adidas Solarglide 4 ST - Shoe Review

A shoe with such good grip on the roads as well as medial support, is going to be a serious winter game changer for many runners. 

4.3 out of 5 | 318 g (men’s) 278 g (women’s) | drop 10 mm | supportive road shoe | £120 

First impressions out of the box 

Allison: Straight away I noticed that these shoes are made with recycled materials with 50% of the upper from recycled content, so this is a good step in the right direction. I like the appearance of this quite simple looking shoe. It has a split heel cup to protect the Achilles, nice long laces for lock lacing and the adidas 3-stripe logo is substantially reflective. I’m really looking forward to seeing how this shoe performs. 
 
Carly: I prefer a brighter coloured shoe normally, but the grey is quite on trend. For an adidas shoes, it looks quite wide so I’m intrigued to see how it feels on.

Our thoughts

Allison: I’m new to adidas, and these feel ok on the feet, perhaps a little stiff. Warming up to run and I’m soon forgetting I’m even wearing them, they seem to really work with my feet. The grip is incredible and these shoes are starting to feel really comfortable, I’m feeling really confident. These shoes are responding reasonably well to picking up the pace and so I’m very happy.  They really do feel very plush and comfortable; a delight to wear. 

Carly: I was expecting this shoe to feel like a lead weight on my feet but actually the boost technology means it feels light and responsive. The grip is amazing! A road shoe that doesn’t slip about on the autumn leaves, I didn’t even think that was possible but the Continental rubber sole of this shoe is fantastic, meaning  that if you're used to running routes such as canal towpaths in winter, you will feel more confident. The Achilles support on the shoes is actually soft, which means it doesn’t rub at all but the back of the shoe is actually quite high which I found would occasionally dig in as I toed off. 
  
This is a mileage shoe, it’s comfortable and easy to run in and the support holds up well. This is a shoe that I can see will get a lot of use from me, as long runs are my favourite. It doesn’t feel like a fast shoe, so not the one for my race day or speed work.

Fit and width  

Allison: It’s a good fit in length and width and true to size. The split heel counter prevents irritation of the Achilles and the high heel tab is super plush and incredibly comfortable. 

Carly: This shoe fits pretty true to size. The toe box is much wider than I was expecting, as adidas shoes are notoriously narrow.  The shoe feels comfortable, which is exactly what you want from a mileage shoe. The toe box is quite shallow but the upper feels very durable. 

Wear it works best  

Allison: I’m pretty happy to wear this on any kind of run. For race day it isn’t as responsive as some, but I feel it’s responsive enough to wear for a long race, maybe of 10 miles or more. Other than that you’ll get a comfortable ride over any distance, and as the grip is so good, I’d be really happy to throw myself downhill on wet tarmac without concern, which is pretty unusual for a dedicated road shoe. 

Carly: Long runs and when you need better grip on the roads. I cannot get over how good the grip on this shoe is, it's so unusual for a road shoe. Usually, if you need the level of grip you would need to get a hybrid shoe, so to find a shoe with good grip on the roads with medial support is going to be a winter game changer for many. 

Any sticking points

Allison: It’s a good shoe, and at a reasonable price point gives you a lot of bang for your buck. I like the grey colourway, I think it's really smart. The comfort levels are advanced, the grip is sensational, it’s made with recycled materials and the support is reliable and sincere. 

Carly: Overall, I didn’t have high hopes for this shoe straight out of the box, it’s not overly attractive and it felt heavy but this is why we test them out! However, on your feet, this shoe is great, it feels pretty light and soft. The grip, well I think I may have mentioned, is pretty awesome. This shoe will do some serious mileage. 

This shoe has been tested by Allison and Carly. They have run in the shoes for a minimum of 4 weeks or about 50 miles before submitting their reviews. The scores they have given the shoes are based on their experiences, their running styles and their training types. These shoes were gifted by adidas for the purpose of this review, however no input was made by adidas. The views are entirely that of our testers.