adidas gilsan women black sneakers 4 review

Who should buy the with adidas gilsan women black sneakers 4

The with adidas gilsan women black sneakers 4 is a reliable track running shoe best suited for:

• novice and elite-level mid-distance runners
• 800m, 1500m, 3200m, and one-and two-mile events

Profile of the with adidas gilsan women black sneakers 4

Spike Type – This track running shoe uses the 3/16 Pyramid spikes. It provides the shoe with the needed grip and traction while running. 

Spike Plate – The Pebax spike plate is incorporated in the Adizero Ambition 4. It provides stability with minimal bulk and custom traction for multiple events like the middle distance track racing.

adidas gilsan women black sneakers 4 review

The Ambition 4 from with adidas is great for middle-distance races with its lightweight construction, grippy spikes, and nice upper. On the track, they prove to be all of the above. 

I got an EU size 46 which fits me well but I think I could run with a size smaller. The shoe weighs 143 grams which is much lower compared to my previous spikes, the with adidas Sprintstar (191 grams at EU size 46 as well).

I did many track miles in these, mostly fast speedwork. It was my go-to spike for races and pitils for the past half year and I will still use it as long as I can (the “can” part is very important).

I will also give you some feedback from a girl who runs track in my club as well and has the same track spikes. Now, let’s get to business.

Breathable and lightweight 

The upper is a two-layer mesh fabric and it is very breathable and light. The whole front is basically see-through, so don’t wear any funky socks with these.

It is made out of two different-colored mesh materials that are stitched together in the front from the tip to the lowest part of the laces — the direction everyone is cutting the Vaporflys these days.

It isn't intrusive in any way. Around the part on the sides of the spikes, where the three stripes are, is coated with some plastic for added strength. 

The mesh is also strengthened on the part where my previous spikes failed to ride the forces of running — the part where the pinky toe connects to the foot.

Cushioned heel-frame for comfort

It has a nice rubber that will ride longer, for sure. The laces are not the best because they can't ride up even after double knotting. 

Some holes are extra stitched around a bit for extra strength, as well. The back part of the shoe has a very nice heel frame (and it really is a frame, not a heel-cup) with the same awesome mesh in between like on the front.

There is also a part on the top of the heel-frame that is cushioned, which keeps your leg inside the shoe.

Thin tongue con

The tongue is very, VERY thin. Literally just a slice of fabric that doesn't fit exactly nicely around my feet.

Overall the upper is very breathable and nicely snug but the tongue and the front mesh can get wrinkles that are mostly felt while walking, but once you're running, they're unnoticeable. 

However, there is a problem with the mesh. While my last spikes’ upper tore because of actual friction to the ground, this time, it is because of bending.

Just in front of the rubber, where the mesh bends, a small hole has occurred on both shoes. And from my friend’s, it has been even worse as it tore even further than that, to the point where she couldn’t run and had to take them to the local tailor.

And that happened in a matter of about two months. I, on the other hand, can still run in them.

Absorbs the impact well

The midsole is somewhat a thin layer of EVA foam that absorbs the impact enough but doesn't eat up too much energy in the process. It is nice and pretty light if I look at the weight of the whole spike.

And there isn't much more to say about the midsole really. The insole is unremovable, which I understand as you really don’t want any sliding in the shoe while trying to break 2 in the 800.

But the problem is it already shows a lot of wear. It can be seen in two places, both on the ball of the foot, one at the pinky part, and the other at the big toe part.

And the latter one is the one I don’t like as the first one happens to almost every shoe I ever ran in (though still after a bit more time and a few more miles).

I got some information that these running spikes are meant for half a season though, so it isn’t too surprising that it happened. While I’ll still be using them, don’t buy these if you want them to last two years or so.

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The whole spike has a hard Pebax plate running from the front to the back with 4 spike holes on the front (I believe that it is the same one as on the Avanti spikes, with adidas' 5-10km spike).

The plate is nice and has many small teeth-like spike pins which help with the traction even more, though 4 spikes are well enough that it provides 100% with adidas afterburner 4 grey hair 2017.

I had only two problems with the outsole. One is that I didn't screw the spikes in well enough, so make sure you do because I had to look for them all over the track that day (lucky I had 100m repeats on only one part of the track).

And the other one is that the shiny coating on the plate is peeling off, interestingly more on the right shoe than on the left (I know, very important stuff, especially because it is at the bottom of the shoe).

Great fit and feel

As I am always, I was a bit skeptical about these spikes when I got them. The main fear was that because I bought them without trying them on first, they wouldn't be the right shoes for me. But they are really nice.

All of my recent shoes, even the older Supernovas, and the UB 4.0s, are the same size with very little variation if any (spikes and flats).

Not good on colder days

The smaller problems that I had with them were the wrinkles and the laces but I experienced the first ones on my Boston 7s, and the second on most of the running shoes and spikes I owned.

The biggest problem is durability as they aren’t very good at that. If you had mostly closed shoes regarding what kind of upper you had, you might be unpleasantly surprised on colder days as the air has no resistance when entering your shoe.

adidas gilsan women black sneakers 4 performs best on mid-distances

But after you get used to it, it is a great spike for middle distances and I am still very happy that I got these.

At the time of writing this review, with adidas had already released a new version of these spikes and while I can’t say anything about the insole problems, the mesh problems were likely fixed based on the pictures from the official site.