adidas adizero Adios Pro Evo 2 Review
By Matthew Klein
Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 2Price: $499.95 at Running Warehouse
Weight: 4.87 oz, 138 g (men's size 9 / women's size 10.5)
Stack Height: 39 mm heel / 36 mm forefoot
Drop: 3 mm
Shoe Purpose: Superlight Super Racing Shoe
Pros: Incredibly Light, Comfortable Light Upper, Rolling Fast Ride
Cons: Mild Foot Sliding, Poor Midfoot Medial Stability, Low Durability
RUNNING SHOE SUMMARY
The Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 2 is a super-light, highly rockered distance racing shoe for those who want the lightest shoe available - albeit at a steep price point. An extremely thin upper sits up top with a surprising amount of volume and room for a racing shoe. A slightly bouncy and extremely light midsole sits below the foot with an extremely aggressive forefoot rocker. This provides an efficient, highly rockered ride for those with neutral mechanics running fast enough speeds to justify the cost of this shoe. An elite tool for faster runners, The Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 2 improves on its predecessor with slightly better outsole durability, a lower 3mm drop, a slightly more bouncy midsole and a far more rockered ride.
SIMILAR SHOES: ASICS Metaspeed Ray, On Cloudboom Strike LS
PAST MODEL: Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 1
FIT
(To learn how a shoe should fit, check out our full podcast on fit by Matt Klein.)
Matt: The Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 2 fits me true to size in my normal Men's US size 10. The original version fit me slightly short in my normal size, whereas this version provides me a little more room length and volume wise. The upper is a super light, see throughout mesh that is breathable and disappears the second you put it on. Despite my concern that I was going to rip it while trying to tighten the laces, the upper holds its own against a variety of forces. The fit is normal to slightly wide, particularly in the forefoot. There is a little extra volume that provides some additional space. This continues into the midfoot, which features an ultra thin, non-gusseted tongue. The tongue takes extra effort to lay completely flat as it easily bunches on the sides if you are not careful putting it on. Once flat, it stayed relatively secure. The slightly wider fit did result in me having to tighten the laces a decent amount. There is a small strip of padding in the middle of the tongue, but I still had to be careful as the lack of major padding meant that tightening the laces put extra pressure on the top of my foot.
Once I got it locked down the midfoot security was fine. The heel normal to snug in width and features a small, narrow, flexible heel counter in the rearmost portion. There is padding at the top most portion of the heel collar, but the heel is mostly unstructured. Those with heel sensitivities will do absolutely fine in this shoe, while those looking for high security in the rearfoot from a stiff counter may struggle. The security does require additional careful lock down as I experienced slippage while turning. This was accomplished by tightening the laces and there is a last lace hole for those who want to lace lock. I would not go sockless in this shoe as the upper is a little scratchy and there are exposed seams underfoot as this shoe lacks an insole (for weight saving). So socks are a must in this minimal, super light upper.
Typical Size: Men's US Size 10
Shoes that have fit Matt well: On Cloudboom Strike, Asics Gel-Nimbus 27, Xero HFS, Topo Cyclone 3, Adidas Adizero Evo SL
Shoes that have fit snug: Hoka Arahi 7, Brooks Launch 11, Diadora Mythos Vigore 3
Shoes that have fit large: Salomon S/Lab Phantasm 2, Adidas Agravic Speed Ultra
Doctors of Running Checklist
Is This a Good Shoe for Walking: No
Is This a Good Shoe for Standing: No
Is the Forefoot Flexible: No
How Flexible is the Shoe: Stiff
Is This a Good Heel Bevel: Yes
Recommended for Haglunds: Yes
Recommended for Sockless: No
Durability Expectation: Below Average
PERFORMANCE
Matt: The Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 2 is a super light, super aggressive distance racing shoe. It features a 3mm drop (compared to 6mm from the last version), a more rockered ride, a far more aggressive forefoot roll thanks to a large amount of toe spring and a bouncier midsole of Lighstrike Pro Evo foam. The weight is incredibly light for the 39mm / 36 mm stack height, coming in at 4.8 oz for men's size / women's size 10.5. The midsole material feels like light styrofoam (light and soft) but now has some bounce to it mostly in the rearfoot. It is not as bouncy as other super shoes but there is more resilient to the foam that the last version. The 3mm is noticeable thanks to the massive amount of toe spring. On the run this feels like a fast, low drop, highly rockered shoe thanks to how fast this shoe rolls off the forefoot. The heel has an incredibly smooth transition thanks to the large lateral heel bevel classic to the Adizero line. The midfoot transitions quickly into the aggressive forefoot. The rocker starts early (60% of the length is what was reported by Adidas) and is massive.
At first, transitioning through the forefoot felt like going over a speed bump. This quickly broke in a quick roll through that feels better the faster you go. At easier efforts, the Adios Pro Evo 2 feels incredibly awkward. I felt like a baby dear warming up in these for workouts and abandoned an attempted easy pace long run in them, switching out for daily trainers. This are truly meant for faster speeds and come alive only during workouts, race efforts and races. My first workout was on the track working on turnover with 100m strides on the straights and 100m jog on the turns. Once I found these shoes rhythm, these felt awesome as the pace picked up. The heel felt bouncy and the ability to turn over from the light weight felt great.
My second workout was a tempo run, where these shined most. At 10k to marathon efforts this shoe shines best. At all efforts don't provide the same snappiness given the large rocker but at consistent faster efforts this shoe feels fantastic. The mild bounce at the heel, super light weight and fast roll made the shoe feel efficient, reminding me of the distance focus of its design. The second track workout did not feel as fast as the first one and I found myself wanting to get back to those consistent tempo paces, further cementing for me that this is a longer distance race shoe for elite runners or those who can maintain faster paces. I don't normally do this, but I would say there is no point to get this shoe if you are not racing faster than 6:00 min/mile pace or below as it really does not come alive until that point.
The outsole traction is greatly improved over the prior version as the forefoot ribbed outsole grips the track, road and even wet road well. Unlike David, I would not take these on any type of trail due to the exposed outsole. Surprisingly, I have 25 miles on my pair and the outsole pieces have stayed on. Per Adidas I am technically nearing the end of this shoe's life (one training run and one marathon supposedly) but they are still holding up okay from an outsole and midsole perspective. I will still see how long it takes for the outsole to come off and will report back.
STABILITY
(Learn more about stability in our full guide)
Matt: The Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 2 is a neutral racing shoe. There are no traditional methods of stability in this shoe. In fact, this is not a shoe for those with medial stability needs at the midfoot as the medial cut out creates a high degree of medial bias. The rearfoot features a large posteriolateral heel bevel that like many Adizero shoes creates a lateral bias at heel contact. This does work well for those with medial stability needs at the rearfoot and for those that transition quickly may offset the narrow/tapered midfoot. The forefoot is the most stable part of this shoe with a large amount of sole flare medially and laterally, small sidewalls on both sides and a high level of stiffness. This makes the forefoot mildly guided, compared to the more laterally biased heel and less medially stable midfoot.
Thoughts as a DPT: Are High Level Super Shoes Appropriate For All Runners?
By Matthew Klein
Our goal at Doctors of Running is to be educational and empowering. We try to avoid saying a shoe is bad for someone and try to focus on footwear that may be more appropriate for different runners. Super shoes are a great example of the challenge with this as their aggressiveness and designs are made with faster runners in mind and are often not tested with the recreational or slower runner in mind. There are several super shoes that are more appropriate for a variety of paces like the New Balance SC Elite v3 and many of the super trainers out there. There are also certain recreational runners who can only run in super shoes for whatever reason. Regardless, most of the super racing shoes are not meant or appropriate for runners running at slower speeds. These slower speeds do not utilize the shoes as they were designed, their aggressiveness comes with risks and the high cost may not be worth the minimal benefit.
Most of the internal and published research on economy improvements in super shoes have been done on sub elite and elite athletes (Hebert-Losier& Pamment, 2023). Testing and development is also done on that group as their purpose is to get elite athletes across the finish line faster. In slower runners, the emerging evidence is that there is either a much smaller benefit and/or potentially a placebo effect (Hebert-Losier et al., 2025; Joubert et al., 2022). This is concerning given the emerging evidence of potential increase injury risk and discomfort due to the aggressiveness of these shoes (Hoenig et al., 2023; Huffer et al., 2024).
Shoes are tools. Finding the right tool for you is important and just because an elite athlete is wearing it doesn't mean everyone shoe. The biomechanics and forces generated and absorbed by elites athletes greatly differ from recreational athletes. As such, the footwear each group may do best in may also be different. Super shoes carry less performance gains for slower runners, may have increased risks and therefore may not be worth the incredibly high cost. For elite and sub-elite athletes with more experience, faster speeds and aggressive time goals, these types of super shoes, like the $500 Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 2, may be worth as the performance gains may offset the risks (as seen by the number of world records and podiums). For recreational runners, shoes like the Adidas Adizero Evo SL, the Adizero Boston 13 and even the Adios Pro 4 (still a super shoe but $250) may be more appropriate. Runners should be honest with themselves about their pace and goals so they kind find a shoe that optimizes their own unique performance and not that of the best athletes in the world, who have completely different needs.
Hoenig, T., Saxena, A., Rice, H. M., Hollander, K., & Tenforde, A. S. (2023). Navigating the challenges and opportunities with ‘super shoes’: balancing performance gains with injury risk. British journal of sports medicine, 57(23), 1472-1473.
Huffer, D., Charles, J., & Hing, W. (2024). A Randomised Cross-Over Trial Investigating the Effect of Super Shoes on Injury Incidence in Regular Runners. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 27, S22.
Joubert, D., Dominy, T., & Burns, G. (2022). Effects of a highly cushioned racing shoe on running economy at slower running speeds. Sport Rxiv.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Matt: The Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 2 is an improvement over the prior version. The midsole feels bouncier, the ride rolls much better and the outsole is lasting longer. My major suggestions revolve around the outsole, the midsole medial cut out and the amount of toe spring in this shoe. While the outsole has held up better than the prior version (which tore off at 10 miles), I still would suggest connecting at least the lateral heel outsole piece with the forefoot outsole. This would prevent catching, improve outsole durability and would only add a touch of weight. Adidas is known for its medial cut outs as a way to save weight. I understand this but in this softer shoe, it creates a strong medial bias at the midfoot. I personally could not use this shoe beyond a 10k because of it, while those with neutral mechanics will obviously be fine for longer.
I would suggest that Adidas consider filling in the midfoot on the medial side while still leaving the center cut out. This would reduce weight without creating as much of a bias. The final suggestion revolves on the incredible amount of toe spring. The toes are held in a large amount of extension, which in many people may place excessive strain on the plantar fascia. Some people can handle this, while others may not. I would suggest reducing this to keep the toes in a more neutral position while maintaining the same forefoot rocker angle, especially in a shoe designed for longer distances and longer periods of impact.
WHO IS THIS SHOE FOR?
Matt: The Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 2 is a super-light, super racing shoe for those who have money to spend on an aggressive performance tool. Those with normal to slightly wider feet will do best with the light, barely there upper. Those who want an extremely light, aggressively rockered, low drop and mildly bouncy ride will do best. It is only for those who have neutral mechanics given the cut-outs for weight saving but those with mild guidance needs in the forefoot will do well.
For most people, $500 for a shoe that is only meant to last one or two races will not be worth it. Those who run slower than 6 min/mile to 6:30 min/miles will likely not maximize the benefits of this shoe as it is fairly awkward at moderate to slower paces. It excels most at 10k to marathon efforts and really shines the faster you go. This shoe seems more like a concept car than anything else. Its practicality for the majority of people is limited, but is an interesting display of the things that Adidas is working. The other racing and training shoes have clearly been influenced by lessons learned from the Pro Evo series and it has an elite racing resume to back up claims. However, there are several companies that are about to drop similar shoes that are the same or lighter in weight in the $300-400 range. An evaluation of whether a $500 cost is justifiable will need to be considered. However, for the faster consumer with money to burn, this may be a shoe to consider.
GRADES
Matt
Fit: A- (Extremely thin upper that disappears on foot but requires some additional lockdown for security)
Performance: A (Incredibly light ride for stack height. Highly rockered ride that works best at longer distance races at faster than 6-6:30 min/mile)
Stability: B [Neutral] (Guided forefoot from sole flare but highly medially biased midfoot and laterally biased heel)
Value: D ($500 for a shoe meant to last 1-2 races is insane and really only worth it for faster runners with additional income. However, the durability of this version is better than the last one. )
Personal: B (Despite the midfoot medial bias, I am enjoying the ride far more than the prior version. Rockered, bouncier and actually feels faster. Still not perfect as I would expect far more midsole resiliency for the cost)
Overall Design: B
SHOP | SUPPORT DORAdidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 2Price: $499.95 at Running Warehouse
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FURTHER READING
A performance trainer with a lot of versatility.
Adidas stability trainer.
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