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Adidas Ultraboost 5X Review
Introduction
When the original Ultraboost launched 9 years ago in 2015, it was very much considered a serious running shoe and it was Adidas’ top of the range trainer at the time. It had a comfortable knit upper, a full-length Boost midsole and a soft, grippy outsole.
Then, Kanye West wore a “Triple White” pair during his performance at the Billboard Music Awards and the Ultraboost became the most hyped shoe on the planet. Ultraboosts flew off the shelves and sneakerheads were even buying pairs to resell at 3 times the regular retail price.
Since then, the Ultraboost has been known as a casual lifestyle sneaker that you can also run in. It’s famous for its high level of comfort and its stylish design. One of the things that have prevented the Ultraboost from becoming a true performance running shoe is its hefty weight, mainly due to the Boost midsole foam.
Adidas looks to buck the trend with the Ultraboost 5X and to make it a proper, performance running shoe once again. It has a new LightBoost v2 midsole, a thicker midsole and an updated Torsion System. It now weighs 275 grams, which is 18 grams lighter than the Ultraboost Light of last year.
Specifications
|
Price |
$259 |
|
Drop |
10 mm (38 mm heel, 28 mm forefoot) |
|
Surface |
Road |
|
Weight (Men's US9) |
275 g |
|
Pronation Control |
Neutral |
Upper
Ultraboost 5X has a bootie construction upper made of mono Primeknit. It’s a stretchy material that conforms to your feet. The Primeknit of the Ultraboost 5X is thinner than previous versions so breathability is noticeably better. There are thinner, perforated sections on the toe-box and the tongue that allow air to escape.
The tongue is attached on both sides so there is no tongue slide. The eyelets are stitched onto the outside of the upper, so the laces don’t have to go inside the shoe and there’s no irritation on the top of your feet.
The Ultraboost 5X is different to the regular Ultraboost 5 because it doesn’t have a stiff plastic cage attached to its midfoot which is normally a staple on Ultraboost shoes. The absence of a plastic cage has a number of advantages: it makes the shoe lighter and it makes the midfoot more flexible, increasing comfort levels.
The heel tab is padded and it flares away from your Achilles to prevent irritation. There are 2 cushioning pods on the inside of the heel to provide better heel lockdown but they are very soft and could be firmer. This would improve the heel lockdown.
The Ultraboost 5X has a true to size fit with a spacious midfoot, forefoot and toe-box. Runners with high volume feet will enjoy the fit and it’s also suitable for runners with wide feet. The Ultraboost 5X is not currently available in a wide version.
Midsole
Boost has changed over the years. The Boost that was in the original Ultraboost was a soft but heavy midsole foam. LightBoost was introduced in the Ultraboost light last year but it was a firmer foam. The advantage was that it was lighter than the previous version however it made the Ultraboost Light the firmest version to date.
The LightBoost v2 that’s in the Ultraboost 5X is noticeably softer than LightBoost v1 in the previous version. It’s made of TPU which is highly temperature resistant and retains its cushioning for a very long time.
The previous version had stack heights of 29 mm/19 mm but the Ultraboost 5X has a significantly taller midsole which measures 38 mm/28 mm. The extra stack height gives the Ultraboost 5X deeper cushioning and it also makes it more suitable for forefoot strikers who felt that there wasn’t enough forefoot cushioning in previous versions.
Underneath the insole, there are large cutouts in the strobel lining at the rearfoot and the forefoot, exposing the midsole foam. These window cutouts increase the ride softness because it gives your feet direct access to the midsole foam. In the previous version, there were no cutouts which explains why the ride was so much firmer.
Outsole
There’s an updated Torsion System in the Ultraboost 5X which is the yellow plastic shank that you can see poking through the outsole rubber. Adidas has a Torsion System in almost every one of their performance running shoes and its purpose is to provide structure in the midfoot. In some shoes like the Ultraboost Light, the Torsion shank extends into the forefoot to stiffen it up and provide more propulsion. In the Ultraboost 5X, the shank stops before the forefoot which results in a more flexible forefoot.
The Ultraboost 5X features Continental branded rubber on its outsole for excellent grip and durability. There is crystal rubber in the midfoot and the forefoot while there is also regular (more durable) blown rubber on the heel and forefoot sections. The full ground contact outsole ensures that there isn’t any unprotected midsole foam exposed. The Ultraboost 5X has one of the most durable outsoles on the market and you don’t have to worry about the rubber wearing down prematurely.
Traction is great on wet and dry surfaces. The combination of 2 different outsole rubbers results in excellent grip in a variety of conditions. The decoupled groove down the centre that was present in the previous version is now gone. Hopefully Adidas brings it back in the next version to reduce the weight further.
Ride
The Ultraboost 5X is not only lighter than the Ultraboost Light but it also has a thicker midsole with more cushioning. These 2 factors make it a much more versatile trainer than previous Ultraboosts. The 5X is a great long run trainer because it has incredibly deep cushioning and it won’t fatigue you due to its respectable weight.
When it comes to cushioning feel, it has a soft ride but it isn’t mushy like some other max-cushioned trainers. The Ultraboost 5X is best suited to easy or recovery runs which are 5 minutes per kilometre or slower. It’s the softest and most cushioned Adidas trainer so it’s designed to give you a plush, luxurious ride.
The Ultraboost 5X is a stable neutral trainer. It has a wide base and its midsole is supportive enough for slight overpronators. Stability isn’t as high as the Ultraboost Light because it has a softer ride with no raised side walls but it’s still easy to corner in and footstrikes feel very planted.
The forefoot is very flexible so the Ultraboost 5X has a relaxed ride. The forefoot rocker is not very noticeable because of the flexibility of the forefoot but the ride is still very smooth thanks to the single-piece midsole and the full ground contact outsole.
Conclusion
The Ultraboost 5X is the lightest Ultraboost and the best version to date. It also has the thickest midsole of any previous version so it’s by far the most cushioned. It has no major flaws and it is once again a serious running shoe which you can use daily.
It’s also the most versatile version to date. It’s a great long run trainer now thanks to the softer, more cushioned ride and the reduction in weight. If you have wide or voluminous feet, the spacious Ultraboost 5X upper will be more comfortable for you.
The cageless design makes the 5X even more comfortable and lighter than the regular Ultraboost 5. The 5X version has enough structure and stability so it doesn’t need the plastic cage. Hopefully Adidas removes the cage permanently and creates only the Ultraboost 6 with no cage.
In an Adidas rotation, the Ultraboost 5X fills the role of the daily trainer workhorse for easy, everyday runs. The Boston 12 or the Evo SL fills the role of the speed trainer with the Adios Pro 4 or Adios Pro Evo 1 for race day.
Reviewed by Brandon Law
