New Adidas Samples

Recently, I've been lucky enough to come into contact with a few pair of samples, which for those who don't know are basically the prototypes for shoes that are planned to be released in the future.  My college coach works closely with our sponsor, Adidas, and has acquired a pair of the new Jake Varner 2's and a pair of a potential new colorway of the recently released Flying Impacts.

Both of these shoes caught my eye when I first saw them.  They definitely are two of the better looking Adidas shoes of those that have been released in recent years.  The Varner's feature what is suppose to be an industry leading sole, made from the same rubber that was used for the legendary Sydney 2000 wrestling shoes.  The Flying Impacts offer a new camouflage colorway, and for the first time since Asics released their camo colorway of Pursuits, I think a shoe company got the camo trend right.  Recent releases of camouflage shoes such as the Asic Agressor 2's, Asic Split Second 9's, or even the new camo colorway of the JB V2's are flat out ugly.  Adidas has found a way to incorporate the camouflage trend into their shoe in a subtle and not overwhelming way.

When it comes to comfort, it's hard to judge for these shoes.  First of all, they are brand new.  Any brand new shoe is obviously hard to judge because they aren't broken in yet.  Another reason they are hard for me to judge is because they are a size 10, which I can, and will wear, but size 10.5 is more ideal in Adidas shoes for me.  That's the thing with samples though, if you're lucky enough to get your hands on a pair, you can't be picky about size.  Your options are usually limited to a size 8.5, 9, or 10.  For an unknown reason most samples you see are one of those three sizes.  I will say that the Varner's are bigger than the Flying Impacts, by close to a half size, but they seem to be designed for a narrower foot when I compared them to the Flying Impacts.

When it comes down to it, both of these shoes are shoes that I could see myself wearing.  Release dates have yet to be set, but I would assume they will be released during the summertime of 2017.