For some reason, Adidas continues to treat the trail and outdoor part of their lineup as a highly distinct business unit, affectionately known as Adidas Outdoor. We saw this with the Supernova Trail definitely, but the Two Parley Trail is an attempt to more closely align the two platforms using road technology interchangeably which is both good and bad.
Construction: Upper
The upper is a full engineered knit and takes all its guidance from the road version of the Parley. They have added some overlays as well as structural elements and to protect places like the toe. The other addition is a higher elastic/knit collar that enforced a very bootie-like fit. The toe box is heavily tapered, pointy even, so obviously something we don’t typically love.
Construction: Midsole
The midsole is another straight lift using a dual-density Boost implementation. There is just about 25mm of cushion paired with a 5mm drop and while Boost is a good technology, the outsole implementation actually affects it a bit making it a bit stiffer and providing less flex than a road shoe.
Construction: Outsole
The outsole uses what they called a flexible Stretchweb that is composed of full Continental rubber. The stretch implementation does help with the flex of the shoe, but it is a good amount of rubber on there. The 3.5mm lugs do provide a good amount of traction on the trails and while they aren’t super grippy it is more than enough on good days.
Style & Aesthetics
It is a bit of a weird one, it just looks like a road shoe after all and has a decent style to it. It’s definitely isn’t your everyday trail shoe. It does only come in one color, the black and white that you see pictured, also kind of a bummer.
Run Test
Let’s go into this with the first impression, these things look pretty cool. I mean very road stylish and not something others on the trail will have seen before. They go on really well, the bootie fit and flexible collar really work well, but definitely no structure in that upper. On the trail, that can be a little sloppy though so also a bit of a drawback. The other thing I noticed was that the shoe just feels really heavy. It is an off sensation because the upper itself is really thin, airy, and light and then underfoot is all the weight. This leads to a bit more sloppiness on the trail as well, so again not happy about that. Lastly, that flexible collar I loved at first is a strange height. It is hard to wear low socks with these because they sit below and inevitably the collar will rub throughout your run. I tried these over and over as I did think they looked decent, but honestly, they ended up getting relegated to a light hiker category.
Overall Conclusion
Adidas really needs to do more here for us. Many of their trail shoes just feel like road shoes that they have strapped some heavy outsole and lugs on to make them trail-ready and that is definitely the case here. At almost 11 ounces and with much of the weight in that outsole, the upper doesn’t need that high collar, and the Boost effectiveness deteriorates with the amount of rubber. It is a difficult one to recommend unless you are just totally committed to Adidas.
Technical Stats, Pricing & Availability
- Weight: 10.6oz (size 9)
- Drop: 5mm heel/toe
- Cushion: 24.5mm
- Type: Neutral Trail
- MSRP: $125.00
- Available: Now
