My Adidas SL20 shoes finally landed on my doorstep in late May, after two months of waiting for the adidas Philippines website to fulfill orders. I had taken advantage of a “friends and family” discount code during a sale they began to run on March 13: buy two items to get 50% off. So I bought the SL20 and a pair of socks, bringing the price of the shoe from P5,800 down to P2,900. I thought it was a good deal.
Then quarantine came down hard.
Initially, when community quarantine was scheduled to take effect on March 15 only public transport would be affected and that the flow of goods would remain the same. When enhanced community quarantine was announced and restrictions tightened up so much, for the first two or three weeks it became near impossible to fulfill deliveries even of essential goods as all the courier services were ordered closed. Adidas emailed to say they would resume deliveries when it would become safe and allowed to do so.
Unfortunately, it took Adidas a much longer time to get back, and their courier service was overwhelmed by the flood of online orders due to all the promos the website was running. (Apparently the website and marketing is run out of Singapore, and stock comes from Singapore warehouses rather than local adidas branches. This has been a long-running problem that pre-dates the lockdown.)
All this is to say, I had been salivating for the day these shoes would finally land in my lap, and I think I built these expectations up in my mind.
The press release around the SL20 launch says: “Adidas has crafted a range of new shoes that enable runners to achieve their personal feeling of ‘Fast’. From the new lightweight SL20 design, with a cutting-edge Lightstrike midsole for explosive movements and enduring speed, to UB20 which provides maximum energy return in every step, and even a new 4D 1.0 shoe with a uniquely designed and ultra-supportive 3D-printed midsole, Adidas has the perfect pair of running shoes for every type of runner.”
Instead of the Boost midsole we’ve seen featured in every performance shoe Adidas has pushed out to market in the past few years, the SL20 features Lightstrike which was first introduced in basketball shoes last year. Another shoe, the Adidas RC2 racing flat, also uses Lightstrike. I was definitely interested in feeling the difference, as the SL20 was supposed to feel fast.
The SL20 is a spiritual successor to the SL72 released in 1972 (yes, it was used during the Munich Olympics). SL stands for “Super Light”, and it definitely shows in its 238-gram weight.
Before we go further, here are my photos of the Adidas SL20 after a few weeks of personal use:
While the SL20 has a more affordable (non-sale) price than the PureBOOST and UltraBOOST models that have been on the market, it doesn’t mean this is a less premium shoe. The torsion system is built on the midfoot torsion technology we have seen in UB, and Continental rubber which is used in the UB is also used here. The price difference here looks like a function of the use of Lightstrike rather than Boost.
Due to quarantine restrictions on movement as well as mandatory use of masks when outside, I used the SL20 for four easy runs in the 3K-5K distance range. (Can’t really go fast because the mask makes heavy exertion feel four times as difficult.) I have to say that these shoes really do disappear on your feet due to their weight, but the road feel isn’t harsh despite the absence of Boost. In fact, they do live up to what they are designed to be: a secondary shoe for fast runs on road or track.
However, because my ground contact time was extended because I was running at a slower pace, I did start to feel that lack of cushy Boost. When I ran with the SL20 on my left foot and a Boston 7 on the right, I felt this difference even more, as I felt some arch and heel discomfort in the left foot where there was none on the right.
To draw an analogy between these shoes and shoes I used to run in, the SL20 is to the Mizuno Hitogami as the Boston is to the Mizuno Sayonara. The SL20 is light and fast so it’s suited for fast runs, but it’s not what you should use if you intend to do any serious mileage especially as pace slows.
Alternatively, if you’re a new runner who’s brand-conscious as well as budget-conscious, the SL20 is a good choice if you want to wear the Three Stripes for running at a price that’s pocket-friendlier than the Boost.
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Simple and very straightforward. Nice one, Noelle!