The Nike Alphafly 3 and Adidas Adizero Adios Pro 4 are two of the best carbon plate racing shoes available for elites and amateurs alike, and both should be near the top of your list if you are looking for a new racer to set PBs in. Nick has tested both shoes and used both for a track workout to compare them more directly, and gives his thoughts on how they compare in this video.
Check out our full reviews of both shoes:
Adidas Adizero Pro 4 review:
Nike Alphafly 3 review:
00:00 – Intro
00:15 – Design & Key Stats
02:30 – How’s The Fit?
03:33 – The Run Test
07:48 – Verdict
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Hello and welcome to the Run testers my Name is Nick and in this video we're Going to be comparing the Adidas adios Pro 4 and the Nike alphafly [Music] 3 so the alphafly 3 and the adios Pro 4 Are two of the best carbon plate running Shoes on the market the alphafly is Nike's top racing shoe the one that's Used by its Elite to set World Marathon Records for both the men and women at The moment I think adios Pro 4 is not Technically the top rating shoe in the Ads range because the pro Evo one exists And is used by their Elites especially When it comes to setting those World Records but it's very expensive not that Durable hard to get a hold of so I think The adios Pro 4 is the de facto top Racing shoe for normal Runners so that's The one I'm going to compare to the Nike The adios pro4 is the cheapest shoe Though it comes in at £220 or $250 Whereas the alpha fly is £285 or $285 The alphafly is a slightly heavier shoe At 220 G or 7.7 o in a uk9 US 10 whereas The adios 4 is 2011 G or 7.1 o also an Uk9 but that's a US 9.5 Alf 3 has an 8 Mm drop and the Adidas has a 6 mm drop When it comes to the design of the adios Pro 4 you've got this woven light lock Upper very lightweight material strip of Padding around the back of the shoe and No real internal heel counter or
Anything like that to keep things nice And lightweight you've got Light Strike Pro midsole this version of Light Strike Pro is a little bit softer than the one On the adios Pro 3 but in general it's Just Aid ass's top foam now very Lightweight springy foam foam you got Carbon infused energy rods 2.0 running Through the mids soil which acts like a Carbon plate in providing that Stiffening agent for the foam to give You a bit more propulsion and stabilize You know the soft midsole foam then on The outsole you've mostly got a light Traction material which is a very thin And lightweight material but this little Section is Continental rubber to give You grip where you need it most in terms Of your toe offs when you're rounding Corners and actually just your toe offs In general when you really don't want to Be slipping a little bit and with the Alphafly you've got an atom knit upper With a little bit more structure around The hill than you have on the Adidas There is some more support there it's a A booty style upper rather than the more Traditional upper with a tongue you have On the Adidas uses zumax foam in the Midso which is Nike's springy peber Based foam that we've seen on all their Racing shoes since the vaporfly got the Air Zoom pods under the for foot which Is the key difference between the
Alphafly and the vaporfly and a Fulllength carbon plate running through The shoe and you've got what's called a Far shot rubber outsole good 4ot Coverage two strips of rubber at the Back pretty durable outso have done a Lot of miles in the alpha fly and it's Still holding up pretty well in terms of Durability on that outso So it comes to the fit of the two shoes I've got a uk9 in both of them but That's different sizing if you look at The American sizes add that it's a US 9.5 it's us10 with Nike this is the size I use in general for both of these Brands I have no fit concerns at all With the alphafly 3 I would stick to Your normal size it's got a comfortable Accommodating fit hold your foot tightly Without being overbearing and it's still You know a nice lightweight and Breathable upper with the Adidas you can Certainly look at going half a size up If you're using UK sizing because you Know I think I am quite close to the Front of the shoe with a sometimes I go Half size up sometimes I don't so Usually it's okay in the more training Focus Shoes for me to stick to a uk9 Because I'm quite small for my size but With the racing shoes sometimes benefits Me to go half a size up and I think I Could have done that in the Adidas so I'd say if you're looking around the
World you know and the sizing is a bit More consistent there then I think it's Probably okay to STI your normal size Unless you are craving a little bit of Extra room for Marathon running in Particular if you're in the UK I would Look at going half a size up though Because of the way the size converts Other than that no concerns with the Upper on the adios Pro 4 it's much Better than the one on the adios Pro 3 No irritation from the LA pilot or Anything like [Music] That so onto the run test then I've done A lot more running in the ALF 3 than I Have done with the adios Pro 4 because It is an older shoe I've done I think Probably over 100 miles in this now Using it for a few races including my 10K PB some other 10K races and some Long runs as well in marathon training Adios Pro 4 only came into me recently So I've just been doing a couple of Training sessions in it and then today I Went down the track and did a training Session wearing both of these shoes Doing K reps and kind of doing four in The a for Nike and then for two more Back in the adios so I'm going to dive Into that track session in a second but Before we do I'd say that both of these Have been really excellent for me on the Run I do think they've got really
Springy impressive carbon plate shoe Rides as you'd expect from them they are Both top tier Super Shoes I'd say and in Terms of performance I think they're Both ride up there it might come down a Little bit to what you're looking for in Terms of ride feel and the price though Because the Adas is cheaper anyway let's Go see that track [Music] Session good morning from walam State Field good Center where I am here to do A track session using both the Adidas Adios Pro 4 and the Nike Ally 3 I've got 10 times 1K on the agenda today the pace 320 for each of those K reps with 60 Seconds recovery So the plan is I'm Going to swap between the shoes so I'm Going to do four reps in the adios Pro 4 I'm going do four in the Nike Al 3 and Then back to the adios Pro 4 for two More just to see how it feels before and After and you know make sure I'm not Just doing the second half of the Workout in one shoe which might be a Little bit harder than the first half uh It's one my favorite workouts do last 10 Times 1K looking forward to it and Looking forward to testing out the [Music] Shoes so all done all done there that Was tougher tougher than it used to be About 5 weeks ago before the marathon uh Doing 10 times 1K at 320 but got through
On Pace it's interesting swapping Between the shoes like it definitely had A different feel I'm glad I SWA back to The Adidas because you know it does does Change your perception changing into a Shoe so when I swapped to the alpha Flight first it felt it feels like Lighter and AER than the Adidas despite Being the heavier shoe I think that's Because the soft foam at the back so you Get almost a dual density effect with The Ally where you're hitting that soft Foam rolling onto those firm pods and Then you get a bit of punch off but it Also feels a bit broader and then when I Put the aidas back on for the last two It feels a little bit bouncier than the Than the alply all around I think CU you Got that slightly fhone at the back of The shoes it's more of a consistent feel Throughout the sole and it felt a bit Springier it feels a bit lighter a bit Nimbler a bit narrower even on the foref Foot has got a big wide 4 foot but I Think the outfly is probably even bigger I have a look at that actually just Verify that later but yeah yeah they Both felt very good very fast like I Don't think there's going be any big Differences if I have a look at the Stats on Garmin in terms of my running Technique and all that they both Performed at a very high level as I Expect from two excellent shoes but yeah
You got starting Nimble feel for the AAS I slightly liked it a little bit more Today in that session I think because of The pace I was running I think no if I Was running that session like I say five Weeks ago and I'm fitter and I'm Cruising through those reps the outfly Feels amazing like I did like 2K reps Around that kind of pace in the alphafly A little a while back and yeah felt Really really good in it but today when I was pushing a bit harder and dragging Myself through I think the nimbl feel of The Adidas helped me a bit more as a Kind of high Cadence Runner that ferma Feel felt a bit better to me it feels More akin to things like the Met which I Really like but a bouncier version of That it is a bouncier shoe and um yeah Really impressed me today so yeah both Shoes are really good today I slightly Enjoyed the adios a bit more but if I Was maybe in slightly more cruy shape or Looking at longer reps longer races the Alpha flies has a slightly more relax Feel and the way it Blends those two Flames together that soft to into the Firm toe off does feel very nice as well The one thing I forgot to mention in That section was that the alight is Notably louder as soon as I put it on it Really was very loud compared to the Adidas which is you know I think just a Pretty normal sounding shoe actually was
Quite helpful today because the track Was busy with like a kids club so my Clumping alphafly feet really made it Known that I was coming through I did Have a quick look at the stats on gy you Know which records things like ground Contact Time vertical oscillation and All that like flash them up on screen But really you can see they were very Consistent across both shoes like I Wasn't really going flat out in either Of them so you expect it all to be quite Controlled at the end of the session I Did start to shorten my stride length And stuff like that a little bit but Overall there wasn't really a big Difference between these two shoes so I Don't think either is really changing my Form I'm still the same kind of Shuffling you know High Cadence Runner That I always am in both of them it's More just a slight difference in ride Feel which might determine which one you Go [Music] For verdict I mean these are two really Good shoes for sure like in the past I'd Have definitely gone for the Ally over The adios Pro 3 which I found just a bit Big and didn't really work that well me At times but I do think the adios Pro 4 Just getting a little bit lighter a Little bit softer it feels a bit Springier just all around makes it a
Better shoe and very much a direct Competitor to the Ally for me in terms Of performance I think maybe if I was Looking at a marathon and I was looking At locking into a pace that I could hold And cruise through I think the alply Just might suit me a little bit better Does feel like it really rolls through Very nicely for me from Heel To Toe onto Those Air Zoom pods but in terms of Going for more Flatout paces and even at The end of marathons maybe when I'm Starting to Tire I do think the adios Pro 4 might have a little Edge because It does have a nimbler feel a slightly Know spring your feel sometimes and I Really like the way the 4 foot rocker Works on this and on the other Adidas Shoes in the range including you know The evos and I was looking at Short Distances I might lean towards the Adidas even though I have set my 10K PB In the alphafly they're both really good For all distances maybe that's the way I'd look at it though I think you have Got slightly different ride Fields but Really the performance level is going to Be very similar across these two and Obviously that's a point in the Adidas's Favor because it is a fair bit cheaper Than the Nike if you are going to say 65 Quid or even $35 it is pretty worthwhile Doing that because I do think this is a Really fantastic racing ISO Al maybe if
You're looking at marathons in Particular might be one to consider Especially as the adasis fit has proved Troublesome for some people even if you Do have the right size I think the toy Box has caused a few bruised and bloody Toes at times but hopefully that won't Be a problem for me if I do longer runs In it yeah certainly really enjoyed Running a B shoes today I think they're Both top tier options the Adas is Cheaper so that does give it a bit of an Edge I would say but maybe looking at Marathons might lean towards the alpha [Music] Fly that's a comparison of the adios Pro 4 and the Nike fly 3 let us know what You think in the comments below please Like And subscribe ring the little bell And I'll see you next time
