Adidas adizero Boston 5 Boost

The Boston 5 upper appears near indistinguishable from the Adios at first glance. You’ve got the combination of synthetic suede and open structured air mesh, to the extent of individual patterns assuming similar shapes and positions on the upper. The synthetic is Tirrenina Suede, but with a smoother texture; the one used on Adios was more fibrous. Strangely, while the Adios Boost came tagged with paper label briefly describing what Tirrenina was, the Boston Boost just has the tag for Continental rubber.

Mesh looks close to Adios, but is actually more padded. There’s noticeably more sponginess when you squeeze the mesh between your fingers. The tongue is made of the same material, but at the top there’s a section of foam sandwiched, synthetic suede with the adidas logo welded on it. Collar lining is soft mesh spartanly backed with foam, and provides a snug feel due to how the heel counter is molded – we’ll talk more about it later. Tongue slide is near non-existent, as an asymmetrically placed tongue loop is stitched on, mirroring what’s on the Adios Boost 2. Yet, the fit feels quite different. There are many parts to this, but the most significant component is sizing.

The heel is molded much narrower on the Boston, creating a pointy back end and an Achilles dip with a forward lean. This is in contrast to the more-rounded contours of the Adios heel, and causes the foot to shift slightly forward – and justifying the half size down. The toe box is very shallow, causing the toe to push against the ceiling of spacer mesh. The upper midfoot is snug, but feels more spacious than Adios. The lacing width is broader, with more space between opposite eyelet holes. This, combined with an overall thicker tongue mesh and synthetic leather flap, reduces the intensity of top down lacing pressure felt in the adios.

The Boston 5 Boost is more cushioned than the Adios. A good way to put this is it sits somewhere between the raceday Adios and easygoing Supernova Glide Boost. If the gap between them was represented by an imaginary scale, then the Boston 5 would sit nearly in the middle, but with a slight bias towards the Glide. 

The volume of Boost foam is higher than that of the Adios, and also with a corresponding increase in width of the heel base. Not so much, but even a few millimetres swings the needle. Along with that, toss in firm midsole EVA over the Boost foam. This midsole layer extends from heel to forefoot, where it ends and leaves only the layer of fabric strobel over Boost. When weight is loaded on the midsole bed, it tends to compress the Boost foam in a more widespread manner.

 the Boston 5 is more a daily trainer good for fast paced runs than a pure raceday shoe, which the Adios is. The cushioning levels are adequate enough to go the distance, and the bottom is a layer of Continental branded outsole rubber. This makes the shoe more durable, especially under the forefoot. Grip is more than adequate, though Continental’s grip on wet surfaces isn’t as cracked up as people make it out to be. For a surprising $130 it a shoe

meant to be haved upon.