Last week, RUNNR anounced a sale on their Instagram for a few shoe models — and the adidas Adizero Boston 8 was among them! So of course I reserved a pair in my size by commenting on the post. They then contacted me over direct message to get my shipping and contact details, which they passed on to the particular store that had the shoe stock so the store could bill me and then send the order to me via same-day courier.
I’ve been a fan of the Boston ever since I bought the Boston 8 as a gamble last year. I was looking for a shoe with similar feel to my favorite yet discontinued shoes, and I got it in the Boston. It arrived a little too late for me to use in the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 21K, but it’s been a constant companion since. The Boston (unlike the ultraBoost and PureBoost models I’ve featured here previously) is notoriously hard to come by here in the Southeast Asian region. I don’t know why they don’t sell the Boston at the adidas flagship stores; instead we look at specialist stores like RUNNR and eventually the adidas outlet stores in Laguna and Pampanga to find Bostons.
What I found when I ran in this new Boston 8 is that there’s a very mild change in midsole material. Whereas the Boston 8 had a Boost midsole with an EVA foam layer immediately under the footbed, in the new Boston I bought that EVA foam layer is replaced by Lightstrike, the new TPU foam that adidas has been adding to the midsoles of many other shoe models (and in the case of the SL20 and RC 2.0, comprises the entirety of midsole material). The Lightstrike allowed adidas to shave some weight and also make the shoe more responsive. However, unlike the pure Lightstrike midsoles, the Boston’s Boost balances the Lightstrike quite well.
Apparently adidas saw fit to update the Boston with some Lightstrike while still branding it an 8. The new Boston 9 also has Lightstrike now so this is the way the Bostons will probably be constructed moving forward.
Watch my comparison review below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXUQemvg7zk
