adidas adizero Boston 12

Name: adidas adizero Boston 12
Brand: adidas
Rating: 4.4 (31 reviews)

Daily trainer · Neutral · Road · 9.4 oz · 6mm drop · 37/31mm stack

Discontinued — we no longer see this shoe in stock. The adidas adizero Boston 13 replaced it

How it ranks

The adidas adizero Boston 12 ranks among the stronger daily trainers in our data. Looks and durability are its strongest sub-ratings. Comfort scores well below its other sub-ratings. The rating rests on 58 runner reviews and 10 other rated shoes in the adizero Boston product line.

Very good

91/100

Overall

Very good 91

Appearance

Exceptional 98

Durability

Exceptional 98

Value

Very good 91

Cushioning

Decent 79

Comfort

Below average 61

Confidence

How settled the rating is against every other rated shoe. A shoe can rate high on confidence with relatively few reviews of its own when its product line has a long record and external ratings from retailer sites agree. Confidence will score low when we have few ratings or when runners disagree.

See the product line's history

Confidence

95/100

Very high 95

What runners say

“Fit quite long and wide—size down half a size.”

5/5 Full review 60 mpw training for middle distance came from the Saucony Endorphin Speed 3

“Laces are absolute garbage; come undone during runs.”

3/5 Full review 40 mpw training for a marathon came from the Saucony Endorphin Speed 2

“Forces you up onto your toes, helping increase cadence and decrease overstriding.”

5/5 Full review 60 mpw training for middle distance came from the Saucony Endorphin Speed 3

“Runs about ½ size bigger than Saucony and Nike.”

4/5 Full review 25 mpw training for a marathon came from the Saucony Endorphin Speed 2

“Lasted only 200 miles before sides separated from base.”

3/5 Full review 80 mpw training for 5K and 10K came from the adidas adizero Boston 10

“Outsole is grippy and looks new after 100km.”

3/5 Full review 40 mpw training for a marathon came from the Saucony Endorphin Speed 2

“Needs about 30 miles to break in; feels overly firm before that.”

5/5 Full review 60 mpw training for middle distance came from the Saucony Endorphin Speed 3

“Less calf muscle fatigue late into runs.”

4/5 Full review 20 mpw training for a half marathon came from the Brooks Glycerin 20

“Rolls through the toe with obvious ease.”

5/5 Full review 35 mpw training for a half marathon came from the adidas SL20.2

“Upper is race-like and lacks comfort for longer runs.”

4/5 Full review 25 mpw training for a marathon came from the Saucony Endorphin Speed 3

Prefer this shoe over another

60% 18/30

Where to buy

No offers available

Affiliate links included. They never affect our ratings.

Prices updated daily. Last checked Sep 14.

Pros

Reviewers rate it a clear step up from the Boston 11.
Runners use it for easy miles, long runs and tempo work.
Several reviewers call it durable, one naming it the most durable shoe they have owned.

Cons

Several reviewers criticize the upper, the laces and the heel lockdown.
Three reviewers report a firm break-in of 20 to 100 miles.
Comfort is its lowest-rated dimension, and one reviewer finds the race-like upper uncomfortable on longer runs.

adizero Boston 12 rates 91. This shoe has very high certainty. See how we rate shoes.

Better Shoes Rating of prior versions of the adidas adizero Boston

Each dot is one version of the adizero Boston, placed by its rating and release year. The gold dot is this shoe.

Rating

40 60 80 100

90 2014 78 2014 90 2017 97 2018 98 2019 84 2020 91 2021 53 2022 91 2023 87 2025 97 2014

Release year

We use the reviews of past versions to inform this shoe’s rating. See why.

Adizero Boston 5 Boost

2014 · 35 reviews

97 Exceptional

97 Confidence
adizero Boston 13

2025 · 0 reviews

87 Good

68 Confidence
adizero Boston 12 This shoe

2023 · 58 reviews

91 Very good

95 Confidence
adizero Boston 11

2022 · 14 reviews

53 Bottom-tier

86 Confidence
adizero Boston 10

2021 · 11 reviews

91 Very good

84 Confidence
adizero Boston 9

2020 · 2 reviews

84 Good

73 Confidence
adizero Boston 8

2019 · 20 reviews

98 Exceptional

95 Confidence
adizero Boston 7

2018 · 34 reviews

97 Excellent

98 Confidence
adizero Boston 6

2017 · 41 reviews

90 Very good

96 Confidence
adiZero Boston 4

2014 · 9 reviews

78 Decent

81 Confidence
adizero Boston 3

2014 · 8 reviews

90 Good

88 Confidence

Reader Ratings

58 ratings

5/5 34

4/5 20

3/5 4

2/5 0

1/5 0

See written reviews Write a review

Specs & fit

Sizing and ride details at a glance.

Weight: 9.4 oz
Release: 2023 Q2
MSRP: $160
Stack Height: 37mm heel - 31mm toe
Drop Height: 6mm

Runner reviews

Write a review

Great all-around shoe. Looks sharp too.

5/5

Overall

FWIW, I'm a 5'10'', 170 lb, 50 yo man. I found these a bit stiff at first, but after 20-30 miles they really start to shine. I think they look great too. They're very light for non-carbon plated super shoes. I'll wear these for any run other than race day or track intervals. Some have complained about the uppers being too uncomfortable for longer runs, but that isn't the experience I have.
No problem going 20 miles in these. Some have also stated these run large, but again I'm an 11 and they feel spot on for my foot.

Anonymous runner · Aug 15, 2025

50 mpw training for a half marathon

Comfort: 4/5
Cushioning: 5/5
Durability: 5/5
Appearance: 5/5
Value: 5/5

Boston 12

5/5

Overall

Great show bit toe box is large and has a break in period of 50-100 miles. Otherwise, great shoe.

Anonymous runner · Nov 15, 2024

30 mpw training for a half marathon came from the Saucony Endorphin Speed 3

Comfort: 5/5
Cushioning: 5/5
Durability: 5/5
Appearance: 5/5
Value: 5/5

Reasonably priced for a solid supershoe

5/5

Overall

Great for long runs and speed workouts. Bought them for road races and paved tempo workouts, but they preformed surprisingly well for grass speedwork and other XC training although that isn't their biggest strength. Most of the miles on these are from Long Runs, typically 17 miles around 6:00. Some of my teammates use them as a daily trainer and that works for them but I prefer to keep them for long runs and speedwork.

Anonymous runner · Nov 9, 2024

75 mpw training for 5K and 10K came from the Nike Air Zoom Pegasus 38

Comfort: 4/5
Cushioning: 5/5
Durability: 4/5
Appearance: 5/5
Value: 5/5

Great every day trainer

5/5

Overall

I've been in Adidas shoes for decades. With the advent of higher stack height trainers, I just couldn't find something that didn't look chunky and didn't feel clunky on easy runs. As I've aged and gotten heavier, I need something with room for my forefoot to move and some decent cushioning. I was pining for the Response model from the 90s. Along came the Adios Boston. Great shoe. Great cushioning. Excellent comfort. And not too "chunky/clunky".

Anonymous runner · Nov 7, 2024

35 mpw training for a marathon came from the adidas SL20

Comfort: 5/5
Cushioning: 5/5
Durability: 4/5
Appearance: 5/5
Value: 5/5

Great for faster paces, but only in straight lines

5/5

Overall

I have approximately 200 miles in the Bostons, doing everything from short recovery runs to longer, faster runs (10 at half marathon pace), to track work (300s @ ~42). Out of these types of runs, they felt best for the longer and faster runs as they were too aggressive for easier runs. On the track stuff, they felt too unstable for going around the corners on the track and slightly too soft for sprinting. However, they really forced me up onto my toes which helped me to increase my cadence and decrease over striding. I would recommend these shoes for someone working to get their foot strike underneath them as it heavily rewards forefoot striking. This feeling does not properly kick in for about 30 miles, before which point they feel overly firm. I would recommend getting these shoes half a size down because they fit quite long and wide, so it is difficult to get a good lockdown.

Overall, these are an incredibly good long distance uptempo trainer that feels good even if you do end up doing reps closer to mile pace.

Anonymous runner · Nov 7, 2024

60 mpw training for middle distance came from the Saucony Endorphin Speed 3