Can a $500 running shoe ever be worth it? I ran 25 miles in the Adidas Pro Evo 2 to find out

I never tested the original Adidas Pro Evo racing shoe, but I feared for the impact it would have on the market at large. It was an incredibly expensive, elite-focused shoe with famously poor durability, and I worried other brands would follow suit in launching equally inaccessible shoes.

Fortunately that hasn’t happened… yet, at least. Even the best carbon plate running shoes launched this year have stuck to relatively normal prices, with the priciest racers I’ve tested costing $300.

That’s not cheap, but it makes the $500 price of the Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 2 look almost comical, and it overshadows everything else about the shoe when it comes to reviewing it as a possible option for normal runners.

Even if we put the price to one side, as impressive as the Adidas Pro Evo 2 is, I couldn’t say it’s conclusively the best racer I’ve tested this year. It’s fantastic, but I’d look at the Asics Metaspeed Sky Tokyo, Puma Fast-R Nitro Elite 3 or Asics Metaspeed Ray first, even if you do have $500 spare.

Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 2 review: price and availability

The Adidas Pro Evo 2 launched in extremely limited amounts in April 2025, before a wider release in August. Despite the high price of $500 / £450, it’s still a hard shoe to get hold of, with Adidas only releasing the Pro Evo 2 in small numbers each time it goes on sale.

You can sign up to be notified when the next batch of the shoe is released on the Adidas website, to give yourself the best shot of getting a pair.

Adidas does have a cheaper, more accessible model in its line-up — the Adidas Adizero Adios Pro 4, which will ‘only’ set you back $250.

Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 2 review: design and fit

The Adidas Pro Evo 2 launched in the silver and red color I tested. No other colors have been launched yet for the shoe, which I found fit me well in my normal U.S. running shoe size — those in the UK might find it comes up a little snug and may want to go a half size up.

It’s a phenomenally light shoe at just 5oz in a US men’s size 9.5, though it’s not actually the lightest shoe I’ve tested this year — that honor belongs to the Asics Metaspeed Ray, which is 4.8oz in a slightly larger US men’s size 10.

The Adidas Pro Evo 2 does have a little more foam underfoot, largely because it has a low heel-to-toe drop of 3mm. It stands 39mm tall at the heel and 36mm at the forefoot so you’re still getting a lot of springy foam to power your runs despite the lightweight design.

Upper

As you’d expect given its lightweight design, the Adidas Pro Evo 2 has a very thin upper that’s built to hold the foot as securely as possible without adding any extra weight to the shoe.

I found that the upper did this job well during my testing and felt confident running at my fastest speeds without any fear of my foot sliding around. It’s not the most cushioned and comfortable upper, but you don’t expect that from a racing shoe, and I didn’t have any problems with rubbing during my runs.

Midsole

The Adidas Pro Evo 2 uses Lightstrike Pro foam in its midsole, but is different than the Lightstrike Pro material used in the Adios Pro 4 racer. It’s lighter and delivers more energy return, but this comes at the cost of being less durable.

Instead of a carbon plate, Adidas uses its EnergyRods in the midsole of the Pro Evo 2 to deliver a propulsive ride while stabilizing the soft midsole foam. These produce the same kind of efficient ride you expect from plated racers, but have a little more flexibility in the forefoot.

Outsole

The Adidas Pro Evo 2 uses a very thin rubber on its outsole. It covers most of the forefoot, and there are two strips at the heel of the shoe.

Durability is not going to be a strong point with this thin material, but a bigger concern for me is the lack of grip it offers in wet conditions on some surfaces.

Most of the time, it was OK for me in testing, but there are some types of paving where this rubber doesn’t grip at all, and I almost fell a couple of times while wearing the shoe. It’s one you have to be careful with, especially when taking turns at fast speeds.

Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 2 review: running performance

I was very excited to run in the Adidas Pro Evo 2, to say the least, and for my first run in it I opted for an all-out 5K effort at a local parkrun. Even in this short effort, some of the pros and cons of the shoe came across clearly.

The main pro is that it’s very fast. I ran the 5K in just over 16 minutes, and especially early on in the race the rapid turnover of the Pro Evo 2 and the propulsive punch from the foam and EnergyRods in the midsole was apparent.

On the negative side of things, the lack of grip offered by the outsole on certain surfaces was also clear, and I had to be careful when taking corners during the 5K to avoid slipping.

I also felt in the second half of the race that the geometry of the shoe was not best-suited to my running style. I am a high-cadence heel-striker, and start to shuffle more and more as I tire in races, and I think the Adidas Pro Evo 2 would be more fluid and better for loping runners who land on their midfoot or forefoot.

That feeling came across in a couple of track workouts I’ve done in the Pro Evo 2 where I was pushing to my absolute maximum, and the ride didn’t feel as natural to me as in some other super-shoes, even if it was still quick.

When I’m fresh, however, or running slightly within myself so at slower race paces like half marathon or marathon, the Pro Evo 2 does feel great, and as fast as anything on the market.

It’s a little firmer than some race shoes, notably the very squishy Asics Metaspeed Ray and Saucony Endorphin Elite 2, but the Pro Evo 2 is still comfortable while being incredibly light and responsive.

Should you buy the Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 2?

The Adidas Pro Evo 2 is an excellent racing shoe but one beset by caveats. It is simply too expensive to recommend buying when there are fantastic racing shoes available for half its price, especially given its worrisome lack of grip.

Even when judging purely on performance, I don’t have it as my top racer right now. During testing I ran a PR at a 10K race and opted for the Asics Metaspeed Ray over the Pro Evo 2, and I’d also pick the Puma Fast-R 3 and Asics Metaspeed Sky Tokyo ahead of it for key races myself.

Part of that is down to my running style, and part of it is the grip, but also I didn’t notice a clear performance leap with the Adidas Pro Evo 2 compared to other carbon super-shoes.

Given its price, you have the right to expect one.

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