If you’ve pulled on a pair of Adidas UltraBoost running shoes in the past few years – and given how popular they are with runners there’s a decent chance you have – one question you may have asked yourself is: why bother with the laces?
The snug fit of the Primeknit upper means that most runners rarely take the trouble to tie the laces. The UltraBoost slips on and off easily anyway, and when it is on it’s never loose.
Well, now you don’t even have to look at those unsightly and pointless laces, as Adidas has announced a laceless version of the UltraBoost.
The UltraBoost Laceless, as it’s creatively called, is gorgeous, especially the grey-red colourway. To make sure that beauty is backed up by performance, Adidas has made four innovations to the upper.
Firstly, the Primeknit upper has been made less stretchy than in the laced versions of the UltraBoost. A new collar construction and the sock-like fit of the upper also combine to help ensure your foot doesn’t slide around inside the shoe.
Finally, the Primeknit band around the midfoot is made of sterner stuff than the rest of the upper, which serves to lock your foot in place while allowing the toes to spread out.
It all adds up to what should be an immensely comfortable shoe to run in, and with the energy-returning Adidas Boost tech present, it should match the performance of the excellent UltraBoost and Pure Boost running shoes.
The UltraBoost Laceless is likely to be worn by Adidas athletes at the World Championships taking place in London between 4th and 13th August, but you can get your mitts on a pair sooner than that because they will be available in western Europe from 1st August.
The catch? This is not a cheap shoe. At £149.95 it’s £10 more than the regular UltraBoost – but on the other hand it’s at least ten times cooler.
