Two of the sanest flagship buys on the shelf, £20 apart. Character is the difference: rolling EnergyRods against a stride-opening platform.
The ASICS Metaspeed Sky Tokyo is 31g lighter (170g against 201g), the adidas Adizero Adios Pro 4 is £20 cheaper at RRP (£220 against £240), and the adidas Adizero Adios Pro 4 stays fast for roughly 10km longer (~260km against ~250km). Both are inside the World Athletics 40mm road limit.
Weight · men's US 9
0320g
Price · UK RRP
0£450
Competitive life · km before the foam fades
0700km
■ marks the better figure, where better is not a matter of taste
Metaspeed Sky Tokyo39.5mm — on the limit
Adizero Adios Pro 439mm — road legal
| Specification | Adizero Adios Pro 4 | Metaspeed Sky Tokyo |
|---|---|---|
| RRP | £220 (advantage) | £240 |
| Weight | 201g | 170g (advantage) |
| Stack | 39 / 33mm | 39.5 / 34.5mm |
| Drop | 6mm | 5mm |
| Road legal | yes | yes |
| Plate | carbon fibre | carbon fibre |
| Foam | Lightstrike Pro | FF Leap over FF Turbo+ |
| Competitive life | ~260km (advantage) | ~250km |
| Price per km of life | £0.85 (advantage) | £0.96 |
| Fit | standard | standard |
| Underfoot | balanced | balanced |
| Built for | 10K · Half · Marathon | 10K · Half · Marathon |
| Economy gain | 3.2–4.3% | 3.5–4.7% |
= 5:20/km
Time bought back
−2:45 – 4:00
010 min
Time bought back
−3:06 – 4:26
010 min
Modelled economy gain adjusted for pace and your current shoes; ranges reflect the spread published between individual runners. Full method.
| Race | For the time | For the money |
|---|---|---|
| 10Kat a reference 45:00 | Metaspeed Sky Tokyo−43s to −1m 01s | Adizero Adios Pro 4cheaper per second saved |
| Half marathonat a reference 1:45:00 | Metaspeed Sky Tokyo−1m 33s to −2m 13s | Adizero Adios Pro 4cheaper per second saved |
| Marathonat a reference 3:45:00 | Metaspeed Sky Tokyo−3m 06s to −4m 26s | Adizero Adios Pro 4cheaper per second saved |
Reference times, trainer baseline, whole-life economics. Your own time changes the answer — use the reading above.
The best value at the very top of the market. Within touching distance of the Evo 2 for performance at half the price and twice the life.
■ Caution The EnergyRods give a distinctive rolling feel that some runners never get on with. Try before you commit if you can.
For stride-length runners — the Sky is built to let your stride open up rather than turn over faster. Arguably the best all-round marathon shoe currently made.
■ Caution ASICS splits the line by running style. If you race by increasing cadence rather than stride length, the Edge is the correct shoe and this one will feel wrong.
Manufacturer-stated specs unless marked estimated on the shoe sheet · last reviewed 2026-09-04 · prices are UK RRP.