The Adios Pro Evo 3 is a thick-soled race shoe at 97g in 27.0cm. It is a shoe for runners who stake everything on lightness for one record-chasing marathon, with a 39mm heel, the same cushioning thickness as the Pro 4. The drop is 3mm. ENERGYRIM, a rim with carbon built in, surrounds the light LIGHTSTRIKE PRO EVO, and forefoot rebound is announced as 11% up from the previous generation. It is a limited-number shoe worldwide, and Japan sales are undecided.
The Shoe Nerd's top pick
The 97g is not a number you get by shaving the sole. The heel is 39mm, the same thickness as the 200g Adios Pro 4. What got lighter is the foam itself. You get the same cushion thickness at under half the weight. So I use the Evo 3's numbers as a yardstick when choosing the Pro 5, which inherited the same rim design.
Key points
- Working back from the announcement that it is 30% lighter than the Evo 2, the Evo 2 was about 139g. About 42g cut in one generation
- The forefoot at 36mm is 3mm thicker than the Pro 4, and the drop goes from 6mm to 3mm. A flatter sole, with a small front-to-back difference
- 194g for the pair. 6g lighter than the Adios Pro 4's single shoe at 200g
Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3 weight, release date and price?
The adizero adios pro evo 3 averages 97g per shoe at 27.0cm. At home it went on limited sale on Apr 25, 2026 for $500, and sales in Japan are undecided.
For a thick-soled race shoe, under 200g has been called light. The Evo 3 is less than half of that. The development motto was "get the scale into 2 digits."
| Item | Official numbers |
|---|---|
| Announcement | April 2026 (first shown at the Tokyo Marathon EXPO in February) |
| Release | Home market: limited numbers on Apr 25. Japan: TBD |
| Price | $500 / €500 (home market) |
| Weight | Average 97g (27.0cm, one shoe) |
| Stack height | Heel 39mm / forefoot 36mm |
| Drop | 3mm |
| Carbon | ENERGYRIM (rim around the edge) |
| Colors | White with black 3 stripes |
There are 4 materials. The foam is LIGHTSTRIKE PRO EVO. The rim that supports it is ENERGYRIM. The upper is a light fabric inspired by the build of a kitesurfing sail. The outsole rubber is Continental rubber, placed only in part of the forefoot.
The adidas race shoe that has a price in Japan right now is the Adios Pro 4.
Image: Rakuten Ichiba
adidas Adizero Adios Pro 4
Lowest price on Rakuten is JPY 28,600 (as of 10/13), ranging up to JPY 262,200 depending on the shop. Prices change daily. Shoes are best tried on in the evening, when your feet swell, with your usual socks. Fit varies by brand, so check the return and exchange terms on the shop page before you buy.
RecommendedSee it on Rakuten IchibaSee it on Yahoo! Shopping Japanvs the Evo 2: what changed from the previous generation
The announcement gives the gap from the previous Evo 2 in 3 percentages. From the percentages, I work back to the Evo 2's numbers.
| Item | Announced figure | What can be calculated from it |
|---|---|---|
| Weight | 30% lighter | The Evo 2 is about 139g (97 ÷ 0.7). The cut is about 42g (139 − 97) |
| Forefoot rebound | 11% up | — |
| Running economy | 1.6% better | — |
| Foam weight | Nearly 50% lighter than before | — |
Running economy is how little energy it takes to run at the same speed. On this yardstick, a smaller number is better.
About 42g in one generation. The gap from the Adios Pro 4 to the Pro 5 is 23g, so this cut nearly twice that from an already light shoe. There should not have been much left to cut.
Where did they cut? The foam. LIGHTSTRIKE PRO EVO is nearly 50% lighter than what came before.
ENERGYRIM is the mechanism for placing that soft, light foam in generous amounts right under the foot. A frame built with carbon runs around the sole's perimeter, enclosing the foam and giving it firmness.
You could also say the plate's shape is different. Instead of laying one plate under the sole of the foot, it cinches the perimeter with a frame.
The announcement says development took 3 years and went through more than 12 prototypes. They reportedly reviewed the weight down to the laces and stitching.
vs the Pro 5 and Pro 4 (sibling models)
Scroll the table sideways →
| Model | Weight (27.0cm) | Heel / forefoot | Drop | Official price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adios Pro Evo 3 | 97g | 39 / 36mm | 3mm | $500 |
| Adios Pro 5 | About 177g | 39 / 35mm | 4mm | $275 |
| Adios Pro 4 | 200g | 39 / 33mm | 6mm | JPY 28,600 |
All 3 have a 39mm heel. The difference is the forefoot: 33mm, 35mm, 36mm, thicker in the newer shoes. The drop gets smaller: 6mm, 4mm, 3mm. adidas' race shoes are heading toward a flatter sole while getting lighter. It is a clear trend.
The weight gaps: 80g from the Pro 5 (177 − 97), and 103g from the Pro 4 (200 − 97). The Evo 3 is 194g for the pair (97 × 2), so it is 6g lighter than one Pro 4 at 200g.
- Stake everything on lightness, and wear it only for record-chasing races → Evo 3
- Want the same rim design at a more realistic price → Pro 5 (Japan release TBD)
- Used to the slope of a 6mm drop → Pro 4
The Pro 5 has its own article. The detailed numbers are in the Adios Pro 5 article.
What I like
Holding a 39mm heel at 97g: that is what it comes down to. The sole did not get thinner. The thickness matches the Pro 4, and the forefoot is 3mm thicker (36 − 33). Yet the weight is under half (97 ÷ 200 = 48.5%).
Convert this gap into steps. At a 1.2m stride, one foot leaves the ground about 17,581 times (42,195 ÷ 1.2 ÷ 2). Multiplied by the 103g gap from the Pro 4, that is about 1,811kg.
That is 1.8 tonnes that one foot does not have to lift. A 1g difference piles up over 42km too.
There is a track record too, stated in adidas' announcements. adidas Japan's announcement of Sep 2026 calls the Evo 3 the shoe that supported the "first sub-2-hour marathon in human history."
Things to watch
The price. It is high. About $5.2 per gram (500 ÷ 97). The Pro 5 is about $1.55 (275 ÷ 177), so it is about 3.3 times as much. The lighter the shoe, the more each gram costs. That is the natural result.
The outsole rubber is only in part of the forefoot, and the announcement explains it is placed that way to "secure grip without adding weight." It is a shoe for race day.
Japan sales are undecided. What development assumed was the races of the athletes at the front.
Who is it for?
It suits: runners who push off the forefoot in a full marathon and wear it for one record-chasing race. People who want to stake everything on lightness.
If you will rotate it with training, there are other ways to choose, given the price and the small amount of outsole rubber. The Pro 5 has the same rim design. The EVO SL, a training shoe that carries the Evo line's form, can be bought today.
Image: Rakuten Ichiba
adidas Adizero EVO SL
Lowest price on Rakuten is JPY 15,840 (as of 10/13), ranging up to JPY 19,800 depending on the shop. Prices change daily. Shoes are best tried on in the evening, when your feet swell, with your usual socks. Fit varies by brand, so check the return and exchange terms on the shop page before you buy.
RecommendedSee it on Super Sports XEBIOSee it on Rakuten IchibaSee it on Yahoo! Shopping JapanPrice and where to buy
| Model | Official price | Per gram | Rakuten price range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adios Pro Evo 3 | $500 (home market) | About $5.2 | Not for sale in Japan |
| Adios Pro 5 | $275 (home market) | About $1.55 | No Japan release date yet |
| Adios Pro 4 | JPY 28,600 | JPY 143 | JPY 28,600–262,200 |
At home, you bought by applying first and waiting for the right to buy. The announcement promises another wide release in the autumn marathon season. For Japan, it says members will be told by email once it is decided.
The realistic answer is the Pro 4. It is the race shoe in Japan with all the numbers in hand that you can buy in a shop. On Rakuten, the price changes by color and size.
Image: Rakuten Ichiba
adidas Adizero Adios Pro 4
Lowest price on Rakuten is JPY 28,600 (as of 10/13), ranging up to JPY 262,200 depending on the shop. Prices change daily. Shoes are best tried on in the evening, when your feet swell, with your usual socks. Fit varies by brand, so check the return and exchange terms on the shop page before you buy.
RecommendedSee it on Rakuten IchibaSee it on Yahoo! Shopping JapanFAQ
When does the Adios Pro Evo 3 go on sale in Japan?
Japan sales are undecided. adidas Japan's announcement says "undecided for domestic sales" and that it will tell members by email once it is set. At the Feb 2026 Tokyo Marathon EXPO the Evo 3 was shown, but what was sold at the venue was the previous generation, the Evo 2.
What size is the Adios Pro Evo 3's 97g for?
It is the average for one shoe at 27.0cm (UK 8.5 in the home announcement). When it was first shown at the Tokyo Marathon EXPO in February, adidas Japan wrote 97.27g (27.0cm, one shoe).
How does the Adios Pro Evo 3 fit?
It is not sold in Japan, so the Japan size chart and width lineup are not out yet. Once there is somewhere to buy it, I'd try it on in the evening with my usual socks and decide. Numbers for plated shoes are lined up in the article on 10 carbon thick-sole shoes.
Gear in this article
Ads and images: Rakuten IchibaSources
- adidas Japan announcement (Apr 2026: ADIZERO ADIOS PRO EVO 3)
- adidas announcement (Apr 23, 2026; Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3)
- adidas Japan announcement (shown at the Tokyo Marathon EXPO 2026)
- adidas Japan announcement (Sep 22, 2026: ADIZERO ADIOS PRO 5)
- adidas Japan announcement (Sep 25, 2024: ADIZERO ADIOS PRO 4 and ADIZERO EVO SL)
