Adidas UltraBoost 1.0 S&L 'Black Grey'
Colorway: Core Black/Grey Four/Shock Red · Style code: EF0720 · Price: $141 · Availability: Available now
More colorways: adidas UltraBoost 1.0 'Oreo' (IH4924) · Adidas UltraBoost 1.0 'Navy' (S77415) · adidas UltraBoost 1.0 'Alumina' (JQ2270) · adidas UltraBoost 1.0 'Linen Green' (HQ2199) · Adidas UltraBoost 1.0 'Solar Orange' (S77413)
S&L is the adidas shorthand for suede and leather, the materials this run layers onto the UltraBoost's knit shell. Core Black holds the base, Grey Four shades the overlays and panels, and Shock Red appears in a single small dose, enough to catch the eye without changing the shoe's character. The stitched three-stripe cage at the midfoot laces through the eyestay and stabilises the arch the way the plastic version does.
Adding hide to a running shoe moves it out of the running category in practice. Suede absorbs water, leather stiffens where knit flexes, and the pair gains weight, but it also gains a surface that a knit upper cannot produce. The Boost midsole and the Torsion system beneath are untouched, so the ride is unchanged. Retail held at $180, the same as a standard UltraBoost, which made the S&L versions one of the better material upgrades the line offered without a price increase.