Day 19: Good Response...

By Frank

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It's been 16 days since I last blog about the adidas Response Control 7 which I got it courtesy from adidas Malaysia for their shoe seeding program. Reason... I can't find any major faults with the shoe! But since it's day 19 now, I guess I will blog a little something more on it before the final review on day 30.

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Front view of the adidas Response Control 7...

And so, I have been wearing the adidas Response Control 7 for my trainings. Although I wore it once for a 10KM road race at the recent Larian Bersama Bomba 2008, my feet ended up having blisters. I guess it was due to the fact that the shoe was still new at that time and I was pushing it to the max. But a week later, I wore it for the New Balance Pacesetters 15KM 2008 which gave me absolutely no problem at all. In fact, the shoe helped me to achieved a new personal record for both the races.

So, why do I like the shoe so much? Firstly, there were plenty of room for my toes to move in it. The width of the shoe which was 2E allows a snug but not tight fitting. I felt that both my feet are being hugged and not squeezed. You get the idea, don't you? The laces were made of anti-slip material unlike the one on my adidas adizero Tempo. I did not need to worry about the laces coming loose even without having to tie it twice. And the shoe's tongue sat quietly in place, not moving around like the adidas adistar Cushion 6.

An inside look on the shoe's width...

The shoe's tongue proudly showing the model of the shoe...

Well...The probably one downside that I managed to find out about the shoe right now is the very thick rear outsole. It may feel all right during an early part of a race, but as I reached the 10KM mark (during the New Balance Pacesetters 15KM 2008), I felt a bit uncomfortable. As I'm a person who prefers a thinner soles like those on a racer shoe, the rear outsole of the shoe made me felt that I was "bouncing" too much. I didn't like the feeling as I felt my heel being irritated by the heel counter due to the "bounce". Thefore, as I mentioned earlier in day 3 entry, the shoe is made for a 10KM race. A 15KM race might be all right but I guess that's pushing it to the limits. And also, by the time a 15KM distance is achieved, both my feet were soaked in sweat as the ventiation for this shoe is pretty poor.

A rear view of the shoe. Notice how thick is the sole...

And so here's to a very short entry on day 19 with the adidas Response Control 7. Till the next entry...