
Some shoes are built with an EVA midsole, giving you a similar feel and response to your standard running shoe.
ADIDAS RUN FALCON 2.0 TRIAL
Trial shoes need to be able to match those elements, which they’ll often do with a protective outer, tough lug sole, and reinforced (or rock-resistant) midsole. Mud, puddles, and rocky grounding are part of the detail. First, the surfaces change throughout, and they’re not always stable. On the trail, there are two big differences. The ground is stable for all of those: you know how your foot feels when it strikes a treadmill belt, for example, and how different that feels from the pavement. Think about how different a treadmill feels from a running track from a run around the neighborhood. The difference is all in the running terrain, according to adidas. Trail shoes need to do more protective work and offer a different kind of support than your standard running shoe. GORE-TEX makes the shoes completely waterproof, thanks to a microporous structure that keeps water from seeping in.

The brand also sources fabrics that have been tried and tested for optimal performance outside, like GORE-TEX technology. For one, many of the uppers are made with at least 50-percent recycled materials, which is part of adidas’s ongoing sustainability efforts. Some adidas trail shoes also lean into fabrics, which have become important to the brand. Terrex shoes are built with grip and protection in mind, but they also incorporate some of adidas’s best running sneaker details, too, like pebbled Boost midsoles and soft Primeknit uppers. adidas’s Terrex line highlights those designs as the brand’s hub for trail running and hiking. You might not think of adidas first for outdoor gear, but the brand has quietly been building up its capacity for the great outdoors in addition to all that work they do on indoor sneaker innovation. “That doesn’t exist on trail.” Instead, the lug on your shoes needs to do more of the heavy grip lifting to keep you stable. “When you’re running on asphalt, you have an inherent grip from the sole of your shoe,” says Squamish, Canada-based ultrarunner Josh Barringer.

That traction and protection are what sets trail shoes apart. But adidas trail running shoes also come with trail-specific details that bring that cushioning to more intensive terrain. Adidas outdoor shoes are constructed with the brand’s signature penchant for cushion and support, of course.
