The Ultra Boost vs. the NMD. Two of the most gassed shoes on the market, both courtesy of Adidas, and both featuring the best cushioning technology on the market, Boost foam. Some sneakerheads prefer the Ultra Boost. Some prefer the NMD. A lot of sneaker heads love them both. But today’s the day we crown a champion.
We’re throwing them in the ring, using boxing-style scoring (winner gets 10 points, the opponent 9 or less) to determine which shoe is better … and as it is a championship match after all, there will be five rounds, each focused on a different category. Let’s get right to it.
Materials
Let’s start with construction: both shoes feature full-length Boost cushioning for a soft, comfy ride. The NMD’s feature either a mesh or Primeknit upper, while the Ultra Boosts always feature a Primeknit upper. Primeknit provides a luxe feel, and as the Ultra Boost features it 100% of the time (both on the Caged and Uncaged models) while the NMD only features it occasionally, the Ultra Boost takes the cake.
Winner: Ultra Boost, 10-9
Comfort
We’ve sang the praises of Boost before, and we’ll do it again. It’s extremely comfortable, making both of these shoes sufficient for all-day wear, no matter how much walking you’re doing. However, the Ultra Boost seems to offer a thicker, more dense Boost sole, and combined with the foot-hugging upper … it’s one of the most comfy shoes you’ll ever put on. Another round for the Ultra Boost
Winner: Ultra Boost, 10-9
Wearability
The Ultra Boost and the NMD are two shoes that really work with just about anything. You can throw them both on and go, which is why this is such a difficult round to score. However, we will say that the NMD’s running-inspired silhouette seems to be more free and easy than the Ultra Boost’s tech running look, so they takes the cake by a narrow margin.
Winner: NMD, 10-9
Cultural Impact
Man, do the decisions keep getting tougher as the rounds keep going by. Both shoes have had a huge cultural impact, as the Ultra Boosts rose to prominence after being rocked by Kanye West, while, as their more affordable counterpart, the NMD’s have become the favored shoe of everyone from in-the-know high school kids to die-hard sneakerheads. Due to their widespread impact (and how many you’ll see on any given day), the NMD takes the cake here.
Winner: NMD, 10-9
Collabs
We’ve got a bona fide battle on our hands here. The Ultra Boost took the first two rounds, but the NMD battled back to grab the 3rd and 4th rounds, so here we are at the 5th and final round: the collabs. The Ultra Boost has strong collars, like Kolor, Solebox, Highsnobiety, and the upcoming Reigning Champ jawns (our favorite yet), but the NMD has a laundry list of fire collabs, like Mastermind, Pharell (that’s kind of cheating but it counts), and the ultra-rare Nice Kicks jawns. With that kind of a list, the NMD shows the heart of a champion and takes round 5.
Winner: NMD, 10-9
It’s a done deal. It was a hard-fought battle from bell to bell, but the NMD takes the crown over the Ultra Boost, 48-47. These two titans of the sneaker game fought it out, but the NMD’s widespread popularity, great collabs, and extreme ease of wear make it the champion. Be sure to wear your pair with extra pride next time you break them out.
What do you think of both shoes? Do you prefer one over the other? Do you agree with our assessment, or did we get it wrong? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter, check our Facebook page for daily updates, and, as always, be sure to follow us on Instagram for all the fire sneaker pictures you can handle.
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You guys just producedthe stupidest review I’ve read in a while. Shame on you. You started out strong and then started awarding the NMD points simply for hype. Get outta here. Everyone knows the NMD is not even close to the comfort level of the ultraboost. And your article came nowhere close to expressing that very important point
I agree. Ultraboosts are way better than NMDS
Both shoes are great, my friend and I used to fight about which were better. I thought the NMD’s were better my friend thought that the Ultra Boost were better, until we decided to be smart and try one anothers out. And when we did the Ultra Boost did not feel any different then the NMD’s. So now I own 4 pairs of NMD’s and 2 pairs of Ultra Boost. But if I had to choose one to wear and hang out it be te NMD’s they are just better in my opinion.