Adidas Originals Adistar Racer Review

The Adidas Originals Adistar Racer is quickly becoming a favourite amongst the Australian Parkour and Freerunning community. And for good reason too, with big names in the Australian scene such as Luke Smith from Melbourne, Dominic Tomasso from Sydney, Brodie Pawson from Brisbane, and Tony Oj from Adelaide, just to name a few, currently rocking the three-stripes. It’s hard not to notice them. So what seems to be the draw of these kicks? In this review I test run these shoes to see if they live up to the hype. 

Looks 

Just a few of the possible colour combinations available.

Aesthetically speaking, the Adistar Racers are the best shoes in my collection hands down. The sleek retro runner grooves and iconic three-stripes of the Racers make everything look bad in comparison. Plus not to mention the vast array of awesome colour combinations they come in, just make it an all-round good-looking shoe let alone just a training shoe.

Comfort

The first time I put on these kicks, I had just come from several months of training with my minimalistic shoes, the Merrel Flux Gloves and Feiyues. At first the padded feel of the shoes felt unnatural and was a very unwelcome change. But after a few days of breaking them in and training in them, they started to feel a lot better.  Now I can safely say they are pretty comfortable to wear around, not as comfortable as Feiyues (which feel like slippers), but enough to wear/run around in all day without any complaint.

Grip

The grip of the Adistar Racers are definitely one of the stand out features of the shoe. With its solid one grip/piece sole ticking all the boxes Traceurs should naturally be looking for when purchasing shoes. The sole has a very solid grip on most surfaces when dry, not as much as the Merrel Flux Gloves (which also perform well in wet conditions), but just about on par with Feiyues. Also, as an added bonus the sole lasts for a very long time, even if you’re as hard on your shoes as me! With the wearing of the sole barely changing the grip at all.

Weight

Weighing in at 500g (p.s. I wear Men’s Size 9 US) the Adistar Racers are the heaviest shoes I own. That said, it is only 15g heavier than my well-worn Feiyues, and 170g heavier than my Flux Gloves, and the snug fit and comfort of the shoes makes it feel as if they’re lighter.

Flexibility

Cat-Balance: Just the right amount of flex

For shoes that are this thick, the Adistar Racers are actually quite flexible. My initial wearing of the shoes left me in dread as I thought they would retain their original stiffness throughout their lifetime, but after only a week and bit of breaking in I found them to be fairly responsive and sensitive. Of course they don’t compare to minimalistic shoes, but if you want thick shoes that aren’t just brick coffins for your feet (and tech) these are definitely the way to go.

Durability

Like my other shoes, I was pretty rough on these ones. Taking them out on several nature training trips, drilling arm-jumps and climb-ups, and generally just being reckless. I made sure to put them through their paces, and I must say they held up pretty well. The actual body of the shoe, besides minimal colour fading and torn laces, have held up surprisingly well. The only thing that did wear over time was the grip, but as I said before this too takes quite a while to happen. The Adistar Racers definitely deserve a merit for durability.

Specific Techniques

Alright, now comes the part where I put theory to the side and actually test these shoes on specific techniques.

Wallruns

These shoes are a pretty solid choice for training wallrun technique in. It’s grippy enough that you won’t be sliding off the wall, yet not so grippy that you rely on the grip alone to get up the wall. My only issue with them (which I’ll go into later), is that the raised heel makes it very difficult to approach the last few steps of the wallrun without heel-strike.

Precisions/Landings

I found these shoes to have just the right amount of padding for doing the bigger and riskier jumps. Enough to save you from the occasional bad-landing or accidental arch-strike, but not enough that you entirely forego any technique. Also, the shoe’s tight-fit doesn't slip and slide which helps make it feel as though it’s actually a part of your foot, so even sticking tricky technical precisions are pretty comfortable.

Balancing

Balancing in these shoes is pretty much what you’d expect from padded shoes. Although the grippy one piece sole does make it a lot easier to stick onto railings than others in its category, the raised heel certainly doesn't do it any favours, killing a little bit of the proprioception. I’d say if these shoes had a little less heel they would have be perfect for me.

Other Thoughts 

I find these shoes have a little too much heel raise and I’m usually a big proponent of shoes with minimal heel raise, especially for newbie traceurs getting their techniques down. So I wouldn't recommend these shoes to those just starting off.

Should You Buy Them

In my opinion, yes. They’re worth the cost, and when mine wear out I’m definitely getting another pair. They’re a fantastic all-rounder, stylish, and very easy to get your hands on. I’d highly recommend them if thicker shoes are your thing. Overall I’d give these shoes a 9.5/10. 

So all aboard the hype train! Make your next pair of trainers a pair of Adistar Racer! Till next time, happy trainings! :D 

-Toi 

You can purchase Adistar Racers from HYPE DC and PLATYPUS shoe stores across Australia. The average price for them seems to be in the $80-$120 price range, with some retailers selling them as low as $40 during sale periods.