Adidas Stan Smith review

'Some people think I am a shoe,' says Stan Smith, the American former professional player and namesake of the Adidas sneaker in question. That says it all about the kick's popularity. This authentic 1978 classic surely caters to people who:

• need the quintessential minimalist sneaker that goes with anything
• want to look chic on a budget
• love the old-school tennis shoe vibes

Skip the Stan Smith if you have wide feet, bunions, or simply can't tolerate close-fitting sneakers with narrow toeboxes. You will find a roomier fit in the Adidas Campus 00s among other wide-fitting sneakers.

And if you want a truly lightweight, decently breathable minimalist trainer, go for the Adidas SL 72.

Unlike most 21st-century sneakers, the old-school Stan Smith doesn't pack any foam in its midsole, not even some basic EVA. So the only cushioning we get here is the thin insole lying on top of a rubber slab with hollowed-out sections.

But it's not as dead as it seems!

Measuring the shock absorption offered by this classic kick at a decent 64 SA, we found it even higher than in the Adidas SL 72 (58 SA), the Gazelle (51 SA), the Spezial (50 SA), and the Samba (47 SA)!

It just wouldn't be our top pick for comfort or all-day wear.

Rubber has its limits when it comes to springiness, but the Stan Smith showed a decent energy return of 53.0% in our lab test. That's because there is no sinking into the sole, which keeps the ride quite responsive.

Historically low-profile, the Stan Smith's heel stack measures only 23.7 mm. That's slightly taller than the Samba (20 mm) but significantly lower than the sneaker average.

The forefoot stack is respectively low at only 13.5 mm.

But the shoe's heel-to-toe drop remains on par with the average at 10.2 mm, offering a familiar, no-frills offset that suits the walking biomechanics of most people.

The Stan Smith's signature sleek silhouette comes at a price of a very snug, one-to-one fit. It's definitely not a shoe for everyone's feet, and it's easy to prove with our gel mold.

Once the mold was solid, we used a digital caliper to measure its width in the broadest part of the forefoot. At 89.8 mm, it is clearly below the category average and suits narrower feet.

The shoe's profile gets even narrower and more tapered towards the toes, measuring only 65.6 mm at the big toe. If you know how slim the Adidas Samba is, the Stan Smith is even a few millimeters slimmer.

But at least it has sufficient vertical space above the toes, with a toebox height of 27.6 mm.

We were able to move our toes up and down and all around without restriction.

Getting caught in the rain won't leave you slipping and sliding if you are wearing the Adidas Stan Smith. Frankly, we were impressed to discover such a tacky rubber outsole on a casual sneaker! Its outsole has exceptional wet-surface traction with some of the highest CoFs (0.80).

Simple as a pimple, the shoe's coin-dotted traction pattern, with retro wavy grooves, echoes the outsole designs of 70s tennis shoes.

Of course, it's nothing like the modern-day tennis shoe outsoles, so please don't risk wearing it on the court.

Despite its all-leather upper, the Adidas Stan Smith has a decently pliable forefoot thanks to its low stack height.

At 12.1N, it takes just as much force to bend by 30 degrees as the all-leather Adidas Samba.

Despite its lean appearance, the shoe doesn’t come in as light as it looks. Its classic leather upper inevitably adds some weight to the package, showing 13.5 oz (383g) in a men's US size 9.

For context, this is just as much as the Nike Air Max 1.

As our breathability tests showed, the signature perforations on the sides of the Stan Smith don't really serve as ventilation channels.

And because none of those perfs are on the toebox (the sweatiest part of the shoe), none of the smoke we pumped into the shoe managed to escape. That earned it the lowest 1 out of 5 for breathability.

Even though the original white colorway of this Adidas kick often makes it a summer staple, we recommend reserving the Stan Smith for moderate temps.

But on a positive note, the shoe's construction is pretty water-tight for a non-waterproof sneaker. As long as you keep water away from those ventilation holes, you’re usually good. What’s more, the leather repels most stains, making maintenance easier.

Built on a grounded and firm platform, the Adidas Stan Smith feels inherently stable even without any supportive elements.

Its solid base and firm leather upper resist torsion quite well, requiring a total torque of 13.8 Nm to twist by 10 degrees. This prevents undesirable foot rolling among people with overpronation.

The Stan Smith's heel counter proved surprisingly rigid and is, in fact, structured enough to earn the maximum 5 out of 5 rating! It offers very secure heel positioning and eliminates side-to-side wobbles inside the shoe.

On the downside, the stiffness can irritate the heel and Achilles, cause blisters, and put pressure on a Haglund's deformity (bony bump on the heel bone).

The sneaker has a slim sole, but it feels proportional to its low stack and minimalist build. And it is actually not that much narrower than the average in the widest part of the forefoot.

The shoe's heel also proved narrow, at only 78.7 mm at its widest point. We found its midsole dimensions identical to those of the Adidas Handball Spezial.

When the original Adidas Stan Smith shoe debuted in 1963, it became the first-ever successful tennis shoe with an all-leather upper.

The mainstream Stan Smith of today is made of chrome-tanned top-grain leather, which is lower in quality than the full-grain leather.

So, technically, we see real leather in our fire test, but it's not the premium type. And it is covered in a plastic coating that has been pressed to replicate the full-grain leather texture.

Even though the synthetic coating peeled off immediately in our Dremel test, the primary leather remained intact, allowing the Stan Smith to be repaired.

That's why we kept the shoe's toebox durability score fairly high at 4 out of 5.

The synthetic leather lining the shoe's rearfoot section has decent abrasion resistance. Assessing the moderate damage it sustained in our test, we rated the shoe's heel padding durability as 3 out of 5.

We have no concerns about the Stan Smith's outsole longevity as its rubber resisted 18 seconds of sandpaper friction very well. A shallow 0.9 mm dent is a great result for a casual sneaker.

Not to mention a generous amount of rubber in the shoe's 3.7 mm-thick outsole.

The only layer of foam cushioning in the Adidas Stan Smith is a 4.4 mm insole. But it's good enough to buffer the harshness of the bare rubber sole below it.

The insole is removable, but matching a custom insole to the shoe's narrow profile can be tricky.

There are no reflective elements on the Adidas Stan Smith.

The Stan Smith's Internal padding is very minimal, measuring only 4.2 mm of tongue thickness.

The shoe has a classic free-floating tongue that's not attached to the sides of the upper by any fabric or elastic gussets. It allows for an easier entry and feels more forgiving at the instep, but the tongue can drift a bit to the side when walking.

No pull tabs or finger loops.

The Stan Smith remains appealing to a broad audience in part due to its affordable price point. But the clean leather aesthetic and durable construction make it look more expensive than its MSRP suggests.