During marathon training the Boston 12 is my favourite shoe for going over 30km. A tad uncomfortable at the beginning of each run but so comfortable and cruisy by the end. Great durability too!
Been doing 30km+ long runs in the Rebel V4 and they have been great. Only bad thing is that Im constantly tempted to run quicker and have to remind myself to slow down. The very light midsole and wider design is definitely the highlight and allows legs to recover much quicker after each run.😊
The Boston 12 has been an absolute bonus to my marathon training and works well in partnership with my Prime X strung shoes. These are very nippy shoes and do well at pacy sessions between 10-20 miles and I even ran a PB in the Great Eastern Run last year
I have the bostons and just love them for my marathon block. Been doing long runs with efforts in them and all my interval work too. I find them responsive and snappy but not vaporfly fast. After being let down by the saucony speed 3s the bostons made up for it. And they are really durable too so happy days. 😊
Rebel 4 is a delight. It makes me feel like I'm a kid again. Almost feels like there's nothing on your feet. It's so comfortable and simple. The plates/rods are fine for the pro runners, but it's so refreshing to have something that just becomes part of you as you run. It's sort of like a baby Super Blast for me.
It's my first new pair of everyday shoes in 20 years. Imagine going from the heavy NB 643 to the NB Rebel v4. It's like the pair of Rebel v4 shoes weighs less than or equal to one of the 643.
NB is really pushing it for the Rebel V4 when its essentially a daily trainer in the same category as the Puma Velocity Nitro 3 and Asics Novablast 4 but is pitched at a much higher price point. There was no way it was going to be better than the Boston 12 and I think if you compared the Rebel to a Deviate Nitro 2, Magic Speed 3 and Endorphin Speed 4 it would also be overshadowed.
Over 500 miles in Boston 12s now as a daily, with the adios for speedier work and Takumi Sen for 5k/10k races. In the company of the other Adidas that I run in the Boston does feel quite heavy, but still soft, though it really is an art to getting the right lockdown.
I was waiting for a comparison like this, I’ve been eying the Boston 12 my fav iteration was the 7 but they haven’t been the same since, then the price point of the rebel and after the demo run I got the rebel
Only done 22k in the rebel v4 so far. Definitely a more relaxing shoe than the Boston 12 which is close to end of life. If I only had one I'd go Boston 12. Rebel is a good choice for easier and moderate. Boston can do that but eggs you on to pick up the pace.
Thanks for this comparison. Can probably manage without a speed shoe (Takumi Sen/Magic Speed 3) then because already have the Rebel and it's performing well on the speedwork.
I’m liking the Boston 12 as a replacement to my Endo Speed 4, that gave me Achilles pain😢. I’ve never had that issue w a Saucony shoe so it was heartbreaking.
Returned a pair of Rebel V4 after 1 mile of testing. The foam felt great to walk in but i felt it had no response and bottomed out when i compressed it running. Not for me, i much prefer a good response and bouncy feel. Just found a pair of Boston 12s on sale and picked them up. Looking forward to trying them out as they feel more responsive with that extra pop. I cant recommend the rebel for a heavier runner.
When you say Boston is good for racing, does that include half marathon and marathon? 24mm in the forefoot for the Rebel and 31mm for the Boston. That's quite a difference yet the look similar.
I really like the midsole and outsole of the Boston 12. It is well cushioned and responsive. Also it is very versatile and stable at any pace which makes it a perfect daily trainer & all rounder. The shoe feels fast and the fit is very nice and roomy. But... There are three big downsides of this shoe which easily removes / neutralizes the pros. 1-) The worst tongue that I've ever seen. The material used for the tongue is really weird and it makes the tongue unusable. 2-) The worst laces that I've ever seen. Literally the worst... 3-) Hard upper fabric. It makes the shoe very uncomfortable for long runs. It is like cheap backpack fabric. I have switched between Boston 12 and Novablast 3s for the last month and decided to continue with Novablasts. Bostons are better in terms of many related to running like traction, responsiveness, cushioning, energy return but no way with that cheap upper also the other reasons that I listed above makes the shoe unusable for me.
I have both. 200 miles on the Boston and only 10 on the Rebel v4. The Boston still feels great, but I have a sad, sinking suspicion that I will not get the same feeling from the Rebel at 200 miles.
I have asics superblasts, nike invincible run 3s, and boston 12s. Boston 12s are by far the most firm shoe. They don't really feel springy or fast to me. My superblasts feel like they have a lot of bounce and I just want to run fast in them. I leaning towards not really liking the bostons. Feet hurt a bit from the runs.
Would this be a good shoe rotation? Boston 12 for easy / long runs Takumi 9/10 for efforts and to save the race day shoe from wear and tear ASICS Metaspeed Paris for race day
We might be similar...I'm a 9 in my street shoes (vans, adidas,...). I go a half size up in Kinvaras (9.5) forrunning. How does the rebel fit? Would I be good with a 9 or 9.5? Just wanted to make sure I understood what you said.
The rods would probably fatigue the foot prematurely as well. For daily trainers, stuff like plates and rods are unnecessary. I remember when Adidas just did fashionable high tops. For running, I'm sticking to NB and Saucony. Nikes and Altras just don't last. On is too new with their holes and stuff; durability could be an issue. Asics have too narrow fits. And Hokas have stack heights that are crazy high.
