Adidas Ozelia review

We are confident that this gentle giant will appeal to those in search of:

• a beefy Yeezy-like kick minus the costly price tag
• a sneaker that harmoniously blends retro and futuristic vibes
• a stylish kick with enough support for spending hours on feet
• a warm pair of shoes for cooler weather

No amount of style and quality can compensate for having toasty and sweaty feet on a hot summer day. If you need a sneaker with a similar appeal but a more breathable upper, we recommend the Astir or the Ozweego, both from Adidas.

The Ozweego will also provide a little more toe space for those with wider feet.

Despite its platformy look, the actual stack height of the Adidas Ozelia is lower than it seems. That's because the foot sits inside that foamy cradle and not on top of it.

Based on our caliper measurement, the shoe's heel stack clocks in at 29.9 mm which is just about the same as the average.

We experienced plenty of underfoot support and impact protection with this amount of material.

We also checked how much rubber and foam is packed under the ball of the foot. With a caliper reading of 19.4 mm, the Adidas Ozelia is right on par with the average sneaker forefoot stack.

The ground contact never felt hard on our toes during the wear test.

The in-shoe experience felt on point thanks to the kick's standard heel-to-toe drop of 10.5 mm.

Like most casual sneakers, the Adidas Ozelia puts the heel in a slightly more elevated position. This allows for added cushioning under the heel and minimizes the strain on the wearer's calves and Achilles.

Adidas uses full-length adiPrene foam to create a consistently cushy ride in the Ozelia. To be honest, we were a bit puzzled because the company barely uses this material in its more recent releases.

The adiPrene feels more on the soft side, which is reflected in our Shore A durometer measurement. At 23.8 HA, it is 25% softer than the average sneaker foam!

But because the adiPrene is locked inside a firmer carrier foam, the softness gets somewhat dampened on foot.

Even though we can't complain about the comfort offered by the adiPrene, it still feels a bit basic compared to the more popular Adidas foams.

For example, it doesn't feel as plush and bouncy as Adidas' famous Boost foam. If you want to experience its ultra-responsive nature, consider the Alphaboost V1 sneaker instead.

But there is more to the Ozelia's cushioning than adiPrene. Having cut the shoe in half, we discovered a large piece of other foam in the heel! That unit has a notably firmer density showing 35.0 HA on our durometer (47% firmer than adiPrene).

The jury is still out on what foam that is exactly but who cares about what it's called if it feels nice and responsive underfoot?

The shoe's insole is not very generously padded showing only 3.1 mm of thickness in the heel. Thinner than average, it adds just a minor touch of cushioning on top of the shoe's already-loaded midsole.

Adidas makes it very clear from the start that the Ozelia has a snug fit. It is stated on the shoe's official product page.

Even though we agree with that statement, we don't think that fit is critically snug for a medium-width foot like ours. But it does feel one-to-one.

Our caliper measured nothing less than the average 99.5 mm in the widest part of the shoe's forefoot.

We also found that the Ozelia's toebox is not radically tapered around the big toe either.

Showing 75.7 mm at the front, the toebox dimensions of this Adidas sneaker are right on par with the average.

In our opinion, it is the thick upper panels that make the fit feel tighter than it actually is. Lined with dense neoprene-like material, they have no stretch to them whatsoever which makes the in-shoe experience a little claustrophobic.

The laces, however, could be done better, in our opinion.

Ropey, slippery, and absurdly long, we had to double-tie them each time. It was the only way to prevent them from coming undone or dragging on the ground.

While the Adidas Ozelia won't set your feet flying, it will keep them steadily planted on the ground.

The amount of lateral support that this sneaker provides left us very pleasantly surprised.

Our manual test instantly revealed the shoe's high level of torsional rigidity. On a 1-5 scale where 5 represents maximum stiffness, the Ozelia scored 5 in a heartbeat!

From the ground up, this Adidas sneaker is designed to give you a huge bear hug! Its tall midsole walls and thick V-shaped upper panels formed a very secure cage around our feet, assuring us that ankle rolls were just not happening.

Considering how sturdy the shoe's overall design is, it could afford to have a less structured heel counter.

We rated its stiffness with a low score of 2 because of how pliable it was in our hands.

It didn't make the Adidas Ozelia less supportive but added a more adaptive, sock-like fit in the rearfoot.

With its extra-broad sole dimensions, we are surprised that the Ozelia didn't make it to our widest sneaker platforms!

Showing 115.8 mm in the widest part of the forefoot, it proved to be over 7 mm wider than average. But its footprint is nearly identical to that of the Ozweego (Ozelia's closest counterpart).

The shoe's extra-wide heel portion is another major source of stability for the Adidas Ozelia. Our caliper recorded 98.0 mm in the widest part of the heel.

That's about 15 mm wider than the average! An astonishingly wide base.

There is not a lot of room for flex in this Adidas shoe's sturdy construction. Both the upper and the sole have very little give in the forefoot.

Thus, the Ozelia requires a little more force to bend along with the foot. To be precise, it takes 25% more Newtons than the average sneaker, according to our force gauge.

Also, we aren't very happy with the way the shoe's upper material folds in the metatarsal area, to be honest. That's a red flag of potential pinching.

It is easy to assume that the Adidas Ozelia is a heavy sneaker just by looking at its beefed-up silhouette. But you will be surprised just as much as we were...

At 11.9 oz (336g) in a men's US size 9, the shoe is actually 2 oz (65g) lighter than average! We wouldn't believe that measurement if we didn't see it ourselves!

But here is the real kicker - the Adidas Ozelia is even lighter than its close sibling Ozweego (12.7 oz/360g)!

If you want a chunker that doesn't weigh the foot down - Ozelia is the way to go!

We highly recommend waiting for the cooler weather to rock the Adidas Ozelia. Otherwise, the shoe's thick neoprene(ish?) upper will make your feet yearn for fresh air.

To visualize the shoe's ventilation capacity, we filled its upper with smoke and observed how easily it passed through the upper. The video above clearly shows that the Ozelia failed to let the smoke out almost entirely!

Its upper has no perforation holes or hidden ventilation channels, based on our transparency check above. The apertures on the toebox overlay are merely cosmetic as well.

Not to mention that the shoe's primary synthetic material has ZERO breathability. 

Even when we took a closer look at it through our microscope, there was not even a hint of ventilation pores.

There is no doubt about it - the Adidas Ozelia is a warm sneaker that's most suitable for the colder months. Breathability score? Obviously, the lowest - 1 out of 5.

We couldn't help but check if the suede material on the tongue and collar of our Ozelia colorway was real.

Using a butane torch, we hit the suede overlay with fire and were pleasantly surprised with what we saw! The material did not catch fire or melt and a quick scratch with a leather awl confirmed that it was indeed real!

A nice surprise from a reasonably-priced sneaker.

Blowing through a pair of these Adidas sneakers won't be so easy. We found that the shoe's robust construction makes it less airy but offers plenty of abrasion resistance in return!

Let's start by checking the shoe's toebox first.

Guarded with a synthetic leather overlay, the Ozelia's forefoot is ready to sustain some serious bumps into concrete and stones.

After 12 seconds of drilling it with sandpaper at a 5K RPM speed, we could barely see the damage!

Even though the shoe uses fake leather, it still proved to be of higher quality compared to most other synthetic sneakers we've tested. You can see much greater damage on the Reebok Classic Leather above. But to be fair, that shoe is also cheaper than the Ozelia ($75).

Rating the kick's toebox durability on a 1-5 scale, we readily gave it the maximum 5.

The inner lining of the Adidas Ozelia did not disappoint us either!

Giving it a 4-second drill at 5K RPM speed, we were happy to see just a minor scuff on the fabric.

We believe that this part of the Ozelia will hold up against bone friction much better than the average sneaker. Take the torn inner lining of the New Balance 327 for example.

And just like that, Adidas gets the maximum score on yet another durability test!

Does the shoe's outsole live up to the high standards set by its upper materials? Let's find out.

For starters, the rubber compound on the shoe is nice and hard. With a Shore C durometer measurement of 87.0 HC, it proved to be just as hard as the average sneaker outsole.

This leads us to expect good results in the Dremel test as well.

And once again, the Ozelia meets our expectations!

Even when we raised the stakes by turning up the speed to 10K RPM and extending the drilling time to 22 seconds, the shoe's rubber stood up to the challenge.

The outsole remained in a near-perfect condition showing a mere 0.6 mm deep dent. Not even a millimeter of damage. That's a big bonus point to the Ozelia's lifespan.

Adidas also went for a fairly standard outsole thickness of 3.6 mm. It is not excessively thick but is just enough to provide solid durability without adding ounces to the shoe's weight.

Hard, wear-resistant, and sufficiently thick - the rubber outsole on the Adidas Ozelia promises more than one season of regular wear!

As you can see, our colorway of the Adidas Ozelia doesn't have any reflective elements on the upper.

However, we know that some other color options (like the Cloud White) do shine in the dark. They have reflective Three Stripes and webbed eyelets.

Contributing to its snug and secure confines, the Ozelia features a very generous tongue padding of 11.8 mm.

It is not typical for casual sneakers to have gusseted tongues. However, Adidas decided to go for an extra secure foot lockdown in the Ozelia and added half-length gussets on both sides of the tongue.

A seemingly minor design tweak, it is actually very practical for keeping the tongue in place when walking or getting the shoe on.

No loops or tabs here. Grab onto the shoe's extended heel collar and tongue to assist the on-and-off.

The shoe's insole is made removable to help you customize the experience as needed.