has only had to sacrifice and additional 8g of weight (size UK8), compared to the original NEXT%. 

Whether these new comfort improvements will have an affect on a runners time, it remains to be seen. But the updates are certainly seen as a step forward - ‘Better is temporary’ as Nike say.

Check our recent post about the upcoming Vaporfly NEXT%2 colourway.