ADIDAS TERREX AGRAVIC ULTRA 2023: CARBON PLATE ASSISTED SHOES FOR ALL RUNNERS. Our TRAIL RUNNING SHOES section brings today the 2023 version of the German shoe for the longest mountain races. with a redesigned cover.
It arrives with a price of €180 for a weight of 299 grams. Stack Height of 26mm in front and 34mm in the back, for a drop of 8mm. The midsole uses Lightstrike from the Boost and the rubber sole remains true to Continental, with 4mm studs.
ADIDAS TERREX AGRAVIC ULTRA 2023:
CARBON PLATE ASSISTED SHOES FOR ALL RUNNERS
The ADIDAS TERREX AGRAVIC ULTRA 2023 is already in stores, keeping the name as it is, but with some changes focused on the cover to make it, according to the brand, softer, more comfortable and adapted to a greater number of runners.
ADIDAS TERREX ULTRA: DATA SHEET.
- Price: 180 €,A price,accessible to carry carbon plate. Even more so if, as everything seems to indicate, it will have a much higher durability than the first carbon Generations.
- Weight: 299 grams. Heavy perhaps to compete in the elite, but very valid for the popular. His sister Speed Ultra weighs 240gr. The bet of this Agravic Ultra is to fit elites in technical and alpine races, like the Chamonix TDS that Ekaterina ran with them, finishing fourth
- Drop: 8mm.A good balance for long runs in ultras. A usual midpoint in the category. It is up to 4mm more than its flying sister for short and medium distances Adidas Terrex Speed Pro, to cushion us more if fatigue forces us to lose technique and heel.
- Height: 26mm in front and 34mm in back. In the line of the dominant maximalist shoes today in the ultra elite, which from Hoka to Salomon or the brand new Saucony Endorphin trail also bet dimensions of 26mm onwards for the forefoot and more than 33mm in the heel. To go closer to the ground, there are their Speed Ultra sisters,
- Cushioning in three layers, with carbon: Key innovation that we will see in detail later.
- Upper and lacing: The big change 2023, redesigned to make it more comfortable and adapted to more feet
- Continental sole, 4mm studs A The rubber uses the same compound for the entire Terrex range. In this case, the brand highlights that the drawing has been developed from Continental wheels for gravel on a bike. In any case, this rubber provides a reliable and well-proven grip on a variety of different surfaces. The 4mm studs are quite versatile, although perhaps more at home on solid ground.
- Variety: It was born with only two colors, but this 2023 after consolidating itself in the catalog it returns with no less than seven colors to choose from.
ADIDAS TERREX AGRAVIC ULTRA: THREE DIFFERENTIAL POINTS.
The Adidas Terrex Ultra debut in a very competitive market, also dominated by maximalist sneakers. Below we detail three alternatives from Salomon, Hoka and Saucony, to which we can add the Asics Trabuco Max.
This rookie 2021 brings notable technical changes itself, we can point out some highlights in its development:
CARBON PLATE
The Germans have thought a lot about this midsole of the adidas Terrex Agravic Ultra. And you can see it. It has a height of 26mm in the forefoot, 34mm in the heel and consequently an 8mm drop. As usual at Adidas, we’ve got it written on the midsole, a stylish detail.
Basically, we have three parts that are located one on top of the other, as you can see in the schematic that adidas itself presents to us.
The top layer is made of the well-known Boost material, which is quite soft, comfortable and responsive. Nothing revolutionary there.
• The bottom layer consists of adidas Lightstrike material. And its purpose is, above all, to provide stability. So it’s quite stiff and the sidewalls rise left and right from the midfoot to rearfoot area to give the foot more guidance.
• Between those two layers is the star: A carbon fiber composite plate made of bio-based TPE, consisting of 90% renewable carbon. The plate runs the length of the midsole, thus providing even more stability and aiding rolling with a slightly rocker last.
TRAIL RUNNING CARBON PLATE: DIFFERENT OBJECTIVES
In the photos you can see some cuts along the front of the plate to help with lateral stability. And on the heel of the plate is another star-shaped cutout that helps make the shoe more forgiving on extended downhill runs. It also allows the runner to load the plate more easily by sinking into the heel area of the midsole.
With these data and the weight, we think that this carbon fiber plate is not made to gain seconds from chrome, as asphalt running shoes do. Rather, it gives the feeling that, as in the TNF, ENDURIS is there to help you and guide you when your legs are tired after many hours or even days of walking/running.
ADIDAS TERREX AGRAVIC ULTRA: UPPER
The cover of the adidas Terrex Agravic 2023 is the main change. It consists of a very resistant single-layer mesh. It is made of Primegreen, with recycled materials. Thanks to its rigidity, the mesh can use a very open pore pattern. Therefore, it is very breathable, does not retain water and also dries very quickly.
The tongue is lightly padded, just enough to take the pressure off the lacing. It has no bellows, but is held in place by threaded cords.
It offers exterior and interior overlaps that add more structure to the roof. There is also a very protective toe cap that wraps around the entire contour of the edges of the forefoot. The adidas 3-Stripes are even thicker than the toe box. (,!) In this way, they also reinforce the side of the midfoot.
ADIDAS AGRAVIC ULTRA: CONTINENTAL SOLE
The Continental sole offers a healthy grip on both dry and wet surfaces. It is a safe and proven value. Now, knowing that Adidas also owns the spectacular Stealth rubber, which it uses in some top-of-the-range products for mountaineering or canyoning, perhaps it would be good if they finally tried it in one of their shoes.
On this model, the 4mm studs help on firm ground, but are a limitation for soft ground, where 6-8mm studs are necessary. Adidas usually solves it, like Salomon, alternating base versions and SG versions of its models.
ADIDAS TERREX ULTRA: CONCLUSION
The adidas Terrex Ultra is an interesting trail running shoe, for those looking to finish hard ultras at medium paces without suffering excessively. It allows a certain agility and speed in the most technical terrain, giving us confidence. It brings together elements tried and tested by the German brand, along with innovative solutions.
A priori, it seems logical to trust that the actual performance meets the expectations of our technical analysis. Fingers crossed, while we wait for an item to be fully tested.
At this elite level, the fight for every gram is basic. Any ultra-trail shoe that drops below 300 grams today has a lot to gain, with 250 grams as the maximum logical reference, if we don’t want to penalize durability too much. But not everything is losing weight, of course.
In return, when the terrain gets tricky and technical, we need rubber underfoot to protect and grip at the same time. The popular may find it a safe bet to tie the goal protecting legs.
There is no doubt that the combination of Lightstrike and Continental rubber is solid, but unfortunately we cannot say that they are the best on the market yet. Neither the midsole is the one that provides the best weight/mattress ratio (Hoka is still in charge there, we think) Neither the Continental rubber has even reached rivals such as La Sportiva, Inov 8 G-grip, Scarpa Presta or Salomon Contagrip. It would remain, yes, in the fight for a worthy top5.
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