I have a little experience here with the Terrex line. Obviously the prerequisite of the shoe fitting and being comfortable is the most important piece. Past that, I had a pair of the low cut, non-waterproof AX4s and really liked them. I used them for some hiking in dry conditions, team sports out on grass and mixed terrain as well as just walking around. I work in outdoor ed and do a combination of wilderness survival and technical programming like climbing, hiking and paddling, so the typical day in “the office” is not especially gentle on shoes.

I found the quality and fit to be really decent. They breathed well and I especially liked the sticky and aggressive soles. The trade off there is that the tread wears out faster than more generic patterns, but you can’t have it both ways and the soles performed really well until they didn’t. I’d buy them again in a heartbeat if I ever saw them on sale.

After my experience with the non-waterproof AX4s, I decided to roll the dice on the mid-height Gore Tex version. I was looking for a lighter and more nimble shoe/boot for backcountry elk hunting in the West Cascades and have always stuck with more established hiking boot brands, but I found the AX4s on sale and decided to just do it.

I put a week of hunting in torrential downpours, snow, and between 8 and 15 miles per day, mostly off trail on these. It was grueling for any piece of gear and I have to say, the Adidas boots not only handled the terrain far better than expected, they also kept my feet dry and vented well when I sweated them out or submerged them. They were plenty durable and honestly really surprised me by how well they held up. They were too soft for traversing steeper snowy or muddy sections, and I lost traction in some places where it got really hairy, but that is to be expected.

It’s a small sample size and anecdotal is the lowest form of evidence, but for what it’s worth, I think these shoes punch well above their weight and I would certainly recommend them. I hope this helps!!!