Adidas Terrex AX2

Sticky, durable soles and decent uppers ruined by terrible heel holding and resulting sprained ankles.

These are now a version behind so this is a long-term review. I tried the new AX4 on, walked around the store and found the same heel slip. So I wanted to warn others.

I bought these in 2019 for our Grand Canyon North Rim to river to rim jaunt. During training for the trip, I mildly sprained my ankle while wearing the AX2. I thought it was just the terrain, and my poor footing. I did some PT and recovered, but last week in Moab, I sprained my ankle again while wearing the AX2. After reading some other reviews and looking at the wear pattern at the heel of the shoe, I am convinced the shoe is the issue.

I had a hard time getting these comfortable at the start. I tried a different insole and a heel lock lacing and this helped enough to get through the Grand Canyon Rim to river to rim on the North side in 2020 and south side in 2021. 

I've now worn these for several hundred miles and the sole looks great. I've only worn these on day hikes as I didn't feel comfortable backpacking with them.

 But the inside of the heel is wearing through the fabric!

The shoe is great for traction and much grippier than the Merrel Moab here in Moab.

Adidas has a good setup with these shoes. But something is just wrong with the heel. I believe the heel area is just too big and the stiff sole amplifies the issue. This results in heel movement. I'm not prone to blisters, but if you are, you would likely feel some blistering. But the biggest issue is the heel movement allowing your foot to slide around. This results in sprained ankles. And now that I have experienced this twice wearing these shoes, I cannot recommend them.

Background

Having hiked many thousand miles in various shoes through the years. I've used Merrells (great comfort, slick, terrible sole), Salomons (my go-to, but sole wears fast), Vasques (heavy indestructible), Asolo (also heavy), Keen (different colors sole bits fall off), North Face (comfortable, weird sizing, different colored sole bits fall off) and many others in between.

Very versatile on or off pavement. They are extremely light compared to other trail shoe brands. Fitment is comfortable and the footbeds are sufficient and provide necessary padding while running on uneven terrain.

I've used these shoes for hard surface, all-day walking, and backcountry hikes on dry and wet terrain and they have performed well enough to warrant buying another set again.

Background

From all-day hard surface, multi-tasking, doing daily shopping, to exploring backcountry trails in the CA/NV Sierras, these trail shoes have stayed durable and comfortable.