Adidas Prime X 2 Strung: A 100-Mile Review of a 50mm Stack Beast

Introduction

After roughly 100 miles, or about 160 km, of half marathon training and daily outings, the Adidas Prime X 2 Strung has had plenty of time to show its true character. This is a shoe purchased with personal money rather than provided for review, picked up around September of its release year, so the mileage arrived fairly quickly.

The headline figure is the stack: around 54 to 55 mm of height, described by the maker as a 50 mm platform. It is a monstrous amount of cushion by any standard. The question after 100 miles is simple: does all that foam and tech add up to a better shoe, or just a taller one?

Upper: Bunching, Lace Pressure, and a Step Back

The upper is the weak link. Excess material in the toe box creates noticeable bunching across the top of the foot, and the laces need to be cinched in a huge amount to get a secure fit. The first version of this shoe had a genuinely fantastic upper; this one feels a bit rushed by comparison.

The materials do not stretch much, and wider-footed runners may struggle just to get the shoe on. The upper seems to do most of the work holding the foot down onto the midsole, which produces lace pressure around the last eyelets. A shoe horn is genuinely useful here, and the awkward entry makes it a poor candidate for triathlon use. Narrow-footed runners should probably avoid it entirely. The one bright spot: dried mud brushes off easily, so the upper is reasonably easy to keep clean. Score: 2.3 out of 3.

Midsole: More Stable, Less Fun

The Lightstrike Pro midsole has flexed and softened over 100 miles, taking on a slightly more cushioned feel than the firmer out-of-the-box experience. It settles in nicely, as this foam tends to do.

Stability is improved over previous Prime X versions thanks to added width in the heel, but the shoe is in no way as exhilarating or as fun to run in. It feels good at a steady easy pace around 8 minutes per mile, but anything faster makes the considerable weight increase obvious, particularly on longer runs.

The two-part plate setup with softer foam sandwiched at the front still returns some decent energy, but the overall impression is of a more conservative iteration. The worst detail is the cutaway section in the midsole: debris packs into it constantly and a flat spatula is needed to dig out mud and grit roughly every 20 miles. Score: 2.5 out of 3.

Outsole: The Best Part of the Shoe

The outsole is the standout. The soft, pitted rubber has barely worn at all after 100 miles, smoothing only slightly at the lateral heel and around the forefoot area. It works very well on road and pavement, wet or dry, and remains one of the best outsole rubbers for those surfaces.

It is not the choice for wet, soggy paths or leaf-covered ground, where other shoes offer better traction. A plastic section on the medial side helps the rubber adhere better and actually improves durability. The main deduction comes from that awkward cutaway and the debris it collects. Score: 2.8 out of 3.

Value and Verdict After 100 Miles

Build quality and durability are genuinely impressive, but at the 250 retail price in the UK, the value is hard to defend, especially with the original version and the Strung version of the original now available at deep discounts. In nearly every way, that earlier shoe is the better pick.

This is a capable cushioned cruiser, but with extra weight, a poorly fitting upper, a more rigid midsole feel, and debris-collecting cutaways, it reads as an inferior version of its predecessor. The discounts already appearing on the Prime X 2 Strung suggest plenty of buyers have reached the same conclusion. Score: 2.3 out of 3.

The total after 100 miles comes to 9.9 out of 12. The shoe did not win over its tester despite enjoying most of the miles, and the expectation going in was that its shortcomings would show, which they did.

Conclusion

The Adidas Prime X 2 Strung delivers exceptional outsole durability and a stable, cushioned ride, but an awkward upper, added weight, and debris-trapping cutaways hold it back. If you can find the original Prime X or the Prime X Strung discounted, that remains the smarter buy. As a vital pickup at full price, this one is hard to recommend.