Adidas Supernova Prima First Run Review: A Max Cushion Daily Trainer With Extra Foam

Introduction

The Adidas Supernova Prima is best described as a max cushion daily trainer, sitting alongside shoes like the Puma Magnify Nitro 2, Saucony Triumph 22 and On Cloud Eclipse. It costs £150 in the UK, making it more expensive than both the Supernova Rise and the more stability-focused Supernova Solution, and it aims to be the comfortable, everyday option in Adidas’s Supernova range for runners who simply want to bank miles rather than chase race times.

After a couple of easy-paced runs, the picture is fairly clear: this is very much a Supernova family shoe with a familiar feel, and the main change is extra Dreamstrike Plus foam, particularly under the forefoot.

First Impressions and Fit

The Prima comes in at 281g in a UK men’s size 8, heavier than the Supernova Rise thanks to the bigger stack of Dreamstrike Plus foam, with an extra 2mm at both heel and forefoot. Stack heights measure 38mm at the heel and 30mm at the forefoot, and the drop is 8mm, a change from the 10mm drop on the Rise.

The upper is engineered mesh with a skinny gusseted tongue and generous padding at the heel collar. In a UK size 8, the fit felt true to size across the first couple of runs. The toe box is slightly more spacious up front than the Rise, which should lend itself well to longer runs, while the midfoot hold and lacing feel very similar. Heel padding is generous and slightly narrower than the Rise, with no heel rub or lockdown issues so far. For most people, going true to size should be fine.

Midsole and Ride

The ride is built around a bigger helping of Adidas’s Dreamstrike Plus foam, with wider support rods than those used on the Supernova Rise to deliver a more stable feel overall.

The character is close to the Rise: a good level of bounce without being aggressively bouncy, controlled, balanced and stable, thanks in part to those support rods. The key difference is the extra foam in the forefoot, an area the Rise didn’t have covered as well, and that makes the Prima feel more balanced and more comfortable for longer running. It should also have enough scope to mix paces a little, though that hasn’t been fully tested yet.

The honest caveat: in an hour-long run at around 8:10 to 8-minute mile pace, the foam felt like it wanted a little more life at the end, when legs were tiring and something livelier would have helped push through. Dreamstrike Plus is pleasant and well balanced, but it doesn’t yet feel as lively as Adidas’s Lightstrike in its racing-focused shoes. More foam is a positive; the foam itself may just need more time to evolve.

Outsole and Grip

Unlike Adidas’s top-tier Adizero racing shoes, the Prima skips Continental rubber, continuing the approach seen on the Supernova Rise. The rubber mainly covers the forefoot and stretches back from there, leaving some exposed areas where the foam and support rods sit.

Across a 30-minute run and an hour run on a mix of light trails and beach sand, grip was absolutely fine on those softer and mixed surfaces. There are already some small early signs of wear on the exposed areas where the rubber coverage finishes, so durability in those spots is worth watching over more miles.

Should You Buy the Supernova Prima?

The Prima is aimed at everyday runners who want a comfortable shoe from upper to midsole to outsole, not a speed-focused trainer. Compared with the Supernova Rise, it feels nicer and more comfortable over more time on foot, and the extra Dreamstrike Plus foam makes it a better-balanced shoe for longer efforts, even if it isn’t dramatically different from its sibling.

The question is whether it stands out in a crowded field of cushioned daily trainers. It should prove to be another solid, relatively affordable daily trainer in the Supernova range, but it may not blow anyone away just yet. If you already like the Rise and want a bit more comfort for longer runs, this is a logical step up.

Conclusion

The Adidas Supernova Prima is a well-fitting, stable and comfortable max cushion daily trainer with a genuinely useful addition of forefoot foam. It doesn’t reinvent the formula set by the Supernova Rise, and Dreamstrike Plus still feels a step behind the liveliest foams in Adidas’s racing shoes, but for everyday miles at an easy pace it does the job well. Longer-term testing will tell whether it can separate itself from a very competitive pack.