Adidas Samba review

We believe that this classic silhouette is a must-have for people who want the following:

• an Adidas Originals sneaker that stems way back from the '50s
• an exceptionally durable yet affordable pair of genuine leather kicks
• a minimal and versatile kick that's easy to match

...not to mention that this Adidas kick is regularly donned by supermodels and Hollywood stars these days!

Technically, the shoe has no foam midsole to provide a well-cushioned ride for long hours on the feet. If you prefer that plush supportive underfoot experience, we recommend the Adidas Alphabounce+ or the Supernova+.

The color choices for the Samba are quite limited. If you need more hues and you need them bright and bold, have a look at the Adidas Gazelle.

The Adidas Samba showed some of the lowest shock absorption measurements among sneakers in our lab (47 SA).

But it's no surprise given the absence of thick cushioning foam that could provide more impact protection in this shoe. It's just a thin layer of rubber and a few millimeters of foam that buffer your foot from the ground force.

Not the best setup for all-day wear but perfect for those who enjoy that grounded and more natural underfoot experience.

The Samba's rubber-based sole proved to be quite agile and responsive, showing a high energy return of 58% in our tests. But it only makes sense given the shoe's history as an indoor soccer shoe.

The Samba doesn't have a midsole per se, which makes it feel very low-profile and close to the ground. Using a caliper, we got as little as 19.3 mm of heel stack. This is nearly half an inch thinner than average!

In the era of chunky dad shoes and platform kicks, the Adidas Samba really feels like something else.

As you could probably guess by now, this Adidas shoe is also not very tall in the forefoot either. Measuring as little as 11.9 mm, it is about 0.3 inch (7 mm) thinner than average.

Be careful not to step on any rocks out there!

Considering the difference in stack heights, the shoe's heel-to-toe drop is not very steep. At 7.4 mm, it is about 3 mm lower than average.

Combined with the shoe's lack of cushioning, stepping on the heels too hard is not going to feel pleasant in the Adidas Samba.

Its slim profile is often THE reason why people choose the Adidas Samba. So its narrower internal space shouldn't come as a surprise.

On foot, the kick felt adequately snug but let's see how it stacks up against other lifestyle sneakers.

Having created a gel mold of the Samba's interiors, we were able to measure its internal dimensions with a digital caliper.

In the widest part of the mold (corresponding to the widest area of the foot near the metatarsals), our caliper showed a moderate reading of 90.2 mm. It is indeed narrower than average which makes it better suited for medium-to-narrow feet.

The shoe's mold also showed a bit of a taper angle at the tip of the toebox. Even though it's not very aggressive, it showed a below-average reading of 67.2 mm.

A ton of vertical toebox space helps the Adidas Samba feel spacious despite its snug toebox shape. With a high reading of 30.8 mm, you can see a bit of a dome on top of the shoe's toebox.

Better be careful donning the Samba on a rainy day!

This Adidas sneaker may not cause any trouble on dry roads and pavements but you can't trust its grip on anything even remotely slippery. As our traction test showed, the shoe's gum rubber fails to provide enough friction with wet concrete increasing your risk of skidding. Its low coefficient of friction (0.30) falls below our acceptable threshold.

With its origins in indoor soccer (football), the Adidas Samba carries over its ancestor's tread pattern along with a signature pivot point under the ball of the foot. You don't get any use from it on the city streets but the visual aspect earns the Samba some retro points.

Flexibility is where the Samba beats many other sneakers these days. Amidst giant rockered platforms that don't seem to bend at all, this Adidas sneaker feels very old-school (as it should).

Measuring how much force it takes to bend the Samba to a 30-degree angle, we found that it requires only 12.4N. This is a little less than the category average but not as little as in the Adidas Samba OG (8.4N).

On foot, the Adidas Samba doesn't feel heavy at all. And it also turns out to be that way on the scale.

Weighing 12.1 oz (342g) in a men's US size 9, this Adidas silhouette is 2 ounces lighter than the average sneaker.

This contributes to the shoe's minimalist appeal for sure.

If you see a Pinterest photo where the Adidas Samba completes a light summer outfit, don't believe it! Made of genuine leather and suede, this shoe is NOT your best bet for dog days.

To prove our point, we ran a smoke-pumping machine test in our lab. As you can see in the video below, only a thin streak of smoke is getting out of the Samba, and it escapes only through the gaps on the sides of the tongue. For that reason, we rated this Adidas shoe's breathability as 3 out of 5.

If keeping your feet feeling fresh is a priority, you may want to enjoy one of these best summer sneakers instead.

Our transparency test doesn't help this Adidas sneaker look any better. There is not a single perforation or a breathable mesh panel on this upper!

Even looking at the Samba through our microscope, all you see is a solid layer of leather or suede.

Because the Adidas Samba is so low to the ground, it almost feels like you're standing barefoot! And the change of feeling unstable or twisting your ankle is pretty minuscule in that case.

This Adidas shoe is incredibly pliable. This was confirmed in our manual check of its torsional stiffness. Technically, there is none, so we rated it with the lowest score of 1 out of 5.

While this could be a problem for high-stacked shoes, it is not a problem with the Samba at all. Lack of torsional rigidity doesn't affect stability in its case.

Our heels and ankles sat very securely inside the Samba all throughout the wear test. There is a good amount of stiffness in the shoe's heel counter to hold the rearfoot firmly in place. On a 1-5 scale, we gave it a pretty high score of 4.

But be careful: the shoe's collar has a synthetic leather lining inside and very little padding. This is likely to cause rubbing at first. We recommend wearing taller socks at least the first time you take the Adidas Samba out. 

The platform of the Adidas Samba is not particularly wide. Based on our caliper measurements, it is actually narrower than the average among sneakers.

In the widest part of the forefoot, our tool showed 102.4 mm. That's about 4 mm narrower than average, but don't worry, it is not narrow enough to make the Samba feel unstable. In fact, it is even a tiny bit wider than the Adidas Gazelle and the Adidas Superstar.

In the widest area of the heel, we got 75.4 mm. This is only a couple of millimeters narrower than the average and never compromised the steadiness of our landings.

Up until 2012, the Samba's upper was made of kangaroo leather. That's because compared to calfskin, it is more durable, softer, and offers a much more responsive ball touch. But the brand wisely chose a more ethical route and refused from kangaroo leather.

But is the new full-grain leather genuine? Let's find out.

Disclaimer: Please note that we are testing the Adidas Samba Leather version of the shoe.

Holding a butane torch against the leather section on the heel for a few seconds, we found that it did not catch fire. We then scratched it with a leather scratch awl to check how easily the material gets damaged. Finally, we repeated the same procedure for the suede overlay on the toebox.

Our verdict: both leather and suede are genuine on the Adidas Samba! However, the white piece at the top of the collar is fake leather.

Even though we already had an insight into the shoe's upper durability, we still put it through our demanding Dremel test.

After 12 seconds of drilling at a relentless speed of 10K RPM, the tool didn't even eat through the suede layer! This definitely puts the Samba onto the more durable side of our spectrum. On a scale from 1 to 5, it earned a 4 from us!

Despite the fact that the shoe's interiors are not made of real leather, its heel collar lining showed solid wear resistance.

Giving it a good drill of 4 seconds at 5K RPM, the damage was really minor. We saw a scratch that did not interfere with the shoe's comfort and integrity. This led us to give the shoe's heel collar lining a solid 4 out of 5.

The Adidas Samba features a gum rubber outsole, so we did not expect it to be very hard. Pressing our durometer against it, we got a reading of 76.9 HC. This is indeed on the softer side of the spectrum and is 9% softer than the average sneaker sole.

For that reason, we do not expect it to last as long as the harder rubbers would (think Adidas Continental).

Our concerns were backed up by the Dremel test. Holding the tool against the rubber for a good 22 seconds at an abrasive speed of 10K RPM, the damage was visible to the untrained eye.

We measured the dent with a tread gauge and found it to be 1.9 mm deep. That is among the deepest we've seen on sneaker outsoles.

But don't worry, the outsole on the Adidas Samba won't melt that fast. Based on our caliper measurement, the shoe's lower rubber layer is 4.7 mm thick and is equipped with pretty toothy lugs.

So, even though it is a gum sole, it will take months before the outsole shows significant signs of wear.

The insole doesn't give a lot of hope for comfort either. Measuring it with our caliper, we got as little as 3.3 mm. That is certainly not enough to compensate for the lack of a foam midsole.

Although we found the Adidas Samba comfortable enough for a few hours of wear, we cannot recommend it for long hours of standing or walking.

If walking around with nothing but rubber underfoot does not appeal to you, you may want to insert a custom onsert. The stock insole is removable in the Samba.

The Samba uses a fairly thin tongue which returns only 3.1 mm on our caliper. That's about 50% thinner than average and it just goes along with the minimal nature of this Adidas shoe.

As you can see, padding is not very abundant anywhere throughout the shoe.

There are no gussets on the sides of the tongue which is a shame because we did experience some occasional sliding.

There is no heel tab on the Adidas Samba but it never got in the way of sliding the shoe on easily.

Before the summer of 2022, the Adidas Samba was only popular among sneakerheads and indoor soccer players.

But after a few celebrity photos showing off this Adidas silhouette, the shoe's popularity began to rise at light speed. The demand reached stratospheric levels by September 2023 increasing by a whopping 900%! That's when the Samba ended up completely sold out for the first time in its history!

This Adidas sneaker first appeared as a soccer (football) shoe in the 1950s. It was named after a Brazilian dance in an attempt to appeal to the South American audience during the World Cup in Brazil.

The Adidas Samba has since evolved into a sporty minimalist sneaker and even into a classy chic shoe on the feet of Bella Hadid and Hailey Bieber!