Nike Legend React

I injured my right root and my Adidas Solar Boost were not able to protect my feet well enough. It was an injury of the forefoot, and seemed more forward than Plantar fasciitis usually is. 

Neither pair of my Adidas Solar Boost are worn out, but they couldn't protect my foot, ease the pain in each step, or promote recovery as well as some old pairs that were collecting dust in the garage. 

I started using my 2011 Nike LunarGlide 3's because even though they were worn out, the high arch support and large mass of foam felt good on my injured feet. The 2011 LunarGlides did not last long in running service because I thought the foam was too soft and after more running it just provided less and less support. On the other hand, they felt best with my current injury. 

I did a little research and found that Nike had introduced a new ReAct, and is promoted as a good shoe for injury recovery. I went to my local store, and while they had the new ReAct 3, they didn't have it in my size. I wanted a shoe today instead of ordering online, and so I got the React 2 and in black with odd green highlights. 

The ReAct in size eleven is 341 grams, which makes it among my heaviest shoes, which makes sense because it has a giant chunk of foam in the sole. 

Weights of my recent shoes

Nov. 2020 Nike ReAct Legend 341 g

August 2020 SolarBoost        319 g

March 2020 Solar Boost ST    338 g

Brooks Levitate 2                 365 g

Brooks Ghost 9                     335 g

2018 Pure Boost                    335 g

2015 Boost SuperNova          335 g

2012 Energy Boost                300 g

Covid 19 in Rock County and in Wisconsin

I have been tracking Covid 19 cases in Wisconsin. These numbers are ultimately from the NYTimes, but I pick them up from Google. I have plotted them, and calculated the seven day rolling average. 

Cases really ramped up in the beginning of October, and the most recent days have been the highest ever. Covid cases were already sky-rocketing before the Trump rally on Oct 17, so it hard to blame that rally for the problem.

Wisconsin cases have also gone up aggressively since early September - perhaps because that is when school started. The press blamed the spike on cases at universities. 

 realize that not being at the meeting makes it hard to perform the Treasurer’s duties, and I am hoping that John Sarnow, our assistant Treasurer could possibly help. I am willing to continue with other Treasurer’s duties. 

Adidas Solar Boost Shoes (Aug 18 Pair)

I liked my current Adidas Solar Boost ST so well that I got another pair. This is called simply SolarBoost, with no ST. I will alternate between these pairs for a while. Both Solar Boost shoes have more support in the forefoot than the Brooks shoes that I had been using. Even one day in my old, but low-milage Brooks Levitate 2's makes my big toe hurt.  

Initially the new Solar Boost pair seemed to be identical to the March 2020 Solar Boost ST pair. The sole is beige instead of black, so I hope it wears as well. The fit is just as good. I really like the Solar's upper. Link to Solar Boost ST's review.

The weight of one SolarBoost shoe is 319 grams. This compares to 338 grams on the March 2020 SolarBoost ST pair, which is 5.6% lighter. My reaction is lighter is better, but I hope the durability holds up. 

Weights of my recent shoes.

August 2020 SolarBoost        319 g

March 2020 Solar Boost ST    338 g

Brooks Levitate 2                 365 g

Brooks Ghost 9                     335 g

2018 Pure Boost                    335 g

2015 Boost SuperNova          335 g

2012 Energy Boost                300 g

After seeing the weight difference, I looked back at differences in construction, and there is a slight difference in the over-molded heel cup on the upper. On the new SolarBoost, the nylon* overmolding is smaller and covered by a piece of the elastomer which joins the midsole and the upper. 

Below is a photo of the SolarBoost ST for comparison with above. 

*It looks like nylon/polyamide to me, but of course I didn't analyze it. It could be a similar rigid engineering plastic. 

Adidas Solar Boost ST: March 13 2020 Pair

So many of my shoe purchases start out with sore feet. In this case it was a sore left bunion, and maybe it is caused by my too-small pair of Brook Ricochets or maybe my worn out Brooks Levitate 2s.

In any case, I went to my local shoe store, and checkout the Brooks Levitate 3's, but they are built as a slip-on shoe without shoe tongue, and so the laces cannot be used to adjust the tightness of the upper. I had a pair of shoes like once (PureBoost ZG), and while they was comfortable for standing in, they could NOT be held tightly enough on my foot. My toes either hit the front of the toe box, or the knit fabric puckered when I tightened down on the largely decorative shoe laces. Eventually I took the laces off, and used them as slippers around the house. They are still comfortable to stand in.

I read some reviews, and decided to try Adidas Solar Boost ST. I selected them because they seem to address the problems that I had with my last Boost shoes, which is too little structure, and generally floppiness to them. Of course, the Boost sole is springy and does a great job of protecting my foot. They also last a long time.

Solar Boost has somewhat less Boost expanded polyurethane and two structural features. It has a thermoplastic olefin bead between the midsole and the upper for support, and it has a dumbbell shaped nylon insert that keeps the shoe from twisting. The higher-end Boost shoes always had nylon inserts, and this version has an even larger one.

It has a knitted upper that is stretched comfortable. While the styling isn't the flashiest, this color isn't so bad.

In size 11, the SolarBoost weighs 338 g, which is 27g or 7% less than the Brook's Levitate 2s they replaced. They are about the same as my old Brooks Ghost 9's (335g). More numb

2020 Solar Boost          338 g
Brooks Levitate 2         365 g
Brooks Ghost 9             335 g
2018 Pure Boost            335 g
2015 Boost SuperNova  335 g
2012 Energy Boost        300 g


In the view below you can see how the white polyolefin elastomer near the heel provides some support and protection, but does not extend around the back of the heel.

In the following photo, one can see the nylon support that prevents twisting. This shoe sole has the Continental Tire logo. Continental has a cooperative agreement with Adidas since 2007. My 2017 Pure Boost shoes has a similar looking black rubber outersole, but no Continental logo. My Boost SuperNova has a different style outersole.

In the photo below, one can see the triangle of the nylon stabilizer extending around on the inside heel. Maybe this is for some sort of added support, or maybe it is a styling feature.

The photo below shows the weaving in the upper. It really looks like a sock in this image.

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August 2018 Update

I now have 500 miles on these shoes, and they are still doing well. They are my favorite pair of shoes now. I like them so much that I bought another pair. In the summertime, my shoes get wet from sweaty and I like to give them a day to dry out. 

Here is a link to my latest pair of Adidas SolarBoost shoes.