Adidas Supernova CSH 7 - Test Drive

The Weapon

I was given a pair of Supernova CSH 7 by Adidas yesterday. I was lucky as the pair left was my size and Mr. Krishnan confirmed that it fits me properly.

Me and Shazly spent a good hour with him, finding out what the shoe could offer. With 8 technical features (which i will list it down later) and promises that the shoe will live up to the "Runner's World Best Shoe" claim, i was more than eager to put it through the paces (or rahter my slow pace).

With 24 days to IM08, it would be suicidal to try out a new gear. The Triax is sort of worn in to a certain extend and i feel completely comfy wearing it for any run, including MLD run. So, when i put on the WRONG pair of socks this morning (at 4.30am, so, excuse the blur-ness) and having the right side fitting tighter than my left, i started to get worried if the shoe did fits me.


dumbass

It was also then i realised that the socks was bunched up at the end and hence, the thicker profile, which contributed to the tighter feeling. That was easily sorted and we started our run sharp at 5am.

The route to be taken was our usual +/-11km route through Bukti Damansara area, passing through Hartamas Highway before cutting back into Bukit Damansara. A total of 5 climbs with 2 long climbs.

Add that with a good flat along the highway, there was more than enough opportunities to test ride the shoe. For a start, the shoe felt lighter than the Triax (please bear with me, i only 1 proper running shoe prior to this) and according to Shazly (yes, he got a pair too), it is lighter than his Kayano 13.

The first 2km was pretty pleasant, i did not feel any noticeable heel strike when i landed the feet. I felt stronger too, perhaps i was rested the yesterday and it can't possibly be the shoe...right?

The forefoot felt good as well and there wasn't any indication if any blisters will form (usually, for me, it's on the inner arch and inner part of the toe) unlike the Triax.

The heel doesn't feel like it will suffer a major blister as well. Perhaps the No Seam and GeoFiT features does work!

Half way into the run, the feet still feel fresh and there wasn't any surprise pain on the knee, which i did on the Triax, which prompted me to think twice about wearing the Triax for IM08.

Infact, i even did a few high steps and landed squarely on the heel to check if the shock absorbancy was that effective. It was.

Formotion is a pretty new tech from Adidas and i was aware that the heel did land funnily during the run. It was a good kind of funny as i could feel the shoe conform to how my heel strikes the ground. Technically, the way i see it, there is no need to so call "wear down" the shoe to get the "customized" feel. With that, having the heel move independently of the other parts of the sole meant that the shoe will last longer. With the adiWEAR at where the Formotion is, that would meant the shoe might last a very very long time. Good value for money then!

LIke i said, it couldn't be the shoe, but i did found myself being able to push harder and longer that Shazly did say he was trying to "catch up" with my pace. That King Kong maybe just making me happy.

All in all, the 11km ran this morning was really pleasant, clocking in at 1:08 for 11km is definately good timing, considering the hills in Bukit Damansara.

I will continue to test the SNova 7 and if all goes well, i might use it for IM08...that would be an acid test, or sort of la.



Clockwise from top left : Torsion system(Stability),adiPRENE (shock absorbing), adiWEAR (Durability), Formotion (independent heel-strike movement AND stability)



Clockwise from top left : GeoFiT(better fitting),adiPRENE (shock absorbing - heel), Polar intergration (interactivity), No Seam (No blisters!)

Supernova CSH 7 should be available in the market soon. RRP was stated to be around mid 300 plus. Look out for it!