Adidas Duramo Speed review

We've thoroughly tested the Duramo Speed from Adidas and we think it's a fantastic choice for:

• Beginners looking for their first running shoe that blends performance with durability.
• Runners who need a lightweight shoe with a spacious upper.
• Marathoners searching for a low-drop, cost-effective workhorse for racking up the miles.

The Duramo Speed from Adidas features a 6.0-mm drop, which might not cater well to those who prefer high-drop shoes with over 8 mm of offset. However, Brooks usually lean towards high-drop designs, so if you're looking for alternatives, we recommend the wallet-friendly Launch 10 or the Trace 3 for similar performance with higher drops.

For those with narrow feet, the Duramo Speed might not be the best fit. We think the ASICS Gel Excite 10 offers a similar cushioned and dynamic ride but with a tighter and more secure fit at a very competitive price.

Our first take with the Duramo Speed focused on breathability, an area where budget-friendly shoes often fall short. However, the Duramo's upper looked promising!

After testing the shoe with our smoke-pumping machine, we found astonishingly great ventilation, which led us to give it a perfect score of 5 out of 5.

Using our light, we observed that the upper allows air to flow through almost the entire shoe, with the heel being the only part where we found a bit more thickness and structure.

To fully understand the excellent airflow, we turned on the microscope and examined the Duramo Speed with detail. What we found was amazing.

The white part seen below is from us to keep the structure of the upper in place.

The two-layer engineered mesh upper is incredibly thin, and looks super lightweight!

We also found it to be adequately padded. However, like most engineered mesh uppers, it's not very stretchy, so keep that in mind if you prefer sock-like designs like the Glycerin StealthFit 21.

Given the amazing breathability and razor-thin design, we braced ourselves for less than stellar results in our first durability test on the upper.

Unfortunately, the results were even more disappointing than anticipated, as the material developed a full hole immediately after contact with sandpaper. This earns a score of 1 out of 5 in our evaluation.

After a disappointing result, we shifted our focus to the heel counter, hopeful for improvement.

And indeed, improvement was what we found, yet barely minimal. We settled on a 2/5 after the test.

We then shifted our focus to another crucial aspect of durability—the outsole. Given the modest MSRP of $90, it's unreasonable to expect Adidas to use their top-tier Continental rubber. In fact, we encountered the Adiwear compound.

The outsole offers excellent coverage, with only the central part exposed alongside some flex grooves, which should pose no issues at all.

Upon applying our durometer to this rubber, we recorded a hardness of 86.9 HC. This suggests that the German brand has intentionally used a durable formulation to extend the shoe's lifespan.

The tough-as-nails Adiwear rubber on the Duramo Speed was put to the test in our final Dremel examination. Let's see how it performed.

The outcome was yet again remarkable, showing only a 0.6-mm mark. We think you might get bored of the Duramo Speed long before its outsole wears out. However, it's important to note that while durable, don't expect the grip level of Continental rubber—it's just not quite there.

We conducted one final measurement on the outsole to gauge its thickness. In a move we consider quite clever, Adidas opted for a slim 2.0-mm rubber layer.

This choice, leveraging the durability of the material, effectively reduces the shoe's overall weight.

Weighing just 9.2 oz or 261g, the Duramo Speed proved to be exceptionally lightweight for its size, a quality that was clearly evident during our test runs.

With many of its competitors tipping the scales at or above the 10-oz mark, it's refreshing to discover such a lightweight option at an affordable price!

The heel boasts a height of 32.7 mm, which a few years ago would have been considered highly cushioned, but by today's standards, it aligns closely with an average daily trainer.

Nonetheless, it still offers ample cushioning for heel strikers.

Moving to the forefoot, we measured a height of 26.7 mm using our digital calipers. This suggests that Adidas may have designed this shoe with midfoot and forefoot strikers in mind, though our upcoming test will confirm this hypothesis.

The Duramo Speed features a real 6.0-mm heel-to-toe drop, ideally suited for midfoot or forefoot strikers. We appreciate this design choice since the market is saturated with high-drop trainers, yet offers few moderate-drop, budget-friendly options.

We are also excited to report that this model is one of the rare shoes where the drop measurement matches exactly what the brand advertises. Glückwunsch Adidas.

We measured the tongue of the Duramo Speed at just 4.0 mm, typical for most running shoes. The insole mirrors those in many other Adidas shoes, crafted from standard, non-special EVA foam.

Now, let's discuss the midsole. While we were expecting a basic foam from Adidas, we were pleasantly surprised to find Lightstrike instead—a material rarely used in their budget-friendly trainers. The inclusion of Lightstrike in the Duramo Speed is definitely a welcome upgrade, yet don't expect world-class energy return.

Lightstrike is essentially an enhanced version of EVA foam, offering a softer feel than average low-cost midsoles due to its airier composition.

Our tests with a durometer showed a 21.0 HA score, suggesting a balance—not too plush, not too firm. At $90, this represents a solid value.

After placing the Duramo Speed in the freezer for 20 minutes and retesting it with the Shore A durometer, we found that it became 20.9% firmer. This is another impressive result, showing its adaptability to temperature changes.

The moderate drop of the Duramo Speed offers some inherent stability, but it's a good choice only for neutral runners. While slight pronators might manage with it, they would likely benefit more from opting for a dedicated stability shoe.

Running shoe design often involve trade-offs, and the Duramo Speed rigidity exemplifies this well.

It offers decent stability with a 4-out-of-5 rating in torsional rigidity, yet this comes at the cost of a more comfortable, flexible ride. And we're not sure if this trade-off is worthwhile for a do-it-all, budget-friendly shoe.

The heel counter offers a better balance by not being overly rigid—a smart move considering this shoe isn't specifically designed for heel strikers. We assigned it a rating of 3/5.

Shifting our calipers to the forefoot, we measured a width of 114.9 mm, which is quite typical. This is a key reason we primarily recommend this shoe for neutral runners, who are likely to find it more comfortable due to its standard width.

The clearest evidence that this shoe isn't designed for heel strikers is the midsole's narrow width at the heel. Our precise measurement yielded an 85.2 mm result, placing it on the narrower side.

This design choice also contributes to the shoe's remarkably low weight, a notable achievement for a budget-friendly option. We discovered that by crafting a smaller, narrower heel, the German brand successfully produced a more agile and lightweight shoe.

We were initially concerned about the shoe's everyday versatility due to its high torsional rigidity, but we still needed to conduct the most critical test in this regard—our 90-degree bending challenge.

The result we obtained from our force gauge was 28.3N, indicating that the shoe is capable of handling multiple activities, such as walking or hitting the gym. However, it is on the brink of feeling a bit stiff underfoot for us, and feels nowhere near something like a Nike Free RN NN.

After chilling the Duramo Speed for 20 minutes, we re-tested and observed an 18.4% change in stiffness, which is quite impressive for such an affordable shoe! This result highlights the shoe's robust performance under varying  climate conditions.

Great news for those needing extra room: the shoe's upper spans an impressive 102.1 mm at its broadest point, surpassing the width offered by many other brands.

This makes it a top pick for individuals with wide feet, though it may be less suitable for those with narrower feet.

However, there's a caveat. While the Duramo Speed is notably broad at its widest part, our secondary measurement came in at an average 77.7 mm, aligning with a typical fit. This suggests that individuals with exceptionally wide or square-shaped feet might not find the ideal scenario with this tapered toebox, though most will find it sufficiently spacious.

This situation highlights why it's crucial to take two measurements instead of one—it's the way to fully understand the fit of a shoe.

Given that the shoe is priced under $100, it wasn't surprising to us that Adidas opted not to fix the tongue to the sides of the shoe.

The tongue of the Duramo Speed strikes an ideal balance between weight and comfort.

We prefer consistent lacing systems and are not fans of designs that mix different types of eyelets.

At 7.0 mm, it boasts a substantial slab of foam that provides ample protection to the instep. We believe this design is a superior approach compared to the cumbersome, bulky tongues found in other competitors' models.

Adidas usually omits heel tabs in their road running shoes, as evidenced by this model. Similarly, we did not find the flap tab that is featured in shoes like the Adidas Adizero SL.

We easily removed the insole and tested the Duramo Speed with custom orthotics, which, despite the slightly narrow last in the heel, fit well inside the shoe.

We were delighted to discover reflective elements in such an affordable shoe as the Duramo Speed. Most brands often omit these details from their less expensive offerings...