In this product guide:
Of all the adidas shoes with a Boost midsole, the adidas Ultraboost 5X (aka the Ultraboost 24) is our favorite pick as a standing shoe.
Its high-volume midsole is a deep reservoir of cushioning, and the wide base makes it supportive. The firm Continental rubber outsole and LEP shank help with traction and stability. An elastic and secure fit keeps the foot locked in.
It’s worth mentioning that the adidas Ultraboost 5X no longer uses stiff plastic parts over its midfoot.
The midfoot cage has been a contentious issue for as long as we can remember, so we’re glad to see it gone. This is the most comfortable upper the Ultraboost has ever had, and there’s plenty of reflectivity for low-light conditions.
There’s a significant weight reduction because of the reformulated Boost midsole, so the 5X weighs less than last year’s Ultraboost ‘Light’.
The adidas Pureboost 5 is exactly what it sounds like. It’s a sneaker with a midsole made of the soft and resilient Boost foam.
It’s also lighter this year, thanks to the same (reformulated) Boost that the Ultraboost 5X uses, but in a lower volume.
Though the Pureboost has a slimmer midsole than the Ultraboost 5X, its cushioned ride makes it an excellent shoe for standing. A thick rubber outsole covers most of the midsole and delivers dependable traction over most dry surfaces.
Unlike the more expensive Ultraboost, the Pureboost does not have a Continental outsole or LEP shank. That said, the outsole is hard-wearing adiwear rubber so you can expect reliable performance.
An Ultraboost-inspired plastic clip secures the heel. The upper is not stretchable; it uses a smooth and soft mesh with reflective 3-stripe logos.
With its stitched overlays, embossed panels, and suede accents, the adidas Ozweego channels its inner 90s.
The upper combines soft padding in the heel and tongue with a spacer mesh to make the insides comfortable. The toe box is slightly shallow – a recurring theme in many of adidas’s athleisure sneakers. That said, the Ozweego does a decent job of keeping the foot locked in.
The EVA foam midsole and outsole remind us of adidas’s ‘feet you wear’ design in the 90s. The multi-piece outsole flexes together with the foam midsole and adds all-day comfort.
The Ozweego doesn’t use Boost foam like the NMD and Ultraboost do, but it’s comfortable enough for standing and walking.
adidas sells a ‘1.0’ variant of the Ultraboost – which is a nod to the original design that we reviewed seven years ago. It’s a softer and lighter shoe than the Ultraboost 5X due to its minimal design.
However, it’s easy to forget that the Ultraboost’s legacy was built on the blow-out success of the first few models. The full-length Boost midsole, the soft and elastic Primeknit upper, and the Continental rubber outsole make the Ultraboost 1.0 a very comfortable everyday sneaker.
The cushy Boost foam stack keeps the foot cushioned during extended periods of standing, and the plush upper secures the foot.
There’s not much to the NMD R1’s design. A slip-on mesh upper is glued onto a full-length Boost midsole with stabilizers.
The outsole is a single sheet of rubber with honeycomb-shaped windows; this layout helps with flexibility without compromising grip. Only a thin insole and perforated layer separates the foot from the Boost midsole.
Bring all these parts together, and we have a comfortable shoe for standing. The Boost midsole adds plenty of ride comfort, whereas the snug upper and rubber outsole keep the feet supported.
How we selected: What to look for
Though this article focuses only on adidas products, a multi-brand buyer’s guide on the same topic also exists.
In that guide, we explained the selection criterion for a standing-friendly shoe; you can read all about it here.
For the sake of brevity, we won’t repeat that information. However, here are some adidas-specific features to look out for. Having these design features in an adidas shoe will make it comfortable enough to spend long hours on the feet.
Boost, Boost, Boost
Having a midsole made of this expanded Polyurethane foam increases the chances of the shoe being comfortable enough for standing all day.
While adidas Boost has been overtaken by lighter and more responsive foams – including the adidas Lightstrike Pro – its suite of tricks still works. What’s more, Boost is extremely durable and weather-resistant.
Unlike EVA foams or rubber blends like Nike React that harden in freezing temperatures, Boost maintains its cushioning softness regardless of how cold it is.
adidas Boost also offers excellent resistance to cushioning fatigue.
Whereas lesser cushioning materials like EVA will lose their cushioning after a few hundred miles, most Boost midsoles will outlive the shoe.
Being on your feet for many hours requires a cushioned foundation, so a Boost midsole is excellent for that use case.
A Continental or Adiwear-branded rubber outsole
A cushioned midsole has a positive effect on ride comfort, but the outsole is equally important.
Having lots of rubber coverage adds support and safety. A shoe needs to grip well on artificial floors, and here’s where rubber outperforms foam-based outsoles. It also makes a shoe durable – something that’s desirable in a shoe that’s intended to be worn all day.
adidas’s Continental rubber is a proven outsole material that offers excellent traction and durability. It’s not to say that other adidas outsoles like Adiwear are bad, but we’ve always found the Continental compound to be more durable and reliable.
On this list, the NMD R1, Ozweego, and Pureboost 5 have regular or adiwear rubber outsoles.
A secure upper
Most adidas Primeknit uppers are secure, like the kind used on the Ultraboost 5X and Ultraboost 1.0. It does help that adidas shoes have an inherently snug fit.
A secure fit improves the shoe’s performance when spending many hours on the feet. A snug fit enhances the cushioning feel by keeping the foot closer to the midsole.