Adidas Dropset 3 Review: A Great All-Round Training Shoe To Help You Lift Heavy Stuff

The Adidas Dropset 3, the third iteration of Adidas’ dedicated strength training shoe, is here. This high-performance gym shoe is a cross-training shoe with a lifting bias. Designed specifically for the demands of weight training exercises, this new model offers enhanced stability, breathability, durability, and grip to help athletes go from strength to strength with every lift, set and rep.

According to Adidas, the new Dropset model marks the next step in Adidas Training’s commitment to help next-gen athletes feel and realise their strength, so they can achieve their fitness goals with confidence.

Built with athletes in mind, the Adidas Dropset 3 training shoe was designed to tackle the explosive movements of strength training with ease. The third iteration in the Dropset series, this model makes use of the same tried and trusted tooling as the previous model, with a few upgrades to up the ante.

These new, tailored enhancements offer added stability, breathability, durability, and grip. The new silhouette also features Adidas’ ventilation technology and an upgraded Geofit construction to help keep feet cool, comfortable, and supported.

But how do these upgrades measure up in the gym? After two weeks of training in the Adidas Dropset 3, the shoe is already one of my favourite gym shoes of the year. I’ve taken them to task in both hybrid and strength training sessions at F45 and put them through the test in a traditional gym setting. With each wear, they grow on me more and more.

A lifting shoe with a dash of athleticism

The shoe does an excellent job for lifting movements; in fact, it’s one of my favourite shoes to lift in. This model has been designed with a low midsole and a 6mm stack height, which is ideal for lifting. A slight flare at the toe box gives you a flat grounded feeling and offers a great platform so your foot can fully splay and ground when you’re training. These simple design concepts ensure controlled stability and even weight distribution whilst transferring force from feet-to-ground, for a more accurate alignment whilst weight training.

Add in the kicker of the dual-density midsole and you really start to feel the magic of this shoe. The Dropset 3 is brilliant for squats, deadlifts, and cleans but I also love it for crosstraining and hybrid workouts. Any athletic-style training like burpees, lateral work, and explosive forward and backwards movements, all feel great in this model.

The dual-density foam gives you the best of both worlds for a training shoe that does it all. On the forefoot, you get a softer and little more plush and flexible foam while on the heel it’s a little more of a dense foam. This softer foam ensures you have sufficient comfort through the forefoot for more athletic movements, while the denser foam at the heel ensures you more stability without any power transfer when doing your lifting movements and training heavy.

I’m super impressed with how responsive these training shoes are, both when lifting or doing bodyweight exercises like burpees or box jumps. With this type of heel rise, and the softer foam at the forefoot, I was expecting them to feel lacklustre on the lifts, especially with a heavy squat or deadlift. Usually with something that has a taller heel, you notice some muddiness but I felt very stable and planted when squatting heavy in these. Obviously, the higher heel means they’re not ideal for deadlifts, but I still thought these shoes handled deadlifts well. Certainly better than what I experienced with the Reebok Nanos and I’m super happy wearing these on a strength day at F45 when there’s a deadlift in the workout programme.

Excellent grip seals the deal

The shoe’s multi-directional Traxtion rubber outsole is another reason the Dropset 3 excels at both lifting and dynamic movements. The grip and ground feel you get with this shoe is excellent. My feet don’t slide around when squatting or landing and the grip gives you the ability to drive very hard off the ground when squatting heavy. I have so much confidence in this shoe when I’m jumping and pushing heavy things. You feel locked to the ground, and there is no lack of power delivery when you’re sporting these in the gym.

Speaking of power delivery, the sidewalls on the Dropset 3 also go a long way to giving you confidence in the gym. The rubber overlay on the lateral and medial sides of the shoe offers more medial support, allowing you to put in that extra effort with every lift. The large lateral side wall, closer to the heel portion of the shoe, ensures you get even more stability and makes sure you’re not spilling over the side of the shoes when you’re doing your lifts. On the medial side, the sidewall is closer to the middle part of the shoe to ensure your midfoot stays in place when lifting.

I find the sidewalls do a great job of keeping my feet in place when doing high-torque movements, like a Devil’s Press. Usually, your foot would twist and turn inside your shoe with this type of movement which sees you having to pull off a burpee and go straight into a double dumbbell snatch.

A reinforced upper for more versatility

Which brings me to the upper. They’ve reworked the boot this time around with a more reinforced upper made with a knitted ‘Heat.rdy’ mesh material for improved flexibility, breathability, and durability. The upper has a premium feel, moves very well, and is super comfortable. I was expecting the shoe to be quite rigid but it’s more agile than you would expect. Even with the increased flexibility in the upper, it’s easy to ground the foot in these, and they have minimal toe spring, making sure they don’t get in the way when doing backward lunges or split squats.

If you’re someone who struggles with foot swelling and overheating during training sessions, the Dropset 3 has got you covered on that front as well. The sole of the shoe makes use of a few Heat.rdy design features to help keep your feet cool throughout your workout. An integrated airflow window, strategically placed in the sole’s Torsion System, works with the upper knitted mesh material to provide added ventilation and keep you cool. This breathability is further enhanced with cutouts above the window in the insole.

The toe box has also been upgraded, it’s still the wide toe box fans of the Dropset know and love, but because the upper is more reinforced it does make for a more snug fit in the toe box area. But, don’t be put off, once you break them in after a week or two of wear, you’ll find they stretch out enough to give you plenty of room in the toe box. This is something to keep in mind when deciding on the sizing as well. These new models are pretty true to size, so it’s safe to go with your usual size or even a size down.

There’s also a TPU overlay covering the toe box to offer some more structure in that area and protect the toes when doing burpees as well as a bit of a raised outsole on the tip of the shoe for even more stability in that area. Overall you’ll find the toe box is very roomy, with a structured feel to it.

The back of the shoe features a more padded boot construction with an Adidas Geo Fit ankle collar, for a more structured fit. Geo Fit technology at the ankle collar allows you to get more heel lockdown and gives a nice cushioned feel to the area. I had no heel slip issues wearing the new Dropset 3; whether I was doing rigorous sled pushes or jumping exercises, my heel stayed in place.

If you need even more lockdown, then you can make use of the adjustable lacing system, designed with 3 additional lace eyelets for a more customised fit. This is brilliant if you have skinny ankles, and want a more locked-down fit. If you like training shoes with more ankle support, then this is a great shoe for you.

Who should buy the Adidas Dropset 3 training shoe?

So, is the Adidas Dropset 3 the shoe for you? If you’re an avid gym goer who is primarily looking for a lifting shoe, with the ability to throw in occasional cross-training, then this model can be a really good bet. The Dropset 3 is not a Crossfit-specific shoe or a cross-training-only shoe, but it will serve you well if most of your workouts have a lifting bias.

While the shoe was designed to be used in a lifting-focused setting, I love it for hybrid workouts like F45 — where you’re doing burpees one minute and barbell squats the next. The Adidas Dropset 3 feels like a lifting shoe that had a baby with a cross-trainer. Compared to some of its peers on the market right now, the Dropset 3 does a much better job at being an all-encompassing gym shoe and I’d reach for it over the Reebok Nano every time.

If you want a training shoe that’s more geared towards running or prefer a plusher shoe, then these may not work for you. The Dropset 3 is unashamedly a shoe for gym lovers. Short runs and sprints in a studio setting are fine in the Dropset 3, but it’s not the shoe you wear if you like to knock out a quick 3km run before or after a workout.

For this new addition to the series, Adidas basically took its winner Dropset 2 shoe, refined it and came out with the stellar Dropset 3. If you’re a fan of the previous model, then you’re going to love what this new version brings to the table. The Dropset 3 is easily one of the best training shoes you can get on the market right now. If you’re looking for a shoe that can do it all, then you’ll be right on the money with this option.

Priced at R2,699 it’s a solid investment for any gym fanatic who is looking for a shoe to match their passion for fitness.

Review originally published on WomenStuff.co.za