Adidas Adizero Adios Pro 3 vs Prime X Strung: Which Adidas Super Shoe Should You Buy?

Introduction

Adidas currently has two very different answers to the same question: how do you make a fast road shoe feel effortless? The Adizero Adios Pro 3 is the brand’s long-distance race shoe, built for everything from the half marathon to the marathon. The Prime X Strung takes similar technology, adds more foam and more propulsion, and turns it into something aimed at faster training rather than strictly legal racing.

Both shoes share a lot of DNA: Lightstrike Pro midsole foam, carbon energy rods, and Continental rubber outsoles. But they ride noticeably differently, and choosing between them comes down to how much bounce you want and how much stability you can live without.

The Two Shoes at a Glance

The Prime X Strung costs £230 or $300, weighs 255g (9 oz) for men in a size 8, and has an 8.5mm drop. Its headline feature is the lofty 50mm stack of Lightstrike Pro foam, which sits above World Athletics’ legal limit for competition, along with carbon energy rods and a Strung upper that maps fibres on an individual thread basis for a fitted feel.

The Adizero Adios Pro 3 costs £220 or $230, weighs a lighter 218g (7.7 oz) in the same size, and drops 6.5mm. It uses Energy Rods 2.0 running the full length of the shoe alongside two layers of Lightstrike Pro foam, a redesigned breathable upper with generous heel and ankle collar padding, and a generous layer of Continental rubber for grip at speed.

Fit and Sizing

Both shoes are broadly true to size, but there are caveats worth knowing before you order. The Adios Pro 3 has a documented issue around the lace eyelets at the toe knuckle: runners with wider feet report rubbing and blistering there. Going up half a size helps with length, but the toe-box tightness remains the shoe’s main letdown.

The Prime X Strung fits more comfortably overall, with marginally more room in the toe box and better step-in feel thanks to the Strung upper. However, some testers report significant heel rub on the back of the shoe, enough to make a half marathon painful by the end. Heel locking helps but does not fully solve it.

The practical takeaway: try both before committing, and expect to consider a half size adjustment in either direction depending on where the shoe rubs you.

Ride and Performance

The Adios Pro 3 is a subtle, efficient racer. It does not have the dramatic pop of some rival super shoes, and at 5K or 10K pace it offers little obvious benefit. Where it shines is at long, consistent paces: it ticks along with a pleasant rolling motion, and the slightly firmer foam feel makes it comfortable over marathon distance rather than showy.

Out of the box the Adios Pro 3 feels stiff and unremarkable, but it softens quickly. After a short break-in the energy rods settle and it becomes a comfortable, propulsive shoe that rewards long training runs and racing alike.

The Prime X Strung is the more fun of the two. The extra stack and additional energy blades under the forefoot give it a bouncy, leaping quality that genuinely reduces the effort you feel you are putting in, especially on steady tempo runs or long consistent-pace efforts. It needed no break-in at all and felt fantastic from the first fast run. The trade-off is weight and stability, though the extra weight is barely noticeable on the run.

Stability and Stack Height

This is where the two shoes diverge most. The Prime X Strung’s 50mm stack sits over a comparatively narrow midsole base, and the shoe demands your attention. Uneven roads, pebbles, curbs and tight corners all become hazards, and tired legs late in a race make ankle rolls a real concern. It is best kept to flat, familiar roads.

The Adios Pro 3 is not a stable shoe either, but it feels grounded by comparison. Its firmer, more grounded landing rewards running in a straight plane, and it handles corners at speed better than the Prime X, which can slide off the main landing platform when turning sharply. For shorter races and reps, the Pro 3’s nimbler character comes back into play.

Which One Should You Buy?

If you care about racing legality, the decision is made for you: the Prime X Strung’s 50mm stack makes it ineligible for competition, so the Adios Pro 3 is the race-day pick. For longer distance racing from half marathon to marathon, it is a solid, dependable option that helps you hold a consistent pace, even if it never quite wow’s the way the very best super shoes do.

If you are not chasing podiums and want maximum enjoyment in training, the Prime X Strung is hard to beat. It is softer on landing, springier on toe-off, more forgiving of imperfect foot placement, and more comfortable over long endurance runs thanks to the Strung upper and extra toe-box room. Just be honest with yourself about the stack height before buying, because it is a risky purchase for runners who value stability.

Conclusion

The Adios Pro 3 is the sensible pick: a lighter, more grounded, race-legal marathon shoe with an upper that lets it down more than its ride does. The Prime X Strung is the exciting pick: more oomph, more comfort, more fun, and a genuine performance advantage at long, steady paces, provided you can handle the height and accept that it will never line up at a sanctioned race. Pick the one that matches how you actually run.