Adidas / Yeezy, Initial Impressions, Sneakers

Adidas Aruku: Wildest Walk

Price: $140 [Way Less on eBay]

Why Buy?

The Adidas Aruku offers a visually interesting design with new foams at a pretty affordable price.

Why Avoid?

I’m not sure anyone can make the Adidas Aruku look great, and the comfort isn’t what it’s made out to be.

Specs

ModelAruku
HeightLow Top / High Overall
MaterialPoly / Nylon / EVA
Size13
Weight 439 g / 15.5 oz
ConstructionCemented
Country of OriginVietnam

History

The Adidas Aruku is a sneaker that I still don’t entirely get. Adidas will tell you that it’s part of the Adizero line – Adidas’ high performance running sneaker line up. That would put it next to sneakers like the Adizero Adios. But the rest of the name, Aruku, which means “to walk” in Japanese, seems to indicate these are designed for casual walking. Adidas themselves claim that these were designed for your daily commute.

Adidas PR Running Shoe: The Aruku Inspo

Beyond that… just look at them. They are completely wild in design, and even several months after their launch, Adidas is still keeping them off promos they are offering. Well, kind of.

All the strangeness aside, there is a lot to be interested in. These sneakers debuted an entirely new type of foam for Adidas. A foam that still has not been used anywhere else. The brand with the three stripes is also getting dangerously close to claims Sketchers made about their shape up line that got them sued.

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I knew I had to take a look and see what exactly is going on with the Adidas Aruku. Let’s dive in and find out.


Looks

Upper

If you’re trying to lay low, the Adidas Aruku probably isn’t the right sneaker for you. While there are all white colorways that kind of hide what the upper has going on, most of them are big and bold. This one, the “sky rush” colorway, the most of all.

The upper begins with a base layer of sky-blue mesh across the entire upper. This mesh is surprisingly thin. I don’t have any concerns about durability, but it is worth noting. On top of that mesh, a yellow fused overlay runs from the back of the shoe to the front in a web pattern. At the eyelets, toebox, and rear there is a double layer to provide a bit more durability.

Finishing off the main upper, a faux-leather panel on the rear comes in blue fading to yellow with a three stripes ribbon at the very top. Also, in navy but this time paired with orange, the three stripes can be found both on the interior and exterior sides of the sneaker.

The tongue – made of a faux suede – is an even brighter blue. Bright orange laces come pre-installed. If you regret getting such a bright colorway, there are also yellow laces that can be installed for a slightly more subtle look.

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Around the upper you’ll find plenty of Adizero branding, combined with the Adidas Sports logo.

Finishing off the upper, the interior of the sneaker is lined with a bright orange mesh and minimal padding.

Mid- and Outsole

Somehow, even with the bright and busy upper, the bottom half of the Adidas Aruku is equally attention grabbing. Though, not entirely new – the design is copied from a (you guessed it by now) 2000’s running shoe.

How can you start with anything but the absolutely massive midsole. As the sneaker itself has pressed into it, these are 49mm high at their tallest point. This is 9mm more than what is allowed in professional races. It’s a lot of foam, even just visually. Shorter guys, this is the sneaker for you.

Strangely, though, that 49mm is only near the very middle of the sneaker. The foam swoops up dramatically at both the front and the end. In this size 13, the very back of the outsole rubber sits 3 inches off the ground when sitting on a table! The front is nearly 2 inches.

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The foam itself is also interesting to take a look at. Called Swirlfoam – a name also pressed into the midsole – it’s a mixture of white, cream, and dark grey swirled around. I’m not sure I’d say the swirls look good. The grey in particular looks like they had a chemical accident when making these. But they are definitely interesting.

Finishing off the sneaker, we have a very thin outsole made of black, blue, and orange rubber. This rubber is installed in two different pieces with a zig-zag pattern in between them.

Summary

If you can’t tell, the Adidas Aruku is a bold sneaker. If you wear these you will absolutely get comments. Some good, others probably not so good. Everyone in my neighborhood already knows me as the guy taking laps in different shoes to get miles in, so it doesn’t bother me, but I definitely see how it might bother you.

On how to style the Adidas Aruku. Your guess is as good as mine. I have not been able to find an outfit that I would say looks great. They are too chunky for joggers, and too sport for jeans or chinos. The people I’ve seen online who have made them work seem to mostly be wearing tech-fabric pants in a chino cut.

Still, even though they are weird, loud, and a look terrible in them, there is something endearing about the design. We all complain that we don’t get anything but retros or sneakers designed to look like retros. Adidas finally offered something new. Maybe it’ll just take time to get used to them.

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Fit & Comfort

Fit

The fit of the Adidas Aruku is one area where the confusion between sport and casual might create real issues for you. The last of the sneaker – the plastic thing the sneaker is shaped around and determines fit – is like Adidas’ running sneakers. In other words, it is a tight fit all around. However, you’re not supposed to size up. The sneaker is designed to have a tight fit so it doesn’t come off as you run, and sizing up will mess up your proportions.

Except… nobody is going running in these sneakers.

All this to say, I think you’ll probably want to go true to size, but expect them to fit snugger than you are used to in casual sneakers.

I took these in my regular size 13. With thicker athletic socks they are tighter than I would like for all day wear, but are doable. With thinner socks (like no-padding Darn Tough), they fit well.

Comfort

When it comes to the comfort of the Adidas Aruku, it is really dependent on what you’re looking for.

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Let’s start with the good. The Swirlfoam is good, if not great, but there isjust. So. Much. Of. It. Even if it isn’t the softest or springiest foam, it offers great cushion.

How about the bad? The upper of this sneaker is stiff and doesn’t match the comfort of the midsole. It’s not the worst of this 2000’s runner mesh-with-fused-overlay design out there. But Adidas can and should do better for a sneaker they are trying to sell as a hyper-premium option.

Onto the confusing. The rocker design is extreme in a way I’ve never seen before. When you’re just standing still, the sneaker forces you to constantly make little tiny adjustments to your foot. I’ve only worn my pair a couple of times, so maybe the midsole settles out with time, but it’s not a great feeling. On the other hand, if you really are power walking in these things, the rocker feeling is real. It’s not my idea of comfort, but I could definitely see why someone would like it.

Overall, I’m not sure I would give these the same “wow” comfort other reviewers have.


Materials & Construction

Materials

For such a crazy design, there isn’t that much different about the materials of the Adidas Aruku from some of their other offerings.

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The upper is a swath of man-made materials. The upper is just three or four different poly and nylon compounds in the mesh, overlays, tongue, and heel cap. This is fine – the upper of the sneaker these were based on was performance oriented and this is what they used back then.

Behind the tongue, and in a very small amount around the collar, the sneaker does have a bit of soft open celled foam. It’s nothing to write home about, but it gets the job done and is plenty light weight. Also in an open cell foam, though slightly denser, is the insole.

Moving onto the midsole, the Adidas Aruku’s Swirlfoam is a nitrogen-infused EVA. Being a fairly standard EVA, I imagine you’ll be able to get pretty good durability out of the midsole.

One area you won’t be getting great durability, though, is the outsole. Only around 2mm in depth, this outsole depth is typically what you’d find on stripped down marathon-day sneakers, not casual commuters. The weight gain with more rubber would be entirely negligible for a casual pair, and is by far my biggest complaint about the shoe.

Construction

While the design might be crazy for the Adidas Aruku, the construction is anything but. Adidas used the most common way to make a shoe – cemented construction. To make a shoe this way, firs the upper is sewn and shaped around the last. Then, the upper is glued directly to the midsole using contact cement.

If you want a more in-depth analysis on this style of construction, click here. However, the short version is that this style is affordable, flexible, and great at keeping water out. On the other hand, it’s not particularly durable, and once the outsole is worn out the shoe is typically trash.


Pricing

Adidas priced the Aruku at $140, and even though the sneaker came out several months ago as of writing this, they have not put them on sale or allowed coupons. Well, Adidas might not have, but everyone else did.

I recently picked these up at a SNS sale for 50% off, plus an additional 25% off with coupon. That sale isn’t still running, but with a bit of patience it isn’t particularly hard to find a pair. Additionally, you can go on StockX or eBay for well under retail.

All that being said, I don’t think the $140 MSRP is entirely unreasonable for this sneaker. It’s a relatively low-production style with Adidas’ first (and maybe only) use of a unique midsole foam and design. Of course, you shouldn’t pay MSRP if you don’t have to, but in a world where the Ultraboost V1 now retails for $200, $140 isn’t as offensive as it could be.


Wrap Up

The Adidas Aruku is one of the strangest sneakers I’ve ever reviewed. It’s a casual sneaker with running branding. It’s got a heavy massive midsole combined with a light weight outsole. Heck, it’s aimed to be a comfy casual sneaker that you can’t actually stand around in comfortably.

Add on that I have not actually figured out how to wear these and look good, and you’d think this would be an easy skip.

However, there is something about them that I can’t quite put my finger on. Where other sneakers I can’t style are quickly up on eBay to make room for the next review, I find I continue to try and make these work. I look for reasons to wear them.

I wouldn’t recommend a friend buy a pair, and wouldn’t recommend you do so either. If you’re on the fence, here is your sign to wait for the next interesting pair.

But if you ignore me and buy a pair anyway, you’ll probably absolutely love them.

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