First Impressions:
Ela and I were walking around power plant mall one Friday, and out of boredom, passed by the Adidas shop there. Mike, our suki sales person was beaming, saying: "Sir, may bago kami." So I was like sure, sure.... Anyways, Ela's been looking for an alternate pair of shoes so that she can switch between her puma's this yet-un-purchased pair.

We found the Stratos to be a simple, yet elegant shoe. Old school styling, but it still looks great. But of course, the critic in me says: "Try it on!" And so I/we did.

Shoe Shop Wearing:
Not bad! It's light, airy, stable and flexible where I want it to be. We asked mike if we can do lunges in the shop (yep. we did lunges and footwork inside the adidas store) so that we can test the traction and foot hold of the shoe, and he said yes. It's not as high-tech as my ClimaCools, but it's not as bulky as my Nike MultiCourts. In fact, it's a lighter version of my current favorite, the Puma Intimidate. Did i mention that this shoe feels sooo light? Oh yeah. I did already.

On court testing - TaraFlex:
What better way to test a shoe than to put it thru the paces of foot work training! hahaha. Saturday afternoons are usually spent with Lino Uy, our trainer, and so brandinshing our new shoes, we proceeded with our training. 30 mins of Planting rice and front-back running drills, and we're both still smiling (quite a silly sight, looking at how we were grimacing in pain, trying to catch our breath, preventing ourselves from passing out!) - but our shoes were holding up and our feet were feeling great.

After our training, billabong, fizo and jay passed by and we actually played 2 more hours. I'd say that these shoes are far better than my ClimaCools!

On court testing - wood (unvarnished):
Not content with my initial impression, I decided to use my shoes to play @ greenhills badminton center, and it's unvarnished wood floors. The Stratos did not disappoint, and I actually got to show it off to Kelvin, who I believe is in the market for gum soled shoes these days.

Post Game Impressions:
My first few wearings gave me some calluses, but going beyond this initial disappointment, post game foot sores are minimal. I usually end up with a sore left big toe (from all the lunging) and a sore right pinky-toe with my clima cools, but i'm happy to report that these irritating post game sores are minimal if i have any.

The Verdict:
At 2800 per pair, it's hard to say no to these shoes. They're light, cool and stable. They perform well on matted courts and on an unvarnished wooden court. Technology isn't what this shoe is about. It's all about the basics - fit, comfort, stability and traction. If you want the latest shoe with all the bells and whistles, look some place else, but if you want value for money, and quite possibly, the best pair of badminton shoes you can buy for less than Php3000, this is it.

RATING: 9/10