Adidas is one of those companies that I associate with standard athletic gear: gym shorts, volleyball jerseys, shoes. Over the past few years, they’ve been building up an impressive team of athletes—Kevin Jorgensen, Sasha DiGiulian, Nina Williams, to name a few—that I respect and admire.
I met up with Adidas Outdoor at Outdoor Retailer this past show to check out what they had to offer. The new Terrex Solo Approach Shoes caught my eye.
Lightweight and low-profile, the Terrex Solo are perfect for clipping onto your harness for multi-pitch climbs. An open mesh upper allows for more breathability. A sticky Stealth rubber toe cap and forefoot, complemented by TRAXION rubber, protects the foot and aids climbing on easy boulder problems and more technical scrambles. A treated, low-profile OrthoLite liner within the shoe helps to limit stinky feet.
The most important thing to know about these shoes is that they run a half size large. Size down from your usual size! I am a solid 6.5 and my feet are swimming in these 6.5. The space can be mitigated with a thick sock or by tightening the laces down, but if you’re looking to get some climbing performance out of them, you’ll need a half size smaller.
I found that the laces on these tend to really loosen up over time which is really problematic when I’m relying on them to keep my shoe on my foot. The Terrex Solo is a total sand magnet. If you’re climbing areas with lots of loose sediment, expect the mesh upper to let in enormous amounts of it. It also gets stuck beneath the shoe liner resulting in needing to empty out the shoe on a regular basis.
Aside from that, the Adidas Terrex Solo Approach Shoes are a killer pair of footwear for any climber. If you’re looking for something for really tough and long approaches, these might not be it. I found myself longing for something a little burlier, but keep in mind I’m also very clumsy.
These excel at short approaches, long walks in the city, commuting, and running through airports. These are also perfect for when your feet are fat and sweaty after a long, hot day of desert climbing and you just want to be comfortable.
Buy through Adidas Outdoor (men’s) or Amazon (women’s) for $120.
Photos by Josh Ourada.
These were sent to me for review.
