The Vengeful is pared down as compared to the brand’s Supernova Sequence 9 regarding stability in the heel and plushness and support of the upper, all of this aiding in the shoe being more flexible and breathable.
The toe box is slightly more fitted without feeling too closed-in. The feel of the toe box, responsiveness and the forefoot boost foam are my favorite features of this shoe, my biggest issue with it being the name.
Something more like “Resilience,” “Overcome,” or “Tenacity” leaves me with a more positive vibe, but I searched and found that these names are already taken!
Adidas Vengeful General Info
My first thought upon unboxing and wearing these shoes was “Oooh, I like these!”
This is an extremely responsive shoe that moves with my foot and offers the same perfect landing in the forefoot that I get from adidas’ Supernova Sequence 9s: the boost foam is amazing!
I don’t notice anything significant about the heel regarding stability other than a snug fit and a solid base throughout due to the Vengeful being outfitted with adidas’ STABLEFRAME technology in the midsole.
Adidas Vengeful Sole Unit
Adidas Vengeful – Sole
Adidas’ boost foam surprised me with its superb blend of cushion and responsiveness: it’s soft but springy, too! Long trials done on the foam show it to hold up well after hundreds of miles.
I’m used to running on traditional EVA midsoles, and adidas offers a breakthrough technology as the brand has added thousands of small pebbles of TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane) in this section of the shoe underneath the midsole’s STABLEFRAME technology which is a thinner layer of EVA along the lateral side of the shoe with a solid plank of EVA along the medial edge.
This is the black part of the midsole which runs the full length of the shoe and under the full toe to aid in a firm toe-off. (Interesting irrelevant side note—this TPU is currently in the dashboards of BMW automobiles! )
The STABLEFRAME aspect of the midsole gives the shoe a moderately stable ride; I feel as though my foot is supported throughout the heel-toe transition and has a solid (yet springy) feel in the forefoot of the shoe.
The STRETCHWEB outsole provides excellent grip and covers the entire base of the shoe. It performs well on wet, dry, smooth, or small-pebbled terrain, not recommended for rocky or muddy landscapes.
The ground-contact pattern is not very raised and seems to have worn down slightly over the fifty-plus miles I’ve run in them.
While this isn’t noticeable by feel, I just can’t see the outsole holding up for high mileage if you’re one who is able to push the higher end of the recommended range for running shoes (300-500 miles) or beyond.
Adidas Vengeful Upper Info
The toe box feels (and is) more snug, but the AIRMESH upper is stretchy which allows for movement despite the initial compressed feel.
Adidas Vengeful – Medial Side
This is the perfect shoe if you don’t have a strong preference either way regarding a roomy or more fitted toe box as it offers some features of each.
The negative aspect of the upper’s flexibility really becomes apparent to me in runs over ten miles, at which point my feet start noticing the lack of support straps locking the upper into place.
On these longer runs I also notice less arch support, an attribute that really is hidden until later miles because the boost foam in the midsole feels so outstanding- I really can’t get over it!
At first I thought that the sock liner of the shoe lacked some of the support that the brand’s Supernova Sequence 9 offers, but when I took them out I found that the serial numbers match!
The lack of support that I feel must be due to their being less stability features in the midsole and upper of the Vengeful—all of which allows for the flexibility and responsiveness that I praise!
Adidas Vengeful Conclusions
The Adidas Vengeful fits the bill for what I think a neutral running shoe should be: it offers cushion and a little stability without going all-out in either direction.
This is a great shoe for speedwork and low-mileage training with its midsole that I LOVE, responsive ride, and low-moderate stability.
I was shocked to find that the Vengeful is actually an ounce heavier than adidas’ more plush looking-and-feeling Supernova Sequence 9; it feels light.
My regular shoe size fit great in this shoe with plenty of toe room for my average width foot. What do you think about this new line of shoes from adidas?
We thank the nice people at Adidas for sending us a pair of Vengeful to test. This did not influence the outcome of the review, written after running more than 50 miles in them.
