Let’s look at the new Adidas Adizero Prime SP 2 sprint spikes. They are the latest and greatest from Adidas, released in 2022. Many of you may have noticed that a lot of professional athletes started wearing them throughout the track season.
The Adidas Adizero Prime SP 2 sprint spikes are the main rivals of the Nike Air Zoom Maxfly spikes. Both spikes utilise a carbon fibre plate with additional padding, giving you the feeling that you’re running on springs.
They are expensive, to say the least, but I will go through them in this review and see if they are worth the money.
Spike Plate
Like all track and field spikes, a lot of the feeling and performance of the shoe is attributed to the spike plate. Adidas has made some tremendous changes compared to the Prime SP1. You can see it’s vastly different.
There are four elements: the actual spike plate, which is the section in contact with the ground and provides you with traction. Adidas have strategically placed the spikes to give you the greatest traction while running, and the shape gives you a much better energy return from the track.
Next is the white section of the spike plate, referred to as the “Light Strike Pro”, which has Been carefully developed to give the athlete maximum energy return from the track on each stride.
The section, which then sits behind the Light Strike Pro, is the rest of the support for the shoe. On top of them is the frame, which helps stabilise the shoe, allowing for maximum compression, energy return, and then rolling onto the next stride.
Upper
The shoe’s upper part is made from a similar synthetic mesh which we have seen on other versions of spikes. It’s still very lightweight and durable, allowing your foot to move and breathe while running. The gusset tongue, which sits within the shoe, allows maximum comfort if you’re not wearing socks.
Pros
The energy return from the Adidas Adizero Prime SP 2 is superb, and are feeling you get while sprinting in them is fantastic. When you’re running, it feels effortless to roll into the next stride while feeling very bouncy simultaneously.
They hold your foot very well, making it very comfortable to sprint around the bend. So those people looking to wear these for 200m and even 400m will be very pleased.
They are much more durable than the other manufacturer’s equivalent spikes, like Nike’s Air Zoom Maxfly’s.
Cons
The only real downside to the spikes is the price. Money is quite tight for many people worldwide, as we know at the moment. Coming up with $180 (£160) could be a tall ask for many people.
Adidas Adizero Prime SP 2 Vs Nike Air Zoom Maxfly
Both Nike and Adidas, with these spikes, have created something quite remarkable in terms of energy return. The Maxfly is undoubtedly more eye-catching as the air bubble in the spike plate is something you wouldn’t necessarily expect to see in a pair of sprint spikes.
I would choose the Adidas Adizero Prime SP 2, as I found them to be better suited to my foot type, which is very narrow. I’ve had many friends have problems with the Nike Air Zoom Maxfly spikes deflating. Which is one of the main reasons why I would choose to get the Adizero Prime SP2
Should I buy the Adidas Adizero Prime SP 2?
If you’re in the marketplace for a new pair of sprint spikes and you have the funds to buy them, the new absolutely should. I think they are more durable and better to use in a wider range of sprint events.
I have narrow feet and found them better suited to the other sprint spikes I’ve used. This is thanks to Adidas’s lacing system, which allows you to just held the spikes that are least dependent on your foot width.