Skechers and Adidas, are two of the most popular manufacturer of sneakers in the US. Seems like every young man or woman who’s physically active, runs for exercise, has one of these shoes.
Skechers and Adidas make regular shoes you can wear with regular clothes, they make sneakers too that many find sporty and comfortable for running.
Which is better?
Table of Contents
Sometimes there’s a debate over which one is the better brand. The consensus from users is that Adidas shoes are better. And this isn’t just because the Adidas company is older than Skechers for more than four decades.
Adidas has had a long time to make shoes to the point where they are so good at making the best. You can trust Adidas shoes and sneakers for toughness.
Looks like they consider their name too important for them not to deliver. Which is great. This is not saying Skechers aren’t doing their best, they do have really great sneakers as well. But I recommend Adidas as the better brand.
Why is Adidas better than Skechers
The majority of users are of the opinion that Adidas shoes are better when we stack up all the metrics. We will look at 3 areas that we can generally measure footwear.
The better brand will have to have at least two points to make the cut.
How do these two footwear giants compare with each other?
Let’s compare them on the basis of:
- Affordability
- Durability
- Comfortability
Affordability
Skechers shoes and sneakers are generally more affordable compared to Adidas. This verdict comes in from a long time and dedicated users of the brands.
Most users often commend Skechers for how affordable they are even though some designs are quite trendy and awesome. Some Skechers shoes are $8 and $16, while some Adidas running shoes cost as much as $69.
However, bear in mind that even though a cheap product isn’t necessarily a bad product, companies often cut back on quality to make it affordable.
Durability
Adidas shoes and sneakers carry the vote here. They are way better in this department, they are tougher and therefore more durable.
According to a salesperson, he observed that more Skechers have been returned to the shop with complaints than Adidas. It adds up now, right.
Comfortability
The best shoes are the most comfortable. Users would pay top dollar just as long as the shoe fits fine, and is easy on the sole of the feet.
According to an article on Compleet Feet, Skechers shoes were found to either cause or exacerbate pains in the feet because the memory foam in the shoe loses density after a short while.
There have been no known reports about Adidas shoes causing these hazards. So, even though Adidas shoes are pricy, they beat Skechers shoes in other departments that matter more than the price.
What Adidas shoes lacked in affordability, they made up for in both durability and comfort.
In what situation is one better than the other?
Fitness
Adidas shoes are better for running if you are the type who loves outdoor exercises. There are Adidas shoes with lightweight uppers that form around your feet snugly.
You may enjoy the softness of Skechers for a time, but you would need to change your shoes within the year if you run every day. With Adidas, the general results from users are they last longer, they age beautifully too.
With other outfits
Adidas is better off with other outfits that aren’t running shorts and sweatshirts. Sometimes you just want to wear your trendy Adidas shoes or sneakers and just hang out with your friends.
Adidas has an array of clothing and footwear lines that can be combined into a fabulous getup. The Adidas brand is more prestigious, we have to admit. Rocking a look that combines their sneakers, shirts, and shoes is many youngsters’ dream.
It doesn’t matter what you want to do; running, exercising in the gym, going out to hang out with friends, Adidas has you covered in almost all the ways you can think of.
Skechers simply doesn’t have the reach that Adidas has. Skechers have got cool shoes and sneakers too, but here’s where Adidas has the upper hand.
Skechers shoes are almost all you can wear, in combination with other brands. Alone, Skechers isn’t all that powerful.
Quality
Adidas not only offers great-looking shoes but these shoes are made with the best quality materials. Adidas makes its products tailored to specific customer ranges.
It is a historical thing with Adidas. Since its inception, and in keeping with the founder Adolf Dassler’s love for several types of sports, they have continued to make shoes tailored to different athletic fields.
They understand what each sport involves, how footwear influences the particular sport and they make shoes that meet specific needs in those areas.
They imported this need for durability for a sports shoe into their fashion shoes too. So it doesn’t matter which Adidas shoe you purchased, expect quality.
Similarities between Skechers and Adidas
As noted before, the two brands have won big fans on both sides of the divide – sports and casual, one having an upper hand over the other (as we shall soon see).
Though they are both in competition somewhat, they do share similarities in some areas. These similarities are as follows:
- Shoes for all occasions
- Perforated uppers
- Cushioned insoles
- Molded sockliners
- Special insoles
- Supination shoes
- Running shoes with jotting heels
- Cushioning and arch support
Shoes for all occasions
Adidas has always prided itself on issuing trendy shoes inspired by the fashion of clothing lines. For example, Adidas UltraBoost 22 (check this shoe on Amazon) shoes can be your running shoes, and can as well be rocked on the street or hanging out in the club.
Skechers has the Go Walk Arch Fit which is designed for working out in the gym, but who says it can’t be worn as casual sneakers just like the trendy Adidas? No one, that’s who.
Perforated uppers
You will find in stores, Adidas and Skechers shoes that feature perforated uppers in their designs. Especially the sporty shoes.
While Adidas may feature perforated stripes in some shoes and whole sides on others, Skechers mainly has whole uppers perforated for more Comfortability.
Cushioned insoles
Both shoes feature soft insoles in their sneakers to make them more comfortable.
Molded sockliners
The two brands feature molded sockliners in their sneakers and casuals. These two brands understand not just how to make shoes, but they also prioritize the customers’ comfort in their designs.
After all, happy customers are the best. Check out the sockliners in the Adidas Original, compare that with the puffy ones on the Skechers Go Run Swirl Tech.
Special insoles
Both brands have been able to maintain a hold on the type of insoles in their shoes and sneakers and they share a similarity here.
Where Adidas shoes feature the patented Cloudfoam in Cloudfoam Ultimate sports shoe, Skechers has the patented Air-cool Memory Foam® Insole.
If this isn’t some sort of trade war, I don’t know what else is since the memory foam is really just foam made from mainly polyurethane with added chemicals to increase viscosity. It is often called viscoelastic, a low resilience foam that lines many shoes.
Supination shoes
Some folks suffer injuries when they walk or run on account of how their feet roll when in motion.
They have what is called supination where their feet rolls outward when they walk when this happens too often they may experience pains in the tendons around their lower feet, ankles, or under their feet.
Shoe manufacturers make shoes to help their customers with this condition too. Skechers has, among many, Skechers Afterburn Memory Foam Lace-up shoe. Adidas has the UltraBoost range of shoes and Solarboost shoes for women.
Both brands share a similarity in this area, in their bid to cater to athletic folks with supinated feet.
Running shoes with jutting heels
There’s got to be something about running shoes with jutting heels. Perhaps it is also part of the solutions to supination, I want to believe. Both shoe brands have been able to incorporate this design into their running shoes.
I placed several Adidas and Skechers running shoe sides and found this similarity. From the surface, it seems such a minute one but I consider this a huge deal. Those jutting heels are not just fancy but must be helping in no small way with running feet movement.
Cushioning and arch support
The feet support most human activity. Without well-protected feet, you will be largely limited in what you’re able to accomplish.
This is why both shoe brands share similarities in the cushioning arch support in their running shoes.
You can hardly find Skechers or Adidas running shoes without them. As noted above, there are different types of foot, different types of orientation when walking or running.
Human feet movements are as diverse as shoes themselves, but it is impossible to make shoes specific to every single human leg, this is where the cushioning and arch support technology comes in.
Both shoe brands solve these issues in stellar ways.
Differences between Skechers and Adidas
It is easy to conclude that there isn’t much difference between shoes made by Skechers and Adidas. On the surface, this is so, but upon a closer look, you begin to notice a few. Let me draw your attention to the following:
- Skechers uses more genuine leather
- Adidas is a sporty shoe brand
- Adidas has more durable footwear
- A lot of Adidas footwear are from recycled materials
- Adidas shoes use the color white more than Skechers
- The difference in logo
Genuine leather
Skechers is known all over the world to use more genuine leathers across their shoe range than Adidas. While Adidas admittedly uses leather too, it is only in select designs like the Adidas Originals, and even then, it isn’t completely genuine leather.
Check out the dress shoes from Skechers and see for yourself.
Adidas is more athletic than Skechers
This is one of the most glaring differences in the shoes. Adidas footwear are more sporty, athletic than Skechers.
Both brands make running shoes, yes, but according to reviews from users, Adidas shoes are more suited for sports and most athletes prefer Adidas for running shoes, tennis shoes.
Apparently, Skechers understands how far gone Adidas is in the sports market and they’d rather not try to run.
Adidas sport footwear are more durable
Yes, for sure. Most runners prefer Adidas shoes for sports. Somehow, even though the brand incorporates less genuine leather in their footwear, they’ve managed to be able to still deliver durability.
Likely, Skechers is less durable for the wear and tear of running because they use less leather for their running shoes, which is appropriate to make them lightweight. At any rate, if you aren’t wearing Skechers, you are wearing Adidas, and vice versa.
More Adidas footwears are from recycled materials.
And Skechers is only recently catching up in the use of recycled materials. This conclusion is based off the fact that Skechers shoes use more genuine leather.
Adidas footwear are more lightweight and so uses more recycled plastic.
Adidas shoes use the color white more than Skechers
This may sound kind of funny but you only need to go to either store to see this. Adidas shoe lines are mostly all whites, Skechers love to incorporate different shades of grey, green and blue.
Skechers uses more dark colors than Adidas. This is appropriate since Adidas makes more sports footwear.
For example, tennis shoes are mostly white, running shoes employ darker colors.
The difference in logos
Logos are the very embodiment of brands. You can tell a brand from afar by its logo. Adidas has embossed itself on our minds with the three stripes, the three slash on the sides of their sneakers. You can see this mostly on the Adidas Originals.
They can be white or black depending on the color of the shoe. The Adidas logo is the type you call an abstract logo, its meaning is not known on the surface of it. On the other hand, Skechers uses what is called a lettermark logo.
The big S on the sides of many Skechers running shoes is the letter from the name Skechers.
And fans of the brand have come to love this name even though it means someone who’s always high on methamphetamine or an energetic person who’s unable to sit still.
Related:
