The Adidas Boston 12 and New Balance Rebel v4 are both versatile shoes that lean slightly towards speedy running, and both are pretty good value too especially as they often feature in sales. Nick is a big fan of both shoes, but which should you add to your rotation? The answer (hopefully) lies within this video.
Check out our full reviews of both shoes:
Adidas Boston 12 Review:
New Balance Rebel v4 Review:
JUMP STRAIGHT IN:
00:00 – Intro
00:13 – Design & Key Stats
02:35 – How’s The Fit?
04:08 – The Run Tests
06:59 – Verdict
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Hello and welcome to run testers my name Is Nick in this video we're going to be Comparing the Adidas Boston 12 and the New Balance Rebel V4 so the Boston 12 and the rebv 4 are Two of my favorite running shoes I say They're both really good versatile Training shoes that have a little bit of An edge towards the Speedy end of things Which is generally how I like my daily Trainers they approach the brief of a Daily trainer in slightly different ways With much more Tech in the adid Das but Coming around a similar price with the New Balance Rebel being $140 or £40 whereas the Bon is £40 or $160 Boston is the heaviest shoe it's 259 G Or 9.1 o in the uk9 whereas the rebel is 219 g or 7.7 o it's is a UK 9.5 that's a Slightly bigger size as well while still Being a fair bit lighter New Balance has A 6 mm drop the drop on the Boston is 7 Mm and it's the highest stack shoe with A stack height of 38 mm at the heel and 31 mm at the forefoot course the rebel It's 30 m M at the heel and 24 mm at the 4ot so with the Boston 12 you've got a Very lightweight mesh upper with really Minimal padding you know very racy Design it's quite similar actually to The oppos you get on Adidas's Racing Shoes little strip of padding at the Back there to hold the heel in place and Cradle the Achilles a little bit you
Have a dual density mids soole with a Top layer of Adidas's Light Strike Pro Foam and then a bottom layer of Light Strike Eva 2.0 the second version of Light Strike which is important it's a Much better foam than the original Light Strike foam you had you've got Adidas's Energy rods 2.0 running through the Midsole these are the glass fi version Of Adidas's energy Rod to give you a Little bit of extra pop without being Quite as stiff as the carbon ones you Have on some of the racing shoes You' Got a continental rubber outsole with Really quite good coverage this is an Excellent rubber as always the case with Continental grips really well and all The key impact areas on the shoe are Well covered with the rebel V4 you've Got a lightweight mesh upper as well You've got a very wide fit around the For foot you've got little bit of Padding on the tongue but not much and Then a little bit of the back as well But no kind of strips or anything like That to hold the heel in place which is Good because it doesn't really result in Any EES irritation which will come on to You've got a fuel cell midsole and this Is the latest version of fuel cell well It's hard to say it's not really the Latest version It's a version of fuel Cell in this case it's a blend of peber And Eva Foams there are now fuel cell
Foams that are full peber Foams but New Balance lik to keep us all guessing by Just calling them all fuel cell but it Is quite a soft foam fairly bouncy foam And the rebel V4 has got more foam in it Than past Rebels it's not only got a Higher stack but it's also a lot wider Than past versions of the shoe once Again you've got pretty good outso Coverage just like with the Boston You've got a little bit less bit more Exposed foam especially around the Middle of the shoe but again key impact Areas of the heal and forer are covered And the sho's been pretty good on grip For me as [Music] Well so I've got a fair bit to say about The fit of the shoes because they are Interesting in a few different ways the Adidas I've got a uk9 here which is US 9.5 that is my normal size for Adidas And running shoes in general say on Length it is very good also say it's a Little bit wider than some of the Adi Zero shoes you've seen in the past even The Boston line had a tendency to be Very torpedo like in the past that's not The case here but it's not the widest Shoe in the world but it's not Excessively narrow what I will say Though is it's it's a really strip back Upper and it is a very racy upper to the Point where it's not all that
Comfortable it takes a bit of time to Get the shoe on I find I've had to heel Lock it cuz I did have a bit of heel Rubbing at the back of the shoe when Running at longer distances they get a Bit of lace bite if you you know when You pull the laces tight the tongue is Very thin so you can get a bit of that On the top of the foot you can get it All set up to be comfortable for quite Relaxed easy runs I found but just a bit More of a faffy upper and a little bit Less comfortable for sure than the one On the New Balance which is a bit more Geared up for all training runs you've Got a little bit of padding it's very Easy to slip the shoe on and off a nice Comfortable hold from the uh kind of Heel and midfoot and even though I've Got half a size up here on my normal Size of the UK 9.5 hasn't resulted in Too much room in the 4 foot so I went Half size up because the rebel has Sometimes been a very short shoe in the Past I should have just gone for my Normal size so actually I would say Stick your normal size with the rebel Especially as it is a lot wider in the Foref foot than past versions of the Shoe I have a narrow foot so I was Swimming around a little bit in that but It didn't really negatively affect the Fit for me but I do think you'd be best Off going for your normal running shoe
Size so the upshot of it would be that Get your normal running shoe size for Both of these shoes I'd say but the ads Upper is certainly less comfortable and Look out for how wide the new balance is In the foref [Music] Foot so as I said at the start I'm a big Fan of both of these shoes and I've done A big variety of training runs in both Shoes because I do think they are really Nice First St shoes I've done long runs In both shoes a fair bit of just relaxed Easy running and sessions in both shoes Running a mix of reps kind of longer Reps around the mile or 2K and then some 400s as well so do feel that they are Comfortable at a really big range off Speed and they can go right down to very Relaxing slow runs as well and you can Do all of that in these shoes so the Boston 12 was one of my favorite shoes Of last year it was a big upgrade I Thought on what we had from the Boston 10 and 11 you've got a much lighter more Aggressive shoe that feels really good For Speedy runs you got a fairly Firishta together here creates a fairly Smooth ride and you can go right down to Easy Paces in the shoe and it does feel Soft enough and comfortable enough for Those even cruising through an easy long Run in the shoe felt quite relaxed but Then when you do want to push the pace
The pushes you onto that chunk of Light Strike Pro under the forefoot along with The energy rods and you get a nice Propulsive feeling it really does move You quickly onto your toes and then give You a nice Punchy tough as well so it is Certainly a shoe that you can run FAS in The Boston 12 whil having that Capability at slower Paces as well so if The Boston was one of my favorite shoes Of last year the rebel is one of my Favorite shoes of this year so far it is Quite different to past rebels in how Wide it is but it retains the Characteristics of the line which is to Be a very lightweight simple shoe There's no kind of tech in the midsole Here you've just got a slightly better Foam than past Rebels a bit soft a bit Bounced see this peber foam and that Wider base which makes it a lot better For easy runs relaxed run long runs like I did a 50 mile in this shoe and it was Felt really good and it's not the kind Of distance I've loved to do in past Rebels because they were a bit more Strip back but with the extra width here You get more support more comfort and it Still is fast like I did that as a Progression run finished quite quickly In that run also taking the shoe down The track to run Mile and 400 met reps And yeah it's still fast because it is a Lightweight shoe it still moves you
Through your foot strike quite well it's Not as aggressive feeling as the Boston You're not getting that firmness under The foref foot the kind of punch you get From the rods but you can still turn Your feet over really nicely just cuz You've got a lightweight shoe on and It's got a decent foam in there to Bounce you on your way it was really Interesting when I had B shoes on at the Same time for a short run it's it's a Bit odd because they just don't feel Like they are when you look at the stats On paper so the rebel to me feels like The higher stack shoe the more Comfortable shoe the soft shoe it is Softer and bouncy than the Boston for Sure but it's got a much lower stack on Paper than the Boston and the Boston Feels almost like the lighter shoot even Though the rebel is really lightweight And feels lightweight the Boston feels Very light and Poppy got that fir feel Especially under the for foot it really Gives you that drive to go out and run Quick in it and actually when I was Running them both in the same time it Was like oh the Boston doesn't feel like A shoe you can do easy runs in but you Know when I used it throughout testing I Felt very comfortable going out for easy Runs but the rebel felt a lot more Relaxed and easy and comfortable for at Slower paces and it's got that wider
Design that makes it more stable for Slow runs as well Boston felt like a Pure speed Shi when I was using them at The same time but if you're testing the Boston by itself it does feel really Verso and can do everything but yeah it Does mean it probably skews a bit more Towards the Speedy end of things than The rebel So these are two great shoes and they Are ver all shoes all around as well I Think the rebel has a bit more Comfort All around if you are looking at a daily Trainer you want to do a lot of relaxed Runs and easy runs in the shoe I think It is better to do those in the rebel Than the Boston because it's got that Wide design the softer feel Under Foot And it feels very high stack for you That isn't High stack then it is still Lightweight and Poppy when you want to Do fast runs but I think the Boston has A bit more about it when it comes too Fast to running if you're looking for a Pure speed shoe the Boston's going to Give you that edge over short or long Distances I think it really comes to Play probably more when you're doing Sustained hard reps when the extra Efficiency benefits you get from the Rods and the firmer field just means you Can keep turning your feet over and Maintain the pace a bit more easily I Think when it comes to sustained long
Runs that's probably the one area I Didn't love as much about the rebel when I was doing like kind of a hard hour in The shoe is better for intervals because It has that lightweight design I want I Did a progression running the shoe Moving through the gears it felt very Good but if you're going to go out and Start doing runs with kind of longish Sections around your race Pace the Boston would be the better option Because it is the much racer shoe all Around especially that upper which I Think adds to the fact it's a less Comfortable shoe for daily training Because it's a bit more fussy a bit less Comfortable than the upper on the New Balance you've got to really think about The upper on the Boston to make sure it Doesn't rob you or bite into you in some Way it's quite a racy upper for a shoe That I would consider very good for a Range of runs when it comes to the Midsole if I was looking to get one shoe To do absolutely everything including Very fast runs and racing I think the Boston is the overall the more verstyle Shoe because it has a better top end but I do think the rebel is more comfortable At the easy end of things and if I was Looking to get a daily trainer to use a Rotation with the carbon plate racing Shoe I think the rebel probably would Have the edge just cuz it is that bit
More relaxed all around and does really Do a nice job of everything it just Maybe doesn't have the allout speed that You can get from the Boston so that's Where i' turn to a faster shoe within a Rotation I think there's probably enough Overlap here that I wouldn't really look At getting both shoes because they do do Quite a lot of similar runs but if you Do have a big rotation and like to have An unplated and a plated shoe in I mean This isn't plated but it has rods in it To achieve the same effect so if You' Like to have a mix of you know simpler Shoes and more technological shoes in Your range then these are both really Good options they are also pretty good Value both of them I'd say and not only At RRP which is you know fine but they Are shoes that pop up in sales a lot I've seen the Boston in sales for well Under 100 quid and that's exceptional Value for such a versatile shoe so they It could be a nice double act if you Manage to pick them both up at you know Very good prices but overall like I say I think the Boston probably has the Overall more versatile shoe because it Does have that extra performance of Speedy running but the rebel is the shoe You'd probably be more comfortable using Very regularly as a daily trainer just Because it is that bit more comfortable Slips on a bit nicer the Upp is a bit
Better and it has a more relaxed Supportive feel for easy runs all round Boston can do those too but I think the Rebel's better at them just like the Boston a little bit better at those fast [Music] Days so that's our comparison of the Rebel V4 and the Boston 12 let us know What you think in the comments below Please do like and subscribe ring the Little bell and we'll see you next time
