Adidas Ultra Boost was first released in 2015. It is one of the best line of running shoes ever released by Adidas. Adidas hypes the shoe as “the greatest running shoe ever”. Many runners, sneakerheads and style icons choose the Ultra Boost as their favourite. They do not choose it only for its comfort, but also for its quality and functionalities.
Most companies believe that feedback can be a useful and helpful way of knowing what customers want and what they, as engineers and designers, need to improve on. Some shoe brands always try to make sure they get feedback on how satisfied customers are with their products.
After the launch of Adidas Energy Boost in 2013, Adidas engineers asked runners about their first experience with the BOOST. The feedbacks clearly gave them clues on what to improve on. Runners complain about ill-fitting footwear in the forefoot area is one of the issues they would have to deal.
The goal was to, according to James Tarrier (Adidas engineer), “create a shoe that unleashes the full potential of the amazing Boost foam while at the same time making sure an unmatched adaptable fit in the upper. This is to enable the shoe copes with the dynamic changes in the shape of runners’ feet during running gait.
Matthias Amm, Adidas Running product director explains,
“We knew we had to create an upper that could enhance the underfoot feeling to create a holistic, exciting comfort experience,”
James Tarrier, Adidas Future Team Engineer writes,
“We looked for ways to create an unrestricted yet supportive upper which can adapt to each individual foot type and movement to make a real difference in fit and feel.”
The question is how could these goals be achieved?
Use of Engineering Tools
To design a shoe that has to obey some laws of dynamic, all Adidas had to do was to look beyond its walls and take inspiration from the top engineering companies around the world.
The Boost technology made a huge contribution towards the making of the Ultra Boost shoe. This is a technology that was used during the making of Energy Boost shoes.
Some of the features that make the shoe very distinctive is its knitted upper, chunkier sole, Thermoplastic Polyurethane(TPU) heel frame and lacing cage.
ARAMIS is one of the essential engineering tools used during the creation of the the shoe. ARAMIS is primarily used by aerospace, automotive and medical companies. The system is used to measure the movement and deformation of surfaces and objects. It is very applicable in crash tests, wing flex measurement, ballistic impact test, etc.
Okay. Now, it is understandable that ARAMIS system is an engineering tool that helps measure the movement and deformation of surfaces and objects. How is this system useful in achieving Adidas goal?
That is really a good question.
The system was used to build some knowledge on the natural movement of the foot and how well the shoe they had developed adjusts to that movement. They obtained significant engineering data with good visual design as shown below.
The zone with red color represents the area where the width changes most while the other areas represent the zone with lower change of width.
With the system, they gained some insight on how the barefoot dynamically changes in shape at every stage of running gait. Another fascinating finding was that the forefoot have ability to change in width by 10mm just before touchdown to take off during running stride. All these findings helped Adidas engineers and designers to come up with a completely new upper construction that adapts to the natural changes in the shape of foot during every stage of running stride. This new construction do not only provide better comfort for the runner, but also reduces the risk of foot blistering.
Being able to film a foot strike from beneath, they were able to use the ARAMIS system to measure and find the area of higher and lower stretch in the outsole. This then gave them the chance to redesign the bottom unit of the shoe with the outsole technology called Stretch Web. The technology enabled them to improve the Boost foam thereby providing better feeling and comfort for runners.
It is Not Only for Runners
The Adidas Ultra Boost is a very popular trainer among top athletes. Adidas considers the shoe to be bigger than the Energy Boost. The shoe may be a top choice among runners, but the feeling, comfort, style and the design are what attract the attention of sneakerheads.
Matthias Amm, Adidas Running product director explains,
“We designed the Adidas Ultra Boost to be the best running shoe ever, but at the same time, we designed it to be culturally relevant – the best innovation is nothing without cultural relevance.”
Though the shoe might have been designed to be the best running shoe ever, it is still one of the top shoe choices for many pop stars and celebrities today. Also, there are many Adidas fans that buy the shoe only for casual wear.
You probably now have some knowledge on the history of Adidas Ultra Boost. the next thing is, I will be mentioning 10 recent released colourways which I think look very cool.
The Recent Dope Colourways
Since the Ultra Boost had been released in 2015, there have been many colourways that have got the attention of many sneaker fanatics.
Let’s take a look at 10 recent cool colourways of this cutting edge sneaker.
Adidas Ultra Boost 4.0 “Black”
Colourway: Core Black/ Core Black/White
Year of Release: November 2018
Adidas Ultra Boost 4.0 “Non Dyed“
Colourway: Non Dyed/Cloud White/Grey
Year of Release: November 2018
Adidas Ultra Boost 4.0 “Legend Marine”
Colourway: Legend Marine/Hi-Res Yellow/Cloud White
Year of Release: November 2018
Adidas Ultra Boost 4.0 “White/Red”
Colourway: Cloud White/Active Red/Chalk White
Year of Release: December 2018
Adidas Ultra Boost 4.0 “Miami Hurricanes”
Colorway: Green/Cloud White/Collegiate Orange
Year of Release: December 2018
Adidas Ultra Boost “White/Maroon”
Colorway: Cloud White/Maroon/Maroon
Year of Release: December, 2018
Adidas Ultra Boost 19 “Active Red”
Colorway: Cloud White/Cloud White/Active Red
Year of Release: December 2018
Adidas Ultra Boost 4.0 “Ren Zhe”
Colourway: Core Black/Scarlet/Grey
Year of Release: January 2019
Adidas Ultra Boost 4.0 “Black/Multicolor”
Colourway: Core Black/Core Black/Multicolor
Year of Release: January 2019
Adidas Ultra Boost 4.0 “White/Multicolor”
Colorway: Cloud White/Cloud White/Multicolor
Year of Release: January 2019
The Video Review
Here is a quick video review of the Ultra Boost after wearing it for a year:
Conclusion
The Ultra Boost is widely recognized and has received a lot of praises over the years for its awesome look, quality and comfort. It provides the comfort and feeling that many runners expect. Many reviewers agree with the statement that this shoe is the best. To some people, the shoe is a bit expensive. However, fans that have used the shoe and know its value are always on the queue waiting for new colourways to be released.
3 comments on “Adidas Ultra Boost Shoes – The Interesting Facts”
Bella
January 12, 2019 at 12:06 pmHello,
Thanks for this article,i will ask my husband to take a look this maybe his interested.
Furkan
January 12, 2019 at 7:15 pmThis shoe looks nice and I plan on weightlifting with this shoe. However I wonder is the sole of shoe comfortable enough for deadlifting?
Ayebogbon
January 12, 2019 at 11:37 pmHi Furkan,
Thanks for the question. Ultra Boost is indeed very comfortable due to its ability to adapt to the change in the movement and shape of the foot. That’s why it’s a great shoe for running. It’s a great performance shoe, but I can’t tell if it’s the best for deadlifting. However, it will give you the comfort and flexibility some other shoes can’t offer.
You may also wanna check out Nike Air vapourmax. I think it’s more sturdy than the Ultra Boost.
I’m gonna review the weightlifting shoe very soon. you may wanna have a look next time