adidas Defiant Bounce Men's Shoe Review

Comfort - Score: 4.2

Our team really liked how soft and comfortable the Defiant Bounces felt right out of the box, but a couple of the testers had small fit issues throughout the playtest. While all playtesters noted issues with the thinner laces, they found a solution by simply swapping them out for thicker laces. The soft uppers accommodated Jason's wider feet well, and he found a great fit. He praised, "A combination of factors made these shoes really comfortable. The wider fit and soft uppers let the Defiant Bounces accommodate my wider feet with no problems. I also liked that the arch was slightly lower than medium. Even though these shoes didn't have the BOOST technology, I felt like I was still getting plenty of cushioning with the Bounce material underfoot. They were comfortable right out of the box, and that comfort lasted the duration of the playtest."

Andy also found the Defiant Bounces to be very pleasing to wear. He shared, "These shoes were soft and comfortable from the very first wear! The soft uppers were breathable and molded to the shape of my feet immediately. The uni-tongue design offered a seamless fit that held my feet well and still allowed for enough space inside the shoes to keep them from feeling constricting. Underfoot, the midsole cushioning wasn't particularly plush, but it still provided plenty of cushioning for all-day comfort. I found the arch support to be just average, but it never caused any sort of discomfort. I enjoyed the slipper-like feel of these shoes even while wearing them for long stretches of time, both on and off the court."

Mark enjoyed the slip-in comfort, but he had a bit of a fit issue around the ankle collar that affected his test. He explained, "Slipping my feet inside the new adidas Defiant Bounce shoes was pretty easy despite the one-piece 'bootee' construction. Once in, the shoes were very comfortable on my feet. They were very easy to maneuver in when I was on the court, but their level of comfort when I was on the run was not ideal. I developed a hot spot around my ankles on the lateral side. The material around the lateral side of the heel cup sort of cut into my ankle on hard lateral stops."

Chris' issue with the fit had to do with the overlapping materials on the midfoot. He explained, "I liked the flexible uppers, soft cushioning and breathable feel of the Defiant Bounce shoes. They didn't really require any break in before I could go all out. I liked the soft and springy feel of the outsoles, and I think they added to the overall cushioned ride of the shoes by assisting the midsoles with a nice springy base. My knocks for comfort were the laces and the overlapping seams on the lateral edge of the midfoot area. The laces were too thin, which caused two issues. One, they put undue pressure on the top of my feet when I cinched the shoes snuggly. Two, the laces did not want to stay tied. The seams along the lateral midfoot edge put a lot of pressure on just a small area of my feet when making lateral cuts. Over several consecutive days of hitting in these shoes my right foot became too sore to play in them, and I had to wear other shoes to give my feet a break before I could play in them again."

Foot Support/Stability - Score: 3.7

Although the uppers on the Defiant Bounces were fairly soft and forgiving, they still offered enough support and stability for our testers to move around the court confidently. "These shoes felt very soft, flexible and fast," Chris praised. "They allowed me to move well around the court because they moved with my feet rather than being stiff and stable. My feet were sliding around a bit inside the shoes because it was tough to get the laces tight enough while still retaining comfort. The lace system also seemed to end too early and not extend down far enough toward my toes, which made it hard to lock in my forefoot region -- further exasperated by a fairly roomy fit there for my skinny feet."

These shoes protected Mark's feet well. He shared, "During play, the level of support was high, even on the harder start and stops. There was no toe jamming, and I never really felt my feet slide over the lateral side of my shoes."

Jason found enough stability to move comfortably, but at times he wished for a bit more rigidity for maximum support. He explained, "For a lightweight, speed-oriented shoe, I was impressed with the level of support. Once I cinched up the laces my feet felt locked into place, and I didn't have any sliding within my shoes. I think stability could've been better, but it was still adequate. When I would change directions I could feel the uppers stretch and give a little bit. I didn't have any roll over or ankle problems while playtesting these shoes, but I definitely would've liked to have just a bit more stability from the uppers."

Testing them mostly on clay courts, Andy thought these shoes performed excellently, and he was totally confident moving at top speeds. He raved, "The Defiant Bounces provided more than enough support and stability for me on the clay courts I predominately tested them on. The upper material grabbed my feet well when stressed during lateral changes of direction, and they had enough rigidity to hold my feet in place and help send me back in the other direction. The Defiant Bounces flexed well and moved naturally with my feet, while their fairly wide footprint gave them a solid and stable feel. On hard courts the uppers may have been a bit too soft and lacking in enough support for me to feel completely comfortable when changing directions at top speeds, but they performed almost perfectly on clay!"

Overall Sole Durability - Score: 3.7

Built more for speed, the Defiant Bounces didn't last quite as long as some of the other premium performance shoes on the market. Mark found them to be suitable for players who aren't stressing their footwear too much, but elite level or serious junior players may want to look elsewhere if they want something that'll last a while. He shared, "The toe area is now showing signs of wear after 12 hours of play. These shoes will probably offer plenty of durability for older players like myself, but they may not exhibit enough resilience for more youthful users to keep Mom and Dad happy."

"The outsoles were built for speed and not to last," Chris remarked. "The rubber compound felt soft and springy, and it didn't take long for me to start seeing some wear. I'd say the durability was about the same as a Nike Vapor 9.5 Tour -- about two weeks worth of one-hour training sessions for me. The uppers also quickly started to show some wear up around my toes. The toe bumpers are thin, making them feel light and comfortable, but they did not prove to be very durable."

Jason was actually pleasantly surprised with how well his pair held up throughout the test. He praised, "I didn't have high expectations for the outsoles to last that long, but, to my surprise, at the end of the 12-hour playtest there was still plenty of tread left. I can see some tread wear and tear under the big toe of both shoes, but other than that the outsoles appear to have many hours of life left."

Andy had no durability issues during his clay court playtest, but he may have had some if he were using them more on hard courts. He explained, "I wasn't able to put the durability of these shoes to the test the way I normally would if I were testing them on hard courts. However, they held up very well over the course of a week and a half of intense clay court play. The uppers retained their shape and structure without showing any signs of wear and tear, and the tread pattern on the outsole is still perfectly intact. I would probably do some damage to the upper material on these shoes if I were playing a lot on hard courts, though. There just isn't a ton of protection on the toe and medial sides where I normally stress my shoes quite a bit."

Traction - Score: 4.0

Our team found the Defiant Bounces to offer a bit more give than grip on hard courts, but ultimately everyone felt confident playing in these shoes. "I thought the outsoles offered a nice blend of grip and give," Jason shared. "At first I was hesitant about the full herringbone pattern, but after a few hours on court I was moving around without giving the traction a second thought. When I was changing directions and trying to stop laterally I noticed that the Defiant Bounces did slide a little bit. More importantly, they didn't slip while I was taking that first step toward the ball."

Chris thought the shoes had a bit more give, but the traction was very predictable. He said, "I found the shoes to offer a little more slide than typical on hard courts. I found better traction sprinting forward than I did moving side to side. When pushing off laterally I found the shoes to slide the most, but they never bothered my movement. Once I felt the slide a couple of times I just built it into my movement and found the traction to be consistent enough that I didn't have to think about it during play."

"In most every circumstance on a hard court surface, the Defiant Bounce shoes provided a predictable combination of stickiness to the court and a safe slide," Mark added.

The shoes worked exceptionally well for Andy on the clay courts he tested them on. He raved, "The full herringbone tread pattern on the outsole performed perfectly on the clay courts! They were giving me the perfect blend of grip and give that allowed me slide easily yet still lock up with the court when I needed to accelerate in another direction."

Weight - Score: 4.6

Everyone thought the Defiant Bounces were light and fast on the court! "The Defiance Bounce shoes felt light and fast on my feet," Chris praised. "The shoes flexed very well, and they felt fast on the transition from heel to toe. When moving laterally the shoes flexed with my feet, making them easy to forget about. I think any added weight or bulk would have spoiled the intent of the shoes' design -- that of a fast, light feeling and comfortable pair of shoes."

"These shoes felt very lightweight and fast out on the court," Andy said. "The design is very minimalistic. They didn't weigh much, flexed naturally and kept me feeling close to the ground and connected to my movement. Due to their wider footprint they didn't quite have that super lightweight, sock-like feel like some other shoes have, but they certainly never impeded my movement on court either. One of the strengths of these shoes is definitely how fast they felt on court!"

"These shoes are lightweight and speedy feeling," Jason added. "No complaints from me here."

Echoing the others' opinions, Mark noted, "My approximate threshold weight for when a tennis shoe can be considered to be light is 14 oz, so these shoes definitely qualify. Not only are the shoes light, they felt very light on court as well -- a sports car in terms of maneuverability, not an SUV."

Overall - Score: 4.2