Adidas 1

The Adidas 1 is the newest impact reduction footwear on the market retailing at $250. So, we decided to test them out to see how they performed against the Z-CoiL footwear. Adidas describes them as follows:

- Using a magnetic sensor beneath the heel, the adidas_1 monitors changes in impact, pace and ground condition 1,000 times per second.
- A tiny microprocessor, beneath the arch, is the brain of the shoe; capable of 5 million decisions every second; It reads the data from the sensor and uses it to figure out the level of cushioning you need.
- Then the microprocessor sends instructions to a small but powerful motor that adjusts the cushioning level to give you the optimal level of performance

Sounds great, right? Well, my 16 year old cross country track runner decided to put them to the test. Here's a brief synopsis of the shoe from Matt:

"I am a 16 year old cross country runner for Los Gatos High School who has experienced severe pain in my knees due to growing pains. The terrain that I ran was a combination of asphalt roads, running trails and mountain dirt trails. It varied from very flat to very steep with most of it being on hilly terrain. It has 5 different softness settings, so I set it on the softest to help with my knee issues.

"The shoe was much heavier than any of my other running shoes due to the extra weight of the magnet, spring, cable and microprocessor. The material on the shoe was very stiff and I received blisters in the heel and on the side of the ball of my foot the first time I ran in them. After some modifications of the heel and some point stretching on the ball, the blister issue was resolved. The front sole of the shoe, though, was stiff which made going up hill difficult. They did reduce the impact on my knees and reduce the pain while running.

"After 67 miles and less than two weeks, the right shoe started rattling and felt different than the left shoe. The magnet had come loose in the heel and the microprocessor was not sensing the impact correctly, causing issues with my right knee. I exchanged those for a new pair, made the same adjustments for the heel and ball of the foot and began the trial again. After 34 miles and less than one week, the left shoe was rattling and once again the magnet had come loose. This time, the shoe would constantly adjust itself from soft to hard to soft again while running! These wreaked havoc on my knees to say the least! It was decided not to try a third pair for fear of causing injury.

"I would not recommend these shoes to anyone!" concludes Matt.

As you can see, the shoe did not hold up. With the Z-CoiL's, we can replace and repair the heel if necessary. Also, the uppers of the Z-CoiL are much softer and can be stretched easily if necessary. We have no batteries nor microprocessors so the longevity of the shoe is greater and care of the shoe is much easier.

Revolutionize the shoe industry? I don't think so... at least not with the Adidas 1.

Till later,
Caesar...