- There's a little bit less like. (imitates air compressing)
And a little bit more. (imitates air softly leaking)
There's less like. (imitates propellers whirring)
You're not like whoa and you're not like whoa.
You're just right, like okay, cool.
Uh.
The Ultraboost Light line has always been about style
but can the Ultraboost Light be more about running?
(upbeat music)
So just a quick disclaimer before we get into the shoe.
I am an REI employee
and these shoes were provided for review
but the opinions I'm expressing are all mine
based on my experience in the shoes.
(paper crumpling)
So this is the Adidas Ultraboost Light.
The shoes coming in at 10.3 ounces per shoe.
There's 29 millimeters of stack height in the heel
and 19 millimeters of stack height in the forefoot
with 10 millimeters of drop throughout.
(paper crumpling)
So if we take a look at the shoe from top to bottom
the first thing that we'll notice is the upper.
The upper's got that classic Ultraboost look
pretty similar to that knit look
that you've noticed in maybe the Ultraboost 22
which is the Ultraboost Light's direct predecessor.
So it's got that prime knit technology from Adidas.
It's also got forged 2.0 technology
which should make the knit a little bit tighter
and a little bit less easy to stretch out over time.
Talking about kind of keeping the fit a little bit more
secure in the upper, which is a challenge when
you have kind of a knit upper like this.
They've added an extra eyelet here
to the plastic cages on both sides
giving you a little bit more of a locked in feel there.
Going towards the back of the shoe, you'll notice again
that just classic design touch that Adidas has.
So kind of a low cut
but then comes up a little bit higher in the heel.
The other thing that's really easy to notice
about the shoe is the midsole.
I mean there's a lot of midsole, especially in the heel.
So this is gonna be the Ultraboost Light technology.
So this is gonna be about 30% lighter
than the Ultraboost midsole technology
that they had been using prior.
So considerably lighter weight.
It's also supposed to give you about 4% more energy return.
So still kind of like walking that line
but doing it in a really positive way
obviously lighter being the focus there.
Turning the shoe over, you'll notice the outsole.
You'll see that on the back of the heel.
You have the kind of more rubberized portion
but it's not too thick.
You get towards a midsole and you get a little bit thicker
and stiffer and then towards the forefoot of the shoe
then you start to see the continental rubber on there.
Also towards the forefoot, you'll notice that if you look
at the midsole in between the Ultraboost Light technology
and the continental rubber, you have this kind
of plastic plate that gives you a little bit more
of that energy return.
To me, it feels a little bit more like it dampens
that squish that could exist from some
of the Ultraboost Light just kind of sinking in there.
(paper crumpling)
So if you're someone that hasn't thought about gait cycle
or maybe even what your foot strike looks like
this shoe kind of is really interesting
'cause it gives you lots of visual cues for that.
It kind of helps you understand your run
or guide your run a little bit more.
Again, the outsole is broken up
into like three different colors almost
or three different zones.
And if you think about going through the full gait cycle
you get to the heel, you transition into the midfoot
which is a little bit different of a compound
on the outsole, and then you get the firmest compound
on the toe off so that you can kind of
bounce right off, which is pretty cool.
Even thinking about the ride of the midsole,
again you have probably the softest landing here
getting a little bit more firm
and then the most energy response there in the midsole.
So this shoe is kind of cool 'cause it's like, oh
how does my running work?
It works maybe like that.
There's not a lot of running outsoles
that show you what transitions look like
and honestly not a lot of outsoles
that have dedicated transition differences
on their outsoles.
So yeah, it's a pretty cool piece of technology.
(paper crumpling)
So there's really three key updates
from the Ultraboost 22 to the Ultraboost Light.
And the first one its namesake, right?
So you have Ultraboost Light compound in the midsole
which is 30% lighter than the previous version midsole.
You have the forged 2.0 technology in the knit upper
making it a less stretchy knit upper
and then you have the extra eyelet here
in the cage giving you a more secure fit.
(paper crumpling)
So I think one of the things that really sold me
on the Ultraboost Light compared
to the Ultraboost 22 is just the more secure fit
in the upper.
For me, I came to the shoe thinking
that like I had some hesitations around it, right?
I thought it was just like a stylish shoe
that some people like to wear to run.
Now the shoe feels like a running shoe
that is stylish, right?
And it really comes down to the security of the fit.
So I feel like when I put my foot in there
it feels pretty comfortable and that's pretty nice.
But this extra eyelet really helps me dial in a fit, right?
And it's kind of strange because you think this has still
gotta be the running shoe with the least amount of eyelets.
I mean they're like, what about four? (laughs)
Four is still pretty low?
So like there is no heel lock tie and you can get creative
but there's not a lot of adjustments
that you could do on this shoe.
But I do feel like that extra eyelet really
helps me dial in the fit.
And especially because the shoe doesn't feel as stretchy
as its previous versions, then it feels like
I can get more security out of it.
And now like this plastic cage actually feels
like it's doing something to hug me there.
Before it just felt like
why is there heavy plastic in the middle of the shoe?
And now it feels like this cage is actually again
a little bit more utilitarian and it dials
in the fit more for the upper keeping me comfortable
while I'm moving perhaps in different ways.
(paper crumpling)
So I just took the Ultraboost Light out for a half marathon.
It was the first time that I actually put them on my feet.
This is also actually my first organized half marathon.
I'm coming to learn that I kind of love
the half marathon distance.
You know, I think about the Ultraboost shoe
as a shoe that like I can train in,
as a shoe that I can take when I kind of want to
maybe not be pushing pace a little bit more when
I want to be a little bit more mellow.
I mean there's a lot of cushion in this shoe
throughout the shoe.
So I didn't know how I was gonna perform.
One of the things that I was excited about
for this half marathon was that I was gonna be running it
with friends.
So it was kind of cool to push pace in it
a little bit more and then to also relax in it.
I felt that the shoes certainly had a certain amount
of energy response that was different
when I was trying to run a little bit faster
than when I was trying to be a little bit more mellow.
All in all, I think the shoe kept me comfortable a lot.
Right after I got through the finish line
the transition to walking in these shoes is super comfy.
Sometimes I think in like race shoes or faster shoes
like you just feel like they're really stiff.
So walking around in them feels kind of awkward
when you're not moving in a really intentional way.
And this felt just like, oh, okay, cool.
If I'm running slow, it's cool.
If I was running faster it was cool.
If I was walking it was cool.
So overall initial impressions of the shoe are
that they're a comfortable shoe that could, you know
stay comfortable whatever pace you're kind of pushing.
(paper crumpling)
(upbeat music)
So after spending 13 miles in the shoe
I think that this is gonna be an awesome shoe
for folks that are looking to have fun
on their runs and stay comfortable throughout their runs
but are also looking for like a little bit of cushion
and energy return.
And you might think like
well that's all running shoes, right?
But this one does this in kind of a unique way, right?
Like there's not a lot of complexity to the shoe, right?
There's four eyelets, it's a sock knit upper,
it's like cool, so you got security and comfort dialed
into the upper part of the shoe.
And then you got cushioning and then just a little bit
of energy return and like cushion dampening technology
in the forefoot of the shoe.
So it's gonna give you all those things
in very specific ways
perhaps more specific ways than some other running shoes.
I also think the shoe would be a great shoe
for somebody that does really go
through the full gait cycle.
I mean, again, like one of the things
that this shoe does well
and actually does that other shoes don't do,
like straight up don't do,
is this transitional zone outsole.
Like, so it is cool that it can take you all the way
from heel to toe off and you can experience a different part
of your running gait cycle throughout.
And that technology is gonna be really prevalent there.
So if you're somebody that's like
well I do like to go through the full gait cycle
or if you're somebody that lands
in a specific place that doesn't go
through the full gait cycle but says like, you know what,
I really just like a really comfy shoe
throughout a lot of my runs.
And even like today I thought half marathon was
a perfect distance to just wanna be comfortable in.
I think for a lot of folks,
right when you get to that point
of like discomfort, you're like, okay, it's almost over.
So like this shoe is a great shoe
for that because like the shoe is not one of those things
that's adding to the discomfort.
The name of the shoe is comfort in my mind.
And it's nice to see
that the running focus design updates are really
gonna just make the shoe shine a little bit more.
And I think you're gonna see it a little bit more
out in some races or even around your neighborhood
as people take 'em out for a daily runs a little bit more.
(paper crumpling)
(upbeat music)
So that's my experience in the Ultraboost Light,
but I'd love to hear from you all.
When you think about Adidas running
is the Ultraboost one that comes to mind?
What's been your experience
in the Ultraboost line so far?
Leave a comment below.
I'd love to read 'em.
If you make it Ultraboost is that cool?
Certainly just like, yeah.
Oh hey, hey.
Ehhhhh.
(imitates airplane whooshing)
Purpul, propulse?
It's starting to feel more like a runting.
A runting? (laughs)
What the (beep).
A runting.
Yeah.
(producer and host laughing)
(wind softly blowing)
(birds quietly chirping)