Adidas Boston 7 vs NB Beacon

Beacon is lighter with more cushion (in the forefoot, anyway).

There is a reason the Boston 7s are already on clearance. Beacons by a mile.

Beacons seem to make weird squeaking noises after not that many miles, have to run more in them, but I'm not quite convinced on their durability just yet.

Beacons must be insanely good if you think they are better than Bostons which is my favorite daily shoe.

Guess I'll have to try them someday when their price approaches sanity.

Wait I thought you couldn't even try Bostons because not in your size?

Bostons on clearance only because the v8 must be around the corner, great time to snap some up, I like the v6 better than the v7 but the v7 aren't bad at all, the differences are only subtle.

hmm what's this that says 2/22 v8 preview?

https://shop.adidas.jp/products/B37385/

shooo smooo wrote:

Beacons must be insanely good if you think they are better than Bostons which is my favorite daily shoe.

Guess I'll have to try them someday when their price approaches sanity.

Wait I thought you couldn't even try Bostons because not in your size?

Bostons on clearance only because the v8 must be around the corner, great time to snap some up, I like the v6 better than the v7 but the v7 aren't bad at all, the differences are only subtle.

hmm what's this that says 2/22 v8 preview?

https://shop.adidas.jp/products/B37385/

I have crammed my foot into most of the Adizero line, the VF4%, and the Floatride Fast.

I actually ran in the FrF for a while with no insole. It ALMOST worked for me.

All of the Adidas line has the same problem for me: too much Boost under the heel; not enough under the forefoot.... and heavy (for the amnt of cushioning).

shooo smooo wrote:

Beacons must be insanely good if you think they are better than Bostons which is my favorite daily shoe.

It's pretty close actually. This is coming from a guy who ran in the Boston 3 through 7 obsessively. I tried the Beacon for about 200 miles and they are excellent. Like, great for everything from easy running, tempo, perfect for long runs and even work well for track. I'd run a marathon in the Beacons as well. I utilized the Boston the same way, but the Beacons are really good.. lighter with more cushion.

gbgb wrote:

Beacons seem to make weird squeaking noises after not that many miles, have to run more in them, but I'm not quite convinced on their durability just yet.

For me, this was due to the insole shifting inside the shoe. It worked its way a little up the back. I just replaced them with an insole and that took care of it.

Alright I'll have to try it at some point since there seems to be some clearance or maybe I missed the chance

Is the sizing the same as Zante?

theJeff wrote:

Beacon is lighter with more cushion (in the forefoot, anyway).

There is a reason the Boston 7s are already on clearance. Beacons by a mile.

I've heard a lot of good things about them. My concern is will they be too "cushioned" or soft which kinda sucks up all the energy like the Saucony Freedom ISO? And what about the durability? I owned the Zante, which were also a fresh foam model, and they didn't hold up pretty well. Wonder if the Beacon has the same issue.

Btw, I also have low arches (strangely enough I underpronate), though it doesn't hurt walking or even running barefoot. And I prefer lightweight trainers with a touch of stability like the Zante, hence the question.

Forgot to mention, I am a mid-to-forefoot striker.

Those links are actually just new colors of the boston 7. The numbering is a bit different for them in Japan than here I think. They just released 2 new colors in the US too so the old colors are on sale. The black ones are identical to the new black ones in the US but we get a different blue. It was the same for the boston 6. Never paid more than $70 for that shoe and I've bought 4 pair now between the 6 & 7 just because new colors were released. In this case it's weird though because the color went from black and orange to black and white...not much different.

https://www.adidas.com/us/adizero-boston-7-shoes/B37382.html

The same thing happened when the discontinued the bright blue Beacons and brought out the white ones. Got a text from my dad alerting me to the sale and the fact that he had just stocked up on 3 pairs. "There's areason they're on clearance" isn't a valid talking point.

https://www.joesnewbalanceoutlet.com/products/?Text=beacon

However, I'm also on my second pair of Beacons. I don't think you can say one is definitively better than the other. There's overlap, and most of what Jeff describes is true, but from my point of view the characteristics that favor the Boston (Firmer forefoot, stiffer midfoot, still pretty good protection) make it good for 'steady' pace down to interval pace, but probably a touch harsher than I usually prefer for easy/recovery work, whereas the more flexible and more cushioned forefoot make the Beacons better for recovery pace down to tempo pace, but sloppy for intervals for me. that means there's a lot of overlap in the tempo to steady range, but some of that again depends on your preferences. Both are great shoes.

Matter of fact, for my last marathon I narrowed my options down to these two (marathon pace is between tempo and steady after all)...and went with the Bostons (but v6).

UA Runner wrote:

shooo smooo wrote:

Beacons must be insanely good if you think they are better than Bostons which is my favorite daily shoe.

It's pretty close actually. This is coming from a guy who ran in the Boston 3 through 7 obsessively. I tried the Beacon for about 200 miles and they are excellent. Like, great for everything from easy running, tempo, perfect for long runs and even work well for track. I'd run a marathon in the Beacons as well. I utilized the Boston the same way, but the Beacons are really good.. lighter with more cushion.

Damn, I was actually leaning towards Boston before I started the thread, and now I am torn.

shooo smooo wrote:

hmm what's this that says 2/22 v8 preview?

https://shop.adidas.jp/products/B37385/

As for this, I can read some Japanese. Sorry to tell you, no it isn't. They are still the v7.

Ran in both, Boston 7 by a long shot. Don’t listen to this thejeff guy, he posts everywhere acting like he knows everything about running and shoes when he’s like in his 40s, fat, and slow. If you want to do fast work aswell definately pick up the Boston’s.

ScriptedConnection wrote:

Damn, I was actually leaning towards Boston before I started the thread, and now I am torn.

Daily shoe brand/model rotation is a good thing, can prevent some injuries

So maybe a good answer is "why not both?" ;-)

Beacons are good. Boston 6, 7 are good. If I had to choose one however it would be neither, it would be the best of the two which forms the Brooks Launch 6.

The L6 at .3 oz heavier than Boston's and .8 heavier than Beacon is for me irrelevant. The wider last in forefoot with a fairly rigid midsole slight rocker defeats weight gain. L6 Not to the extent of VF esp in Price!!! has a feeling of aided propulsion...

I thought the beacons were rocks and too firm? Maybe just me but while they were wicked light and felt like not there the ride was harsh.

Plus they firm up more than other brands in below freezing temps, and they never seemed to warm up

Definately bostons wrote:

Ran in both, Boston 7 by a long shot. Don’t listen to this thejeff guy, he posts everywhere acting like he knows everything about running and shoes when he’s like in his 40s, fat, and slow. If you want to do fast work aswell definately pick up the Boston’s.

Nailed it..

Take advice from real runners, not a guy who is fat/overweight and spends his time oogl'ing over Sketchers shoes.

I'm a faster guy and I do almost all my training in Boston 7's.. amazing shoe.

With a shoe like the Beacon, there's so much cushion in it that it leads to the shoe dying around 150-200 miles (midsole goes dead).

I'm sure the shoe is good up until the EVA compresses... but still - seems a little foolish to spend all that money on a shoe that won't last long.

The Boston 7 on the other hand is the real deal and I've taken multiple pairs into the 400+ mile range. I set my mile PR in them (4:42), do mile repeats in them, I've done ultras in them, marathons, etc.... perfect all around shoe.

+1

I'm a jogger, it's in my username, and I love the Bostons and won't touch Skechers. Was curious about the Beacon, probably won't get it after hearing from legit sources.

Definately bostons wrote:

Ran in both, Boston 7 by a long shot. Don’t listen to this thejeff guy, he posts everywhere acting like he knows everything about running and shoes when he’s like in his 40s, fat, and slow. If you want to do fast work aswell definately pick up the Boston’s.

No

No

Yes by LRC standards, but still fast enough to be in the first corral at every major road race I have entered

PS - I forgive you

PPS - please point out something in my initial post that is objectively false