Adidas Campus 2 review

We believe that the Adidas Campus 2 is right up your alley if:

• you want a low-profile sneaker similar to the Adidas Samba and Gazelle
• you need a clean classic silhouette with a suede (or leather) upper

The Adidas Campus 2 is not commonly available among retailers right now. A similar silhouette that is much easier to cop is the Campus 00s. Released in 2022, it is offered in a myriad of sizes and color options.

And if you want a minimalist sneaker that is more ready for warm weather, check out the Veja Campo.

Despite having a slightly thicker sole than the Samba and Gazelle, we found that the Campus 2 is still a very low-profile silhouette.

Based on our caliper measurements, its heel stack is only 23.9 mm which is nearly 7 mm lower than average!

Expect pretty sensitive ground feedback in this Adidas sneaker.

In the front, the Campus 2 gets even closer to the ground. The shoe's forefoot stack is only 11.5 mm thick!

There is pretty much no cushioning under the ball of the foot.

The heel-to-toe offset in the Campus 2 is pretty standard - 12.4 mm. This moderate heel elevation creates a touch of support minimizing stress on the Achilles.

We did not measure the softness of this shoe's midsole because well...there is no midsole in the Campus 2.

The foot basically stands on top of stiff rubberized pillars inside the sole which makes for a pretty hard underfoot sensation.

Because of that, we cannot recommend this Adidas sneaker for long hours of walking or standing. There is just not enough cushioning to keep you comfortable all day.

A moderately thick insole creates a buffer between the hard rubber sole and the foot. Based on our caliper, it is slightly thinner than average at 4.1 mm.

What can we say, the Adidas Campus 2 is not your comfy-cozy sneaker. Shoes from Adidas' Ultraboost collection will treat you better in that regard.

One thing to be aware of in the Adidas Campus 2 is its narrower-than-average toebox. We found it to be even narrower than those of the Samba and the Gazelle!

In the widest part of the shoe's toebox, our caliper measured only 94.2 mm. The sneaker indeed feels very close-fitting.

The shoe's upper also tapers towards the toes becoming even narrower. Measuring the toebox width near the big toe, our caliper showed 71.9 mm.

The Adidas Campus 2 is definitely NOT the shoe for wide feet.

What's the benefit of a firm, low-stacked, incompressible sole? It feels more stable underfoot.

Even though the Campus 2 doesn't have any arch support, it will help folks with overpronation feel a bit more surefooted.

The Campus 2 may seem like a highly rigid sneaker akin to the Nike Dunk Low but, to our surprise, it has a lot of give!

Manually testing the shoe's torsional rigidity, we found it very easy to twist and bend. On a 1-5 scale, where 1 is the most flexible, we rated this Adidas sneaker as 2.

It moves along with the foot quite naturally.

We love us some sturdy heel counters! They do a great job of keeping the heels and ankles securely in place.

The backs of our feet felt well held inside the heel cups of the Adidas Campus 2. Assessing the shoe's heel counter in our manual test, we rated its stiffness as 4 out of 5.

It contributes to the kick's overall stability and doesn't let the heels slip out of the shoe.

Like most classic silhouettes from Adidas, the Campus 2 features a slightly narrower platform.

Measuring its sole in the widest part of the forefoot, our caliper showed 103.4 mm. It is a few millimeters narrower than average but not critically narrow to make it unstable.

In the widest part of the shoe's heel, our caliper measured 77.2 mm.

Notably narrower than average, it is the complete opposite of the chunky platforms that are so popular these days. The widest part of the Adidas Ozweego, for example, comes at 98.9 mm!

As we already mentioned, the Adidas Campus 2 is a rather pliable sneaker.

This was once again proved in our stiffness test where it only took 11.5N of force to bend the shoe to a 90-degree angle. That is a whopping 100% less than it takes an average sneaker in our lab!

The Campus 2 is a slightly thicker and puffier alternative to the popular Samba and the Gazelle. Even though it's not as chunky as the 00s, it is a bit heftier than average.

Weighing it in a men's US size 9, our scale showed 14.6 oz (414g). It doesn't feel heavy on foot, so we didn't really notice that 15g difference with the average.

For comparison, here is how the Campus 2 stacks up against similar Adidas kicks:

At first glance, the Adidas Campus 2 may seem like a great option for summertime but we found it to be quite the opposite. We cannot recommend this kick for warm weather as it lacks proper airflow.

The shoe's solid suede upper and unconvincing perforations just don't do enough to keep the interiors fresh.

The side perforations didn't even let the light through in our transparency test!

Using a smoke-pumping machine in our lab, we found that the smoke passed only through the gaps in the tongue area. The rest of the upper trapped the heat inside the kick.

Even the Campus 00s showed much better ventilation than the Campus 2, despite its immensely puffy tongue. The 00s also has extra perforations on the toebox and the tongue to enhance breathability.

Ventilation pores of the Campus 00s

The shoe's official description states that the Campus 2 uses silk suede which is an ethical alternative to pigskin suede.

Checking the material up close through our microscope, we saw no apparent difference in quality compared to the suede on the Gazelle or the Samba.

To further test the quality of this silk suede, we grabbed a butane torch and a leather scratch awl.

Burning and scratching the material, we found that it performs very much like the genuine suede we've tested in other sneakers.

But don't expect real leather on the shoe's three stripes and the heel overlays. Both are purely synthetic.

The Campus 2 proves that you can get unbeatable upper durability for a very reasonable price.

The shoe's silk suede stood up to our relentless Dremel test like it was nothing! Twelve seconds of drilling at a 5K RPM speed left a mere scuff on the shoe's toebox.

On a 1-5 scale, where 5 is the maximum possible durability, we rated the Campus 2's toebox as 5. This is much better off than the average sneaker in our lab (see the shoe on the right).

We also found that Adidas took care of the Campus' inner lining. Even though it's made of mesh, it proved to be more wear-resistant than most textiles.

Because the inner side of the shoe's heel counter is more prone to wear, we chose it as the target for our Dremel. But after 4 seconds of drilling at consistent speed and pressure, the lining was almost intact!

This earned the Adidas Campus 2 another high score - 4  out of 5 for heel padding durability.

The outsole rubber of the Campus 2 is not particularly hard. It looks similar to the one on the Samba and the Gazelle but is a bit softer at 77.6 HC.

Because of this softer-than-average durometer measurement, we were concerned about the Campus' long-term outsole durability. But our Dremel test below eliminated our worries.

With the Dremel set to a 10K RPM speed, we applied its sandpaper tip to the Campus 2's outsole for 22 seconds.

We were relieved to see that the damage was as shallow as 0.8 mm! To us, it is a reliable indicator of this Adidas kick's longevity.

Measuring the shoe's rubber outsole, our caliper showed 4.8 mm of thickness.

This thinner-than-average outsole may hold the Campus 2 back from being the most durable sneaker but it is just enough to help it last like most lifestyle kicks.

The Adidas Campus 2 features an old-school herringbone pattern which was very common for basketball shoes and trainers back in the day.

We haven't put the shoe's outsole through any athletic activities because it's not what it's meant for anyway. But rest assured that on wet pavements this kick will keep you confident.

The Adidas Campus 2 has no reflective elements.

The Adidas Campus 2 has an adequately thick tongue unlike its puffier sibling, the Campus 00s.

Our caliper showed a pretty standard thickness of 9.6 mm in the Campus 2. Meanwhile, the 00s has a monstrous tongue that's 23 mm thick!

The tongue of the Campus 2 is non-gusseted which means that it's not attached to the sides of the upper.

However, we didn't have any issues with the tongue sliding sideways throughout the walk.

The Campus 2 doesn't have any heel tabs but the slightly extended heel collar and the fairly stiff heel counter help to get the shoe on pretty effortlessly.

To add a touch of plushness or arch support underfoot, you can swap the shoe's stock insole with the one of your choice.

The Campus silhouette was first released in 1970 as a performance basketball shoe and was initially called the Tournament.

The shoe received its current name when it was reintroduced as a lifestyle sneaker in the '80s. It was aiming to steal the market share from the highly popular PUMA Suede as an alternative low-profile suede kick.

When the hip-hop culture started to rule the scene in the '90s, it helped to push the Adidas Campus into the spotlight.

Bands like the Run DMC and the Beastie Boys were seen sporting the Campus which helped accelerate its fame in the lifestyle arena. Even during the production hiatus of the Campus in the market, the Beastie Boys still wore them throughout their career.

This Adidas kick also become the shoe of choice for skateboarders thanks to its durability and firm grounded sole. The skater community demand grew so much that Adidas has even launched a special edition called the Campus Vulc.

Recently, the Adidas Originals rebooted this iconic profile. The Campus is back again in the market as fresh and better than ever. The Adidas Campus 2 is a lifestyle shoe that features soft suede with the iconic 3-Stripe and bulky rubber sole. It is updated with a better fit which is a tad wider than the first released Campus.

These days, the Adidas Campus is somewhat lost in the shadow of the iconic Superstar, Gazelle, and Stan Smith kicks. But we believe that such a lack of hype also gives the Campus wearers an edge and stand out from the crowd.