Adidas Forefoot a3 Shoe review

The new flagship model from Adidas and the choice of Marat Safin, Jan-Michael Gambill and many other ATP Tour players, the Forefoot a3 offers Adidas' latest cushioning technology. Replacing the popular Adidas Barricade as the flagship shoe is no easy task, but we feel Adidas is offering a very competitive shoe in the a3.

With Adidas' latest technology in traction, support, cushioning and durability, the Forefoot a3 is designed to meet the needs of aggressive competition players. Originally designed for the running shoe market in 2002, the a3 Forefoot technology is the result of five years research and development by Adidas. The key aspects of the Forefoot technology are increased cushioning, energy return and flexibility. Adidas' use of adiPRENE is designed to give players a little extra spring to their step.

We tested the Adidas Forefoot a3 shoes for three weeks, here's what we found out.

Comfort

The a3's received high marks for comfort. Granville, Mark and John all found the a3's comfortable right out of the box, while Chris, Don and Randy gave them about an hour break-in period. John said "the first thing I noticed when slipping into a pair of a3's was the luxurious cushioning in the heel and the forefoot. The cushioning in the forefoot area was especially noticeable. That said, I did experience rubbing in the heel portion of the shoe. The high collar did dig into my Achilles. During play, however, I did not feel any discomfort." Granville said, "The a3's are an extremely comfortable pair of shoes. They feel like a beefier Barricade with more heel cushioning. The mesh uppers above the toe box are soft and pliable, providing good breathing. I also thought the cushioning was good the whole length of the shoe. As an ankle brace wearer, I did find the heel counter a bit low and it was catching the edge of my ankle brace on the right heel. After some "tweeking," I overcame the problem."

At first, Don found the a3's a little narrow for his foot "however, after I cut off the plastic tab that holds the vamp together, the shoes expanded and fit my feet better, even with thick Thorlo socks." Mark commented, "The a3's are very comfortable. The cushioning is excellent. My feet felt great during and after play, and I found the uppers are stable without being stiff." Chris added, "I'd agree that the a3's get better after about an hour of wear. I always like to walk around in new shoes for awhile before playing in them, and I definitely noticed the a3's softening after about an hour. They were comfortable on the court - offering good cushioning and support. I did have to keep them laced tight, though, to keep them secure in the heel. That being said, the a3's are currently my favorite shoes for just kicking around in and I find them more comfortable than my running shoes."

Arch Support

All of our playtesters seemed to like the medium arch support offered by the a3's. Granville said, "No issues whatsoever on arch support - if I'm not thinking about it . . . it's a good thing." Mark felt that the arch support was just about right, as did Chris. Randy added, "the arch was accommodating. It was suitable for my "tweener" arch."

Foot Support/Stability

Again, the a3's scored well with our playtesters when it came to support and stability. Despite having the appearance of a high shoe, especially at the heel, our playtesters were confident in the on-court performance of the a3's. "I was particularly impressed with the support and stability of the a3 while moving laterally," said John, adding, "when trying the shoes on, I did notice some heel slippage while walking. Consequently, I went down one-half size, and found the fit to be similar to the glove-like fit of the Barricade. I still experienced some slippage when walking, but not during play. On court, the a3's provided lateral support that is second to none. I felt totally secure in the shoes. Never did I feel in danger of rolling an ankle or coming out of the shoe. Except for the slight heel slippage, I would rate the a3's as the most stable shoe I have worn."

Don also mentioned that he felt heel slippage when first walking in the a3's, but that he did not feel it on court, "the a3's provided great support and stability. I felt very secure with aggressive direction changes and stopping/starting. This is one of the real strengths of this shoe." Mark also enjoyed the performance of the a3's, saying, "the a3's provided great support and great stability. My feet were held securely and comfortably. The design of the a3's and the materials used in the uppers really provided great support, while the soles provided excellent stability. I really enjoyed playing in these shoes." Chris said, "the forefoot stability in the a3's is spot on. I really felt confident moving side to side in these shoes. I did feel some movement in the heel area when serving, but this went away immediately after I tightened the laces securely. For on-court movement, I would rate the a3's as one of the more stable shoes I've played in, and being prone to ankle injuries, that is something I really look for in a shoe."

Overall Sole Durability

The a3's received mixed reviews in durability with our playtesters. Randy, who put the most hours on the a3's had this to say, "the rubber was excellent for traction. The outsole held up, but was showing signs of wear towards the end of the test." Granville said, "the outsole wear is in line with most performance shoes I've tried. Probably a bit more durable than the Barricades, the soft, gripping outsole is a nice balance between being too hard and durable, and too soft and less durable." Mark played mostly on clay courts and had this to say, "durability wasn't an issue for me with the a3's. However, I did notice some separation of the outsole from the midsole in the heel area. I had the same problem with my Adidas basketball shoes. Are they skimping on glue? Chris added, "I had absolutely no problems with durability with the a3's. The herringbone pattern on the outsole is nice and deep, so I should be enjoying the excellent traction of the a3's for quite awhile."

Toe Durability

The a3's do not have the built-tough appearance of the Barricade's and other performance shoes, but the a3's do offer Adidas' AdiTUFF fabric from the top of the toes through to the instep. Randy noted, "I feel that Adidas could have emphasized more toe durability on a non-warranty shoe. Serve and volley players may blow through these pretty quickly. On the other hand, baseliners should have a good lasting shoe." Granville said durability of the toe area was "in line with the rest of the outsole. If you drag over the top of the toe, you may have issues." As Mark played on clay, toe durability was not an issue. Don said, "Although the toe isn't as beefed-up as on the Barricade, I didn't have any problems with wear." Chris added, "I'd agree with that. I had no problems with durability. In fact, I like the lightness of the toe area and think it helps with the overall balance of the shoe."

Traction

The a3's offer a classic herringbone design on the outsole, but the pattern is broken up into three main sections. Our playtesters all agreed that the a3's offered plenty of traction. Mark had this to say, "I played basketball on a fairly slick tile floor to test the traction of the a3's. The traction was excellent on the tile and on hard courts. The sharp angles of the outsole in the heel area, however, did chew up the clay more than most shoes I've worn." John said "again, I was impressed with the overall support of the shoe. After stopping, it was easy to get up and moving to the ball. Whether lunging for a volley, stretching wide to hit a forehand or retreating to hit an overhead, the outsole of the a3's grabbed the court well without being "sticky". Don felt that the a3's offered "excellent traction on hard courts. I felt confident chasing down wide shots without fear of sliding out." Randy was very happy with the performance of the a3's, saying, "quite possibly the best traction controlled shoe I have ever played in. Great job Adidas!"

Weight

Weighing in at 16.3 oz (size 10.5), the a3's are not the lightest of performance tennis shoes, but our playtesters felt the balance of the shoe was in line with its performance. "At just over 16 oz, the shoe is weighted properly, giving one maximum support and maneuverability," said John. Chris said, "weight wasn't an issue for me. The a3's are the type of shoe you can just put on and get on with it." Granville said he felt the shoe played lighter than it looked, adding "I was not thinking of the weight as I was playing. Actually I'd say this shoe feels on the lighter side of the pound listed as its weight." Don offers, "the a3's seem a little clunky compared to the Barricade. However, this was more apparent to me off-court. During play, I didn't notice any adverse effects on my mobility." Mark added, "The a3's fit my feet so well that weight wasn't an issue. The a3's have the stability usually found in much heavier shoes."

Appearance

For the most part our playtesters liked the look of the a3's. The only area of concern is in the design of the heel. John notes, "Even if they don't feel like it, the a3's look a bit clunky. The heel area with its camel-toe shape is awkward and does not seem to be a functional piece. The color combination is ok. A basically white version would be a welcome addition. Don offered a similar opinion, "I like the styling, except for the heel. It looks like an animal hoof. As for the colors, I wish there was another choice that incorporated more white."

Chris liked the color scheme of the a3's, especially for casual wear, saying "I received quite a few compliments while wearing the a3's with jeans. On court, I don't mind adding a bit of color, and I liked the red in the midsole." Randy felt "the color scheme could not look better. The look will attract the true tennis player or fan." Granville added, "This a very cool looking shoe, and it looks better on your feet than it does on the Web image. Rarely do I get comments on my shoes, but I received several when wearing the a3's. Form fits function here, and the whole package works. If I had to note one thing I don't like, it is the split heel."

Summary

Like the Barricade, the Adidas a3 Forefoot meets the needs of competitive tennis players. Although having a non-traditional appearance and a controversial heel design, the a3's offer some serious on-court performance. Our playtesters liked the Forefoot cushioning technology, traction and stability offered by the a3's, but noted the toe area did not seem as beefed-up as on other performance shoes. Most playtesters either found the a3's comfortable right out of the box or after about an hour of wear. The16.3 oz weight of the a3's was not an issue for our playtesters - especially during play - with the majority finding the a3's level of fit and performance more notable. If you are seeking a narrow fitting, stable performance shoe offering a high level of traction and cushioning, the a3's fit the bill.

Playtesters' Foot Types: Don - wide width/medium arch, Granville - narrow width/low arch, John - medium width/medium arch, Randy - wide/medium arch, Mark - medium width/medium arch, Chris narrow width/medium arch.

Review date: March, 2003. If you found this review interesting or have further questions or comments please contact us.

All content copyright 2003 Tennis Warehouse.