adidas UltraBoost Leather 'Cloud White'
Colorway: Cloud White/Cloud White/Cloud White · Style code: EF1355 · Release date: November 27, 2019 · Price: $244 · Availability: Available now
Removing the Primeknit removes most of what made the UltraBoost distinctive, which is exactly what this version tests. A premium leather upper in Cloud White replaces the knit sock, with the three-stripes embroidered onto the signature midfoot cage rather than moulded into it, a shaped toe box and a reinforced heel counter. Custom branding is debossed into the tongue and the heel, pressed into the hide instead of printed on top.
The result belongs to the street rather than to the road, and the November 27, 2019 release was priced at $180 all the same, level with the knit versions. Underneath, nothing moved: a responsive Boost midsole sits over a Continental rubber outsole. Monochrome white leather shows every scuff, which is a fair trade for a surface that takes polish and creases like a dress shoe. Nothing about the pair signals a running shoe except the foam it stands on.