adidas a3 Accelerator Review Shoe Review

adidas has long been a forerunner in the durability and stability sector of the performance tennis shoe scene with the various incarnations of the Barricade.

With the development of the adidas Feather shoe line, adidas positioned itself as a leader in the lightweight, match-day shoe sector as well.

The development of the a3 series has provided a line of shoes that take inspiration from both the Barricade and Feather families. Combining stability and durability characteristics from the Barricade with weight and ventilation concepts from the Feather has resulted in a shoe series that continues to grow in popularity.

From the inception of the a3 Forefoot to this most current edition, the a3 Accelerator, the a3 series has garnered a popular following ranging from amateur players all the way to the professional tours.

The a3 Accelerator, tested here, offers an evolution in the a3 Structure cushioning system called a3 Microride. The new structure offers a lower-profile ride, designed to offer greater security during aggressive on court movement. This new a3 shoe also brings a new upper design to increase ventilation, and adds a six-month durability guarantee to the outsole.

We hit the courts for a three-week playtest to see how the a3 Accelerator compared to its predecessors and to evaluate itŐs footing between the Barricade and Feather lines.

Comfort

Open mesh nylon uppers offer quick drying comfort under a supportive synthetic surface material for a comfortable and glove-like fit for medium width feet in the a3 Accelerators. Underfoot, adidas' a3 Microride system offers responsive cushioning from the heel through the forefoot. Finding a comfortable fit in the shoes was Granville "These shoes offered me a glove like fit. The contours followed my foot's form nicely. This is the first a3 technology where I can feel some cushioning benefit in the heel. Comfort was good and there was no pinching or poking from the shoes throughout the test." Jason was also impressed with the level of cushioning. "Great cushioning! These shoes felt very comfortable from the get-go. These shoes were snug where they needed to be and a bit wider where I needed it, which was in the forefoot. As far as cushioning goes, this shoe ranks up there with the best!"

Brad felt the a3 Accelerators fell somewhere between the Barricade IV and a3 Prevail. "I found the a3 Accelerators to play softer than the Barricade IV, but they weren't quite as cushioned and forgiving as the a3 Prevail. This shoe reminded me of a hybrid between both shoes, with the stability of the Barricade IV and the cushioning of the a3 Prevail. I did have a little bit of pinching towards the front of the arch area. I think this was due to the narrow width there and the high arch fit." Finding a better fit was Ryan. "These shoes offered me tremendous comfort. I never had any issues with the comfort or fit of the shoes."

Paul found a slight break-in was required for an ideal fit. "When I first tried on these shoes I found the midfoot to be extremely snug. It was so snug in fact, that it was slightly uncomfortable. However, they soon stretched and broke-in after I wore them for a brief period of time. From then on I found them to be very supportive and comfortable. The fit in the forefoot was more generous, but not too wide. These shoes seemed to have a little more cushioning in the forefoot than their predecessor, the a3 Accelerate. The cushioning system provided excellent heel strike and response when I launched off on sprints. Overall, I found more than adequate cushioning and comfort in these shoes." Spencer also found comfort to improve after some initial wear. "They were a little stiff out of the box. It didn't take long - about one quick set - to get them seemingly tailored to my feet. The a3 Accelerator's cushioning is on the stiffer side, which means it doesn't feel like you're walking on marshmallows. There is more of a responsive feel, instead. I often notice a shoe that has insufficient cushioning after play, and I experienced no ill effects with these."

Arch Support

Our team found the arch support of the a3 Accelerators to fit at a medium to high height. For our testers with medium height arches, the shoes felt just right, but they were a little high in the arch for those with flatter feet. Brad said, "I found the arch on this shoe to be too high for my feet." With his low arches, Jason also found the support too high. "Since I have very flat feet, these shoes provided way too much arch support. It almost felt like there was a little speed bump in my shoe on which I was stepping. Playing for an hour or more made my mid foot sore and uncomfortable."

Granville liked the higher arch supports. "The arch support was very subtle, and I only felt it when I was thinking about it. The arch supports sits right where it should, in the middle of my arch offering good support." Paul also found a good fit from the arch support. "The height of the arch support was medium-high to high. The shape and height fit my feet very well. At no time did the height of the arch support pose any adverse affects. My feet felt shaped by them, and they held my feet in a very natural position. At no time did the arch support break down or flatten out."

Ryan found some impressive support through the midfoot and arch areas of the shoe. "There was great arch support in these shoes. The arch support was a great fit for me because of the narrow fit through the mid section." Spencer said, "A medium arch in this shoe makes for a good match with my medium arch height. Well supported with no arch issues."

Foot Support & Stability

The a3 Accelerator provides a very stable ride. The Microride Structure offers excellent torsional stability through the midfoot, so the shoe does not overly flex or twist during aggressive lateral movements and stops. Jason said, "These shoes provided excellent support. I noticed that my feet weren't moving around when I was playing my matches; they felt really locked into place. The a3 Accelerators also offered a nice low-to-the-ground feel with the a3 Microride system. The only reason I couldn't give them a perfect score was because I felt that the shoes could've been made with a more substantial upper. With my history of rolling ankles, I would've liked to have seen a slightly higher cut on this shoe. However, I never did roll or tweak my ankles." Brad found the ride in the a3 Accelerators to be worry free. "I found these shoes to be very stable and supportive. Not as stable and supportive as the Barricade IVs, but they did a very good job of keeping my feet where I needed them. My heels fit snugly into the backs of the shoes and at no time did I feel like I was going to roll an ankle."

Granville found a high level of stability during on court testing. "They seemed very stable overall and I had no problems playing in these shoes, with or without my ankle braces. I did have some heel slippage, which diminished over time but never completely went away. Two pair of socks helped resolve this problem. Otherwise, the fit was exceptional." Ryan also found his heels slipped inside the shoes. "I kind of had a little trouble with this part of the shoe. My heel had a tendency to slip when playing. Not a huge deal, but when making a sudden move or taking off after a drop shot I noticed that my heel would slip a little. I tightened the laces, but that didn't help any. I think my heels may be a little too narrow for an ideal fit."

Paul found the level of support confidence inspiring. "I found remarkable stability in these shoes. The midfoot provided excellent lateral stability, and the arch supports cradled my feet, creating exemplary support. All court movements were executed with the confidence that I could rely on this design. At no time did I feel like I was in danger of rolling an ankle. Foot movement side-to-side, up on my toes, was no problem in these shoes." Most impressed with the stability of the shoes was Spencer. "This is where I feel this shoe 'accelerates' past the rest. All in all, the best combination of support, stability and comfort in a shoe that I've played in. I feel very secure when I lace these up."

Overall Outsole Durability

The a3 Accelerators feature an adiWEAR 6 rubber compound outsole. The compound is non-marking and features a six-month durability guarantee. Finding some improved durability was Paul. "I found better durability in these shoes than the a3 accelerate. I was surprised to find the durability guarantee attached to these shoes. Improved durability and a six month guarantee make these shoes an attractive alternative." Finding better than average durability was Spencer. "The shoes showed wear first at the ball of the foot - the same area I wear out all other shoes. Durability was good and the adiwear6 sole is certainly better than average."

Ryan found some substantial wear to the outsoles of his test shoes. "I am kind of surprised that these shoes have a 6 month guarantee, really. I played in these shoes a lot, probably the most of all the testers, and I have to say that the durability is not as good as I expect from a guaranteed shoe. After my approximately 25 hours of play, the shoes were already showing considerable wear under the balls of my feet. I don't tend to wear shoes out at a very fast pace, either. So yeah, not as good as I would think. I mean 25 hours, that's like 2 weeks at 2 hours a day. I think at 50 hours they would be gone."

Finding plenty of life left in his shoes at the end of the test was Brad. "Just like the toe area of these shoes, the outsole durability was tough. I saw my normal wear and tear in the heel and toe areas, but there was still a lot of tread and material left on the shoes." Finding some solid durability from the adiWEAR 6 outsoles was Jason "I was very impressed with the durability of these shoes. With almost every other shoe I can really notice the tread wearing down after 15 hours of playing, but these a3 Accelerators showed only slight wear and tear. I noticed the most tread loss in the inner toe area."

Toe Durability

The durable adiWEAR 6 material extends up over the toe tip of the a3 Accelerators where it meets a more pliable adiTUFF material which protects the toe box. Our team found these two technologies offered impressive durability at the toes of the shoes. Granville continued to be impressed. "As noted above, they were very durable. Both the tread pattern under the toes and the toe bumper proved effective when it came to durability." Brad was also impressed. "I found the adiTUFF material to hold up really well during my playtest period. The toes of my shoes did not show much sign of wear and tear. For me, the toes would probably outlast the 6-month outsole warranty, since I don't drag my toes very much."

Jason found only light scuffing to the toes of his shoes. "I try to slide stop as little as possible, but I do tend to do it every now and then. These shoes seemed to hold up pretty well to that kind of abuse. The extra layer adidas put around the toe and inner forefoot area seems to hold up quite well. It only showed minor scuffs and scratches, but no material frayed." Our other playtesters rarely see wear at the toes of their shoes and had no issues with the a3 Accelerators.

Traction

The outsoles of the a3 Accelerators feature a modified herringbone pattern from the heel to the forefoot. The toe tip of the shoe features a unique pattern with a pivot point integrated into the design. Our team found some impressive traction from the shoes. Jason was very impressed. "Some of the best traction here! I felt like I was glued to the court. Even during aggressive sprints along the baseline, I felt that I could stop on a dime and change directions." Granville also found the traction to be top notch. "Traction was excellent. These shoes offered the performance for me to be at my best on any given day. I can't ask for much more than that."

Brad found more than adequate traction in the shoes. "The traction I found in the shoes was better than average. I never felt like I was going to slip, slide or have my feet come out from underneath me. I always had enough traction when moving side to side or changing direction." Finding plenty of grip for all court movement was Paul. "I found the aggressive tread pattern to be somewhat unique compared to other shoes I've tried, and it seemed to offer pretty good traction. Quick starts, stops, mogul type recoveries, pivots and plants were no trouble at all."

Ryan found impressive traction for the majority of his playtest. "Overall, these are great shoes in the traction area, but every once in awhile towards the end of the test, when changing directions suddenly, I slipped slightly in them." Spencer was able to move with great efficiency in the shoes. "The traction was great. Immediate stick and response when changing direction. I had no wasted movement or delay when stopping and starting."

Weight

At 16.6 ounces for a men's size 10.5, the a3 Accelerators are a middle-weight shoe. Our team found the weight of the shoes to be in line with the quality of the fit, feel and performance attributes. Jason sums it up nicely, "By no means is this a lightweight shoe, but it doesn't need to be. With a great low-to-the-ground feel, the weight was distributed evenly across the shoes and made them feel lighter than what the scales read. I just couldn't imagine a way adidas could've made such a great, supportive shoe any lighter." Spencer was also pleased with the weight versus performance ratio. "Not the lightest shoes, but I'll take support/stability over lightweight any day. With the fit and feel of these shoes they don't feel all that heavy. I've never noticed the weight when playing in them."

Finding the shoes to feel well balanced was Brad. "This shoe definitely plays and feels lighter than the Barricade IV. I found that the shoe was well balanced and did not have too much weight in any part of the shoe. The weight distribution was very similar to the a3 Prevail." Paul was in agreement. "These shoes were a little beefier than I prefer, but I didn't find them to be bulky when moving around the court. They seemed to be balanced quite well, too."

Enjoying the middle-weight feel of the shoes was Granville. "I did not find any issues with the weight of these shoes. The materials are substantial and offer the durability and stability which I have noted, so I am willing to take a bit more weight. That being said, the a3 Accelerators did not seem heavy; more mid-weight than heavy-weight." Ryan said, "The weight was fine. I really enjoyed the feel of the shoes and they were not overbearing at all."

Overall

An impressive shoe, the a3 Accelerator brings a combination of comfort and performance to the court. We were impressed by the cushioned and responsive ride offered by the a3 Microstructure in the midsole. The midsole design also made for excellent lateral stability. However, the firm Microstructure resulted in less flex at the heel, with several playtesters noting some slight heel slippage - a problem that has been evident in the a3 line all the way back to the original a3 Forefoot shoe. The supple uppers offered plenty of comfort and we were impressed by the supportive fit. With more than adequate ventilation, this shoe is a great choice for hot climate play and for players seeking breathability. Impressive hard court traction and a six-month durability guarantee up the ante and make the a3 Accelerator a shoe that backs up its flashy looks with serious on court potential.

Adidas a3 Accelerator Summary Sheet
The Up Side	The Down Side	Play Test Scores
Comfort Cushioning Ventilation Traction Stability Good fit for medium to high arches	Not suited to low arches Players with narrow heel my find some slippage	Comfort 4.4 Arch Support 3.4 Foot Support/Stability 4.2 Overall Sole Durability 4.3 Toe Durability 4.2 Traction 4.3 Weight 4.0 Overall 4.1 Scores (1-Horrible 2-Poor 3-Average 4-Good 5-Tremendous)

Playtesters' Foot Types: Ryan - narrow width/medium arch, Jason - wide/low arch, Granville - Narrow/low arch, Paul Medium/Medium arch, Brad - wide width/flat arch, Spencer - medium width/medium arch, Spencer - Narrow width/medium arch.

Review date: April, 2007. If you found this review interesting or have further questions or comments please contact us.

All content copyright 2007 Tennis Warehouse.