As yet, I have not had any Boost material under my feet- This is because I have not purchased any rather expensive and heavy Boost shoes, however I have researched this material online and done some squishing of my friend's Supernova Glide Boosts. It is noticeably more 'squishy' than the Adiprene which was the flagship foam of Adidas before the Boost.
Since I was put off by the weight of the Boost shoes (Adios is the lightest at 8oz- 227g). This would be the heaviest shoe I have used since I started running seriously. I then looked around for Adidas' lightest shoes:
Hagio 2: 6.1 oz (173g) and 17-12 stack
Adios 2: 7.8 oz (221g) and 24-15 stack- I currently own these and plan to use for marathon
Takumi Sen: 6.1 oz (173g) and 25-19 stack
6.1 oz seems like a fairly acceptably light weight. While I don't really like a 6mm or 5mm drop, I could live with it. My preference of these three would be the Takumi Sen since more cushioning for the same weight (as the Hagio) will increase efficiency apparently. However, I would really like that famous 1% oxygen use reduction with Boost. The Hagio seems to have been discontinued so I was really looking forward to a Boosted Takumi Sen- This might even make these shoes less rare as Adidas like to push their Boost shoes.
The Takumi Sen 3 has many of the same characteristics as the original:
Stack: 22.5-16.5 =6mm drop
Weight: 6.1 oz (173g)
It also has the Torsion system which is in my Adios 2s and I really think is a great addition to any shoe- It gives a gradually changing stiffness getting stiffer closer to the heel which also is reported to make running more efficient.
Given the cushioning, energy return of the Boost, torsion system and fairly lightweight nature of the shoe, I suspect it could be faster than the Mizuno Universe! I suspect this because during last summer I often found myself using my 175g Adidas XCS4 spikes over the Universe on the track and these didn't have Boost, didn't have a lot of cushioning and are rather low on the market in Adidas terms.
So...
So, I will try to purchase these at some point and do a review- probably at least when people actually start selling them but I will probably wait until my Mizuno Universes resemble sandals with a holey sole. I'm looking forward to the tight forefoot and bouncy feel of all my previous Adidas shoes. I might even push them to a marathon if they feel soft enough.
Some negatives?
While I predict these will be great shoes, I would ideally like a rand of some sort to stop these popping out at the sides like all my 'dead' have (cause of death) because I'm sure that like the Adios, the sole will hold out like a boss.
Please follow, +1, comment, etc.
Until next review, adieu.
