Adidas Adizero Boston 8 Performance Review

What You Need To Know

• Updated Continental rubber outsole provides a more stable ride
• Sleek and slim knitted mesh upper makes you feel fast (and look fast!)
• Is BOOST on the loose, or on the caboose?
• As a child, Meaghan foretold her move to Baltimore by naming her pet after a main character on The Wire

What began as a peaceful Easter morning quickly devolved into a horrific scene.

Instead of finding hidden eggs and chocolate bunnies, little 5-year-old Meaghan discovered a lifeless body, face-up in the water.

The only sound came from the aquarium’s filter, purring along as it cleaned the last of the waste from Bubbles, the family goldfish, now upside-down and utterly unresponsive.

Mom and Dad came to the scene and comforted Meg. Quietly in the distance, Meg swore she could hear the mournful notes of Taps floating through the chilly spring air.

The family scooped up Bubbles and the funeral procession began. To little Meg, the ten-foot journey to the bathroom seemed like a miles-long death march. As her feet hit the tile floor, Meg laid eyes on the porcelain tomb where Bubbles would be laid to rest. With a dull plop and a sad pull on the handle, Bubbles began his journey into the afterlife.

Then it happened.

Bubbles’ body jolted. Could it be? A resurrection on Easter morning? Miraculously, Bubbles began to live up to his name, swimming against the swirl.  The family jumped into action and pulled the beloved undead family pet from the bowl. Had little Meg been tending to the Jesus Christ of goldfish all along?

She would never know because soon after, she won a few more goldfish at a carnival and got all of them mixed up.

Anyway, the adidas Boston 8 is like Bubbles. Keep reading.

The Good

Thomas: Looking for a smooth ride through your stride? Boston 8 got you. The updated Continental rubber outsole and the new TPU Torsion System create a better underfoot feel for the latest Boston. There is something less harsh about the ride of the 8 vs Boston 7. The “energy rails” paired with the BOOST midsole keep the Adidas trainer stable. Overall the midsole has the comfort of a Nike Pegasus with a firmer faster feeling ride. The Boston is back like Bubbles!

The upper is an improvement too. On the surface, the knitted-mesh upper looks like it would be warm. There aren’t any large pores on the upper to vent heat, but it did a decent job with the Coolever mesh lining in extremely hot (90º F with 85% humidity) running conditions.

While it wasn’t an ice box, no shoe is going to feel cool in those temps. All that to say, it got me through an 11-mile run feeling no worse than any other shoe.

Looks-wise, the Boston 8 contours the foot to make the shoe look like a missile. Sometimes looking fast is the second best thing to being fast. That’s what my middle school gym teacher told me, anyway. Appearance aside, the upper fit well and I had no heel slip even though I was sent a pair that is a half size larger than my normal size. The thin attached tongue and the lightly padded collar added the right amount of comfort without being puffy or cumbersome.

The size 11 weighs 9.21 oz./261 grams with a 10 mm drop on a lower stack platform.

Robbe: I’m going to be honest in that I’m working through some injury stuff so didn’t get in the 20 miles on this, so take my review with a grain of salt.

I like that this is a pretty light shoe that can double as a medium-to-firm trainer. While it’s a little too firm for me, if you want to get in some fast and steady training miles with some good traction underfoot, this is a solid option. The upper construction is nice, although a bit constrictive (more on that below). I will say that my foot felt totally secure. I had no issues with heel slippage or movement, and the lacing structure worked well for me.

Also, it’s just a good-looking shoe and has that Boston nod without being too upfront about it like last year’s model.

The Bad

Thomas: The lacing can take a few misfires before you get it dialed in, and it isn’t the easiest set up to make adjustments. The BOOST has that cushion with a pop, but when you compare it to Skechers Hyperburst, BOOST seems heavy and dated. In this shoe, it still works but you can’t help but wonder how much better the shoe could be with a light foam that delivers the same amount of energy return as the BOOST.

Robbe: Thomas mentioned the “missile” design of the shoe above. I actually found it to be a little bit restrictive in the forefoot. It just didn’t feel quite as comfortable as other uppers, and honestly it’s a little stiff.

As far as the ride, it’s a trimmed down shoe, so while there is some BOOST comfort, it feels pretty firm overall and I wasn’t feeling much pop from it. I just want a bit more cushion in an everyday trainer. This could be used as a faster marathon shoe (I mean, it’s called Boston), but I don’t know that I’d enjoy it as a daily trainer or long run shoe for the reasons mentioned above.

I agree with Thomas that the Boost is on the caboose.

Adidas Adizero Boston 8 Conclusion

Robbe: I’m gonna tell you to take Thomas’s thoughts on these, especially if you enjoyed previous models of the Boston. I mean, I thought this was a good shoe, but it didn’t jump out at me as a go-to. It’s certainly better than a lot of shoes I’ve reviewed this year, but I’m not going to keep them by the front door where my wife can trip over them for weeks on end. That spot is reserved for only the best.

Thomas: The Boston 8 is one of my top daily trainers for 2019. The ride is silky, the cushioning is protective yet responsive, the upper fits without irritation, looks good, and secures the foot at all speeds. I’d put the Boston 8 up against the Pegasus 36, Reebok RunFast Energy and the Rincon. All would be solid choices for “do it all” shoes, daily mileage, tempo runs, and racing.

The price at $120 is reasonable too, especially with the added durability of Continental rubber paired with BOOST. Just when I thought the Boston was dead, it pulled a Bubbles. Hallelujah– saddle up that fish and ride!