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40Race Shoe FinderEst. 2023 · London

Head to head

adidas Prime X 3 Strungvs
ASICS Superblast 3

Prime X 3 Strung

£149

Typical street price · £250 RRP

■ 50mm — over limit
Superblast 3

£200

Typical street price · £200 RRP

■ 45.5mm — over limit

Choose the Prime X 3 Strung if…

  • You want the bigger return: 3–4.2% economy gain against 2.2–3.4%, and that gap widens the longer you are out there.
  • You want more shoe underneath you late on: 50mm against 45.5mm, which is protection over a long race rather than speed over a short one.
  • You race off a strong, repeatable stride and want the more aggressive ride rather than the safer one.
  • Money matters: it is selling around £149 against £200, and the time difference between them is smaller than the price difference suggests.

Choose the Superblast 3 if…

  • You want the lighter shoe: 248g against 275g, a 27g difference you will feel late in a race.
  • You want something more forgiving. This is the steadier platform — useful if your form goes late, or if you are on your feet longer.
  • You want more races out of one pair: about 700km of competitive life against 500km.
  • You are racing Half marathon — built for it, where the Prime X 3 Strung is not.

What does this
mean for you?

Every figure below is recalculated from your race and your current time. The gap between two shoes is not fixed — it grows with how long you are on your feet.

Over marathon from 3:45:00

Time back
Prime X 3 Strung: 152s–233sSuperblast 3: 97s–179s
Cost per second saved
Prime X 3 Strung: £0.10Superblast 3: £0.13

Ranges, not promises. Both figures are against a standard trainer, and the honest answer for most runners is that the difference between two shoes of this class is smaller than the difference a month of decent training makes.

Every number.

010203040505044
Prime X 3 Strung
0102030405045.537.5
Superblast 3

What you pay

Street price
Prime X 3 Strung£149■
Superblast 3£200

What the shoe is actually selling for across the shops we read, not its RRP.

RRP
Prime X 3 Strung£250
Superblast 3£200

List price. Almost nobody pays it for a race shoe.

Cost per race
Prime X 3 Strung£19
Superblast 3£18■

Street price divided by the races the foam stays fast for.

Cost per second saved
Prime X 3 Strung£0.10■
Superblast 3£0.13

The whole-life question: what each second of race time costs you.

What it does

Estimated saving
Prime X 3 Strung152s–233s■
Superblast 397s–179s

Against a standard trainer, over the distance and time set above.

Economy gain
Prime X 3 Strung3–4.2%■
Superblast 32.2–3.4%
Built for
Prime X 3 StrungMarathon · Ultra
Superblast 3Half · Marathon · Ultra
Best use case
Prime X 3 StrungDeliberately built past the rules. Enormous stack, huge cushioning, and superb for long training runs or any race that does not apply World Athletics regulations.
Superblast 3The best plateless shoe in the world and a cult favourite for good reason. Enormous stack, superb foam, and it will train and race happily for 700km.

How it is built

Weight
Prime X 3 Strung275 g
Superblast 3248 g■

Manufacturer figure at men's US 9.

Stack (heel)
Prime X 3 Strung50 mm
Superblast 345.5 mm
Stack (forefoot)
Prime X 3 Strung44 mm
Superblast 337.5 mm
Drop
Prime X 3 Strung6 mm
Superblast 38 mm
Foam
Prime X 3 StrungLightstrike Pro
Superblast 3FF Turbo+ over FF Blast+
Plate
Prime X 3 Strungcarbon fibre
Superblast 3none

Rules and fit

Road legal
Prime X 3 StrungNo (50 mm)
Superblast 3No (45.5 mm)

World Athletics caps road racing shoes at 40 mm of stack.

Fit
Prime X 3 Strungstandard
Superblast 3standard
Stability
Prime X 3 Strungbalanced
Superblast 3stable

Neither is better in the abstract — it depends on your stride.

Race life
Prime X 3 Strung~500 km
Superblast 3~700 km■

How long the foam stays fast, not how long the shoe survives.

Data confidence
Prime X 3 Strungverified
Superblast 3verified

■ marks the better figure where one is genuinely better. Fit, foam, drop and stability carry no mark — they depend on your foot and your stride, not on which shoe is superior.

In your size.

Where to buy

Your UK size

Best price today — some sizes£145at Runningbear — £105 under RRP

9 retailer checks failed on the last run, so their prices are missing rather than wrong.

Prices are captured when the site is built and stamped with the time of that check. We never rank a retailer by what it pays us; where a link earns a commission it is marked sponsored and the price you pay is unchanged.

Where to buy

Your UK size

Best price today — some sizes£199.90at Startfitness — £0.10 under RRP

9 retailer checks failed on the last run, so their prices are missing rather than wrong.

Prices are captured when the site is built and stamped with the time of that check. We never rank a retailer by what it pays us; where a link earns a commission it is marked sponsored and the price you pay is unchanged.