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Review adidas Originals Superstar Sneaker Black

I've been studying Skechers GO series shoes (and a whole bunch of other shoes) as part of an effort to find the perfect athletic shoe to deal with a Morton's neuroma in my left foot, improve my gait, and strengthen my feet after years of wearing overly cushioned and supported shoes. In this quest, I've tried the Ride Ultras and the Bionics, which I've reviewed (highly) elsewhere. All of these shoes are very roomy in the toebox and nearly flat in heel-to-toe drop (about 4 mm., or 5/32 in.). The Train is my favorite all-purpose, all-around shoe in the GO line for athletic and casual wear. It's just about perfect for me.

As I noted above, the Train is roomy and flat, and is also super light weight. The insole isn't removable, but it's not particularly cushy either--it's perfect for me. And because it's built in, down and into the shoe, it takes up less room than a removable one. The tongue has more padding than the Bionics (which really don't have any), but is still quite thin. I'm very sensitive to hot spots on the top of my foot from laces, and these haven't given me any. The outsole has the familiar circular GO impulse sensors as the Rides and Runs, with a few hard ones interspersed on the periphery to provide feedback, but they're shorter on these. As a result, these are less cushioned than the Rides and Runs, but more cushioned than the Bionics. So this shoe is moderately minimal--just perfect for me and probably also for much of the exercising public.

The one feature that may be controversial to some are the nubs/sensors that extend several millimeters outside the boundary of the sole on the outside edges of the shoe from the midfoot to the forefoot, giving the shoe a broad footprint. To me, these nubs provide excellent lateral stability for side to side cutting, but I guess some people might be annoyed by them when running forward if they interfere with the way their foot rolls. I like them because I tend to over-supinate, and these provide some subtle support to prevent that.

The Train is not intended to be a running shoe for long distances, though I wouldn't hesitate to run for an hour in them. As the name implies, this is a (cross) training, general purpose athletic shoe, with all of the minor compromises that entails. I think it's excellent for cross-training purposes--the best I've found. Perhaps best of all, the cost is incredibly reasonable. I now have three pairs of GO shoes and have spent around $130 total--about the same as a single pair of supposedly high-end shoes. I don't think there's a better value out there.

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