It’s been one of adidas' most intriguing technologies in a very long time. Since debuting in 2012, Boost cushioning has expanded into everything from basketball kicks, to skate shoes, and even the soon-to-be-launched Kanye West adidas Yeezy. But let’s not forget that Boost started with runners, and adidas is planting a flag in entirely different territory with the Ultra Boost - a new model that the brand is touting as the greatest running shoe ever. “We don’t want to evolve,” said Adrian Leak, adidas global general manager of running. “We want to revolutionize the running shoe industry by bringing something that was unexpected.” No one was surprised that adidas could make a sneaker that could stand the rigors of serious runners. What people didn’t expect was for adi to put it in a package that was sleek enough for marathoners and street kids alike to beast over. Sure, the original adidas Energy Boost was a game changer for the brand that introduced the cushioning to the world.

adidas followed that up with the Pure Boost, which was more about the aesthetic than about setting personal records, and it was arguably one sexiest sneakers of 2014 (depending on who you ask). And now, you have the best of both worlds in one. “We’re moving into simpler, but beautiful in terms of how we want to design something,” Leak said. “It’s a great looking shoe. Ultimately, we want to make all our shoes great looking.” Instead of a synthetic or engineered mesh in the upper, the Ultra Boost uses Primeknit - a knit material that adidas fought Nike over in a Nuremburg, Germany court in 2012. Adidas eventually won the lawsuit, in which Nike accused the Three Stripes of patent infringement over Nike’s Flyknit. The notion to use Primeknit in the upper came from data on the foot that adidas captured using the same measurement technology as NASA. What the brand did with the information was create “stretch science” or develop a shoe that could conform to anyone’s foot (similar to Nike Flyknit, but not exactly the same) that was breathable, as well as lightweight.

“We set out to create the greatest running shoe ever made, and for a designer, that’s quite a daunting task,” said Ben Herath, VP of design for adidas Running. “We looked at all our innovations and our best technologies, and we got all of that into one shoe.”As important as making sure the sneaker performed was, so was making sure that it looked really cool. nike sneakers for sale in usaFor Herath, that meant keeping the design as minimal as possible.buy shoes online bahrain “If it didn’t make you feel more energized, we just pulled things off,” he said. nike shoes outlet online“As we got simpler, it got more beautiful. clarks shoes uk contact number

We began agonizing over every millimeter and detail because of that.” So is the Ultra Boost a new classic for adidas? Timing for the sneaker, which dropped this week for $180, couldn’t be better. The brand has a lot of forward momentum with the much-anticipated debut of Kanye West’s sneaker (with Boost technology) and new launches tied to the NBA All-Star Game.best tennis shoes to be on your feet all day All eyes are on the brand’s next move, and the Ultra Boost is just one piece in the brand’s future plans.greatest running shoe ever “We want to create tomorrow’s Originals,” Leak said. “We’ll know more about the properties of Boost technology and how we can construct shoes in the next few years, and we’ll make more improvements. This is just a step in a long journey.”

Gerald Flores is the Editor-in-Chief of Sole Collector and he tweets about sneakers here.The folks over at Sneaker Report have sifted through decades of offerings to come up with their list of the 100 best running shoes ever. As with all such lists, it's an inherently subjective undertaking bound to cause more argument than agreement. Regardless of whether your choices align with theirs, clicking through their rankings is a fun exercise in nostalgia and thoughts about what shoes you've liked best over the years. Topping Sneaker Report's list is the 1995 version of Nike's Air Max, seen above. My memory is that the shoe wasn't even Nike's best shoe of that year, much less the best running shoe of all time, but whatever. Sneaker Report's list seems weighted as much toward fashion as it is toward innovation and performance. They do get major points for putting at #36 1981's Nike Terra T/C, the first Nike model to feature a Phylon midsole, and one that was sorely missed the second it disappeared from running stores.

(Have I mentioned these things are inherently subjective?) While there are a lot of current models in the top 100, Sneaker Report's list probably won't get much buy-in from minimalists. The Vibram FiveFingers Bikila comes in at #97, and is the only contemporary barely there model in the list. Runners with a broader conception of minimalism, however, will likely like the Saucony Kinvara 3's appearance at #2 on the list. What are your favorite running shoes ever? Name a few in the comment section below. If you're like a lot of runners, the answer could well be summed up as "the ones I happened to have on when I set my PRs." Of the 100 shoes, Runner's World has reviewed 18 of them.  Check out the video reviews below. More on choosing the right shoe for you: —Compare running shoes on our Shoefinder — See our award-winning shoes for 2012 —Check out the latest shoe reviews The best skis, boards, bindings, and boots of the season Toasty layers for wild and urban adventures