In third grade I was just beginning my Boy Scouts adventure and my friend Shane had a pair of Colorado hiking boots that I admired.
Disclosure. This is a sponsored post. adidas sent me shoes for review, but all of the opinions are mine.
They were rugged, had metal rings for the shoe laces, and looked like they were meant to be worn as a Scout.
My parents didn’t have a lot of money to spend on an extra pair of shoes, so I had to wear the same shoes to hike in that I wore to school. Those shoes were a pair of Phantom adidas.
The first time I wore my adidas on a campout the first thing I noticed was how durable they felt on the trail. I was in third grade and I was really impressed with how my shoes were performing curiously traveling through the woods when the adults weren’t paying attention.
Fast forward to the beginning of my hiking passion as an adult. I researched what to wear while hiking but knew that I didn’t want the typical hiking boot, so I decided to grab some adidas trail runners at the closest discount shoe store.
They were not comfortable and I only wore them once before switching to another popular trail runner brand.
For my day job, I’m on my feet all day, so I go through shoes often. With hiking in the mix, I like to be able to wear the same shoes on the trail that I wear to work, so comfort is key.
When adidas reached out about wanting to try some of their product I was of course skeptical. I didn’t want to try shoes from a brand that I had fallen out of favor with, but like most things, sometimes things just aren’t right for YOU.
It turns out adidas make a lot of shoes for the outdoors. While they might not all be worn on the trail, their selection of rugged footwear is fairly vast, so deciding on which model to pick was not something that would take some additional research.
When I make any purchase I like to read a variety of reviews, but ultimately I know that I’m going to have to make my own decision.
After scanning the entire catalog of outdoor shoes I came to learn about the TERREX line of footwear. Because I live in Texas I stay away from Gore-Tex and picked the adidas TERREX Free Hiker 2 mid-rise shoe.
Basing an opinion solely on the photos I saw they had good coverage on the front of the shoe, came with a Continental rubber sole, had a sock-like insert, and were in my favorite shoe colorway, blue & orange.
What I wasn’t prepared for when the box arrived and I slowly opened the box up towards myself and peeled away the tissue paper was just how surprisingly comfortable these shoes were going to be.
When I put the shoes on in my living room they felt stiffer than the foam sole leads you to believe. The sock insert made putting the shoes on a little tricky as well, and initial impressions were, ‘same ‘ol, same ‘ol’.
I decided to wait to test them out until I knew I’d be able to get on a nice hill country trail to test the shoes on some jagged limestone rocks and tree roots.
Here are some of the other features I was excited about testing out:
The midsole features adidas BOOST technology that helps spread out the energy on your feet with longer-lasting cushioning.
The material on the upper of the shoe is a breathable mesh, but with tight seams for durability.
The sock-like collar you grab to put on the shoe provides protection from debris and small rocks from getting into your shoe, and most importantly the yarn features at least 50% Parley Ocean Plastic, which is reclaimed plastic waste, and the other half is recycled polyester. adidas is getting into renewable plastics, and that’s great news.
Getting the adidas Terrex out on the trail
What I initially felt as a stiff foam in my living room came to life on the harder dirt surface. My feet felt stable on top of the foam without being too squishy, and the sole of the shoe doesn’t extend outside the width of my feet, so the steps feel solid but comfortable.
Each step on rocks or roots was absorbed by the thicker foam but still felt soft with each step.
Because I was paying attention to each step I had to purposely tap my toe on the stumpy limestone rock to feel the toe cap, and without slamming too hard, the front of my feet was protected.
After three miles I didn’t feel any immediate fatigue on my feet, and the trail I was on definitely had rougher terrain and flat surfaces to get a good idea of how the shoe would perform.
After being on my feet for 8 hours with hiking and errands, my feet didn’t feel strained the next day after only wearing them for a day. Overall I’m really impressed with the shoes, and look forward to wearing them over the year and seeing how they hold up at the 100-mile mark. Stay tuned to the website for updates on the adidas TERREX Free Hiker 2.0s.