GoKawiilAdidas is about to release a shoe that seemed impossible just a few years go: a chunky super shoe that weighs almost nothing. The Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3 tips the scales at just 3.4 ounces for a men’s size 9 — less than half the weight of an average running shoe and lighter than a newborn kitten. Patrick Nava, general manager of Adidas running, told The Wall Street Journal when you hand someone the box, they think it’s a joke. “They think the box is empty.”
The weight obsession isn’t vanity. One study found that elite runners wearing shoes 3.5 ounces lighter could shave 57 seconds off marathon times. And it’s not just Adidas — brands are locked in an arms race to shave every gram, using everything from AI-designed shapes to paper-thin rubber soles and uppers made from kite material. Swiss brand On eliminated laces entirely, using a robotic arm to spray material onto a foot-shaped mold. Nike has kicked around numerous innovations in the past year.
Nava says 100 grams was the last big barrier. The new shoe hits 97 grams, and getting lighter won’t help performance much. But he didn’t rule out a 50-gram version someday. At that point, the shoes would be lighter than socks.