adidas Crazy Light Boost Performance Review

The brand new adidas Crazy Light (the fourth iteration of the series) is the first basketball sneaker released by the German brand to feature the highly innovative Boost technology – for those that don’t know, Boost is an industry-first cushioning technology designed to deliver maximum energy return, responsiveness and comfort to players.

It has been featured in adidas’ running shoes for some time, but the Damian Lillard P.E. Crazy Light is the first basketball sneaker to hit the market with it.The Blazers’ point guard has raved about the technology in recent months.

“Boost compliments my style of play unlike any other shoe,” Lillard said. “The immediate comfort you feel when you put on Boost is amazing, and it lasts until the moment you take it off. When you’re an athletic guard in the league, you’re constantly coming down hard over the top of big guys or when you get fouled. With Boost, it’s a lot less impact and more cushioning on my heels.”

We had a chance to wear-test the Crazy Light Boost over the past few weeks. Check out the review below and tell us if you’ll be picking up a pair.

Cushioning/Traction

Let’s begin with the cushioning – it is after all the major selling point of these shoes. Boost foam, made up of popcorn-like capsules which are compressed into the heel of the shoe. Now, once you put the shoe on you automatically feel the responsiveness where the Boost tech is, so it definitely does it’s job, but unfortunately, the tech is only found in the heel area while regular EVA foam is found in the forefoot area.

This was somewhat disappointing because as a guard I definitely play off my forefoot a lot more than my heel and the bounce and responsiveness just weren’t there.

Having the Boost tech in the heel limits it’s effectiveness. Those moments when you do happen to land on your heel will really remind you of how good the tech can be. The upcoming D. Rose 5 will feature full-length Boost cushioning so the ride on that will likely be much smoother.

The traction worked extremely well on immaculate courts – I was fortunate enough to play on a court used for NCAA basketball so it was spotless. I had no problems with gripping the floor. However, given the traction pattern I can see how playing on a court that is not pristine could force you to constantly clean the shoe. Once you do, though, you’ll be fine. 

I haven’t played with the shoe outdoors but I would not recommend it if you wanted longevity from your sneaker. It’s not going to stick the same way it does indoors, and you’ll certainly burn through that rubber very quickly.

Support/Lockdown

The Crazy Light Boost fits true-to-size and lockdown is great. I tie my sneakers all the way to the top and the Crazy Light really did make my foot feel snug withing the shoe. The materials used for the upper (a soft, lightweight, mesh reinforced with adidas’ new ShockWeb overlays) make sure that no break-in time is required, either.

The StableFrame mid-sole really cups your foot – as time goes on it feels like it molds to your shoe, I’m not sure if that is due to the materials or not – but it really keeps your foot in place.

The TPU heel counter ensures no heel slippage while playing, locking your foot down during game play.