A pinnacle dry-weather racer with aggressive forefoot geometry and locked-in responsiveness, best suited to elite runners and forefoot strikers willing to accept a £450/$500 price tag and notably poor wet-weather grip. Most testers rank it behind cheaper alternatives like the Metaspeed Ray.
A statement shoe that adds 3mm of forefoot foam and a more aggressive toe spring over v1, but keeps the same ultralight weight. Comfort underfoot and speed-pickup are there — dreadful wet-weather traction is the biggest functional flaw.
Best for: Elite athletes or runners who want to flex on the start line. Everyone else: two pairs of Adios Pro 4 (train + race) is a better use of $500.
A brilliantly fast, ultralight racer with a much more rideable v2 — but with strict speed, mechanics, and budget requirements. Recreational runners are better served by the Adios Pro 4 or Evo SL at half the price.
Best for: Elite and sub-elite runners racing 10K to marathon at sub-6:30 pace with neutral mechanics and healthy calves/toe-flexors. Not worth it for recreational runners.
A toned-down Evo that trades some of v1's magic for more normal durability at the same $500 price. Still one of the most aggressive shoes on the market, but the shrinking gap to the regular Adios Pro makes it a harder $500 sell, and the Metaspeed Ray at $300 is a preferred alternative for runners who like a squishier dynamic feel.
Best for: Runners who consistently land in the shoe's narrow sweet spot (forefoot/pushoff or clean midfoot roll) and are chasing a pinnacle race-day tool and have the budget for it.
A marathon-capable upgrade over v1 — same featherweight 138g / 4.8oz package, but the later/steeper rocker makes this a forefoot-striker shoe (more like Adios Pro 3 than the Tacumi-like Evo 1). Still $500, still not for most runners, but Kofuzi now considers it a marathon shoe for the masses — if you can absorb the price.
Best for: Forefoot-striking runners who will use the shoe from 5K through marathon distances and have $500 to spend. Unlike v1, v2 is now viable for non-elites at the marathon distance.
Very fast shoe with genuine PB-capable performance, undone by significantly worse wet-weather grip than the Puma Fast-R 3 at nearly double the price. Both testers recommend the Fast R3 even at equal price.
Best for: Very fast runners wanting the lightest possible pure race shoe, in dry conditions. Both testers still prefer the Fast R3 even when price is equalized — the Pro Evo 2 is a shoe to pick if you specifically want more foam underfoot than the Fast R3 and are willing to tolerate the grip.
A high-performing but not-fun pinnacle race shoe that both testers rank behind the Metaspeed Ray on both price and performance. Grip in the wet is the biggest functional problem.
Best for: Runners who need a stable, controlled race shoe with a defined forefoot rocker — especially those worried about form breakdown late in a marathon (more uniform stride than the Metaspeed Ray).
Ran his fastest half marathon (1:21 PB, ~2 min improvement) in his 4th run in the shoes. Grip held up in dry conditions but had to adjust around leaves/wet spots. A 'really good shoe' that he can't justify at £450 — he'd recommend it more readily at £270.
Best for: Runners who like a firmer, snappier, more immediate race shoe with a locked-in feel rather than a bouncy one — willing to accept the grip compromise and the price.
Genuinely fast on dry pavement and weirdly accommodating even at slower paces, but the £450/$500 shoe is unusable when it's wet. Hard to recommend given that other carbon racers handle damp conditions fine.
Best for: Chasing PBs over any distance up to the marathon on a DRY course. Not remotely a wet-weather shoe.
Top-tier racing performance but the £450/$500 price and poor wet-weather grip make it very hard to recommend over cheaper carbon racers.
Best for: Midfoot/forefoot strikers racing short to marathon distances in dry conditions.
Compared to other road racing in the same lane.
