adidas Taekwondo Review: The Slip-On That Ate 2026

The adidas Taekwondo is a laceless low-top with a leather upper, a lace cover across the throat that turns it into a slip-on, and a flat gum rubber outsole. It sits in the same low-profile lane as the Samba, the Gazelle and the newer BW Army, but it is slimmer through the sole and more minimal on top, with no Three Stripes shouting from the sidewall on most colorways. adidas sells it in the US in both the original slip-on build and a laced version, alongside the women's Taekwondo Mei. Colorways have run from Core Black and Cloud White to Silver Metallic, Clear Pink and the sand-toned Sand Strata on the lace model. It is priced in the accessible end of adidas Originals, well below the brand's collaboration tier.

Measured in RunRepeat's lab rather than lifted from a product page:

• Upper: genuine leather, confirmed by torch testing, with a thin tongue and a flexible heel counter
• Outsole: flat gum rubber with shallow undulations and a forefoot pivot point
• Heel stack: 23.4 mm, on par with the adidas Gazelle and Stan Smith
• Forefoot stack: 15.7 mm, giving a measured drop of 7.7 mm
• Weight: 10.6 oz / 301 g, well under the lifestyle-sneaker average
• Forefoot width: 89.0 mm against a 92.4 mm category average
• Toebox height: 22.4 mm against a 27.7 mm average
• Wet traction: coefficient of friction 0.92, roughly double the category norm
• Closure: slip-on via lace cover, plus a separately sold laced version
• Sizing: true to size in length

Timing and shape. The low-profile silhouette has been the dominant sneaker mood of 2026, and retail trend reports keep grouping the adidas Taekwondo with the adidas BW Army and the Puma Speedcat as the models defining it. Where the Samba reads sporty, the Taekwondo reads almost balletic, which is why it landed with the fashion crowd first and the general public second. The laceless throat helps: it looks cleaner with tailoring and wide-leg denim than a lace-up terrace shoe does. adidas then extended the idea with the Taekwondo Mei, a women's-focused variant that style editors have been putting at the top of their adidas shopping lists alongside the Samba and the Handball Spezial.

Grip, weight and materials, in that order. The gum outsole posted an exceptional wet-traction figure in controlled testing, roughly double the average for a lifestyle sneaker, which matters more than it sounds when you are walking on polished subway tile in the rain. It is also light, around 10.6 oz, so it disappears on the foot. And the leather is real, not coated synthetic, which shows up in how the upper creases and softens rather than cracking. The sleeper finding: despite looking flatter than the Samba, it absorbs measurably more impact than its stablemate, so it is the more comfortable of the two for a long day on pavement.

It is narrow, and not in a way a half size fixes. Forefoot width measures below the category average, and the bigger problem is vertical: toebox height sits far under the norm, so pressure lands on the top of the toes rather than the sides. Anyone with bunions, hammertoes or a high instep should treat this as a hard pass. Cushioning is minimal by design, so multi-hour standing shifts are out. The leather and the closed construction also make it a slow dryer, which is a genuine nuisance if it gets soaked. And there is no heel pull tab, which on a slip-on is a strange omission.

Length is true to size, so order your usual adidas number rather than sizing up out of habit. The fit is snug across the whole foot in the way a Samba is snug, only lower over the toes. If you are between sizes, go up. If you are a wide fitter, look at a different silhouette entirely rather than hoping leather stretch saves you, because the vertical clearance is the constraint and leather does not gain height. Expect break-in: the upper softens and moulds within a couple of weeks, and the slip-on construction gets noticeably easier to put on once it does. The laced version gives you marginally more adjustment if you want it.

Buy the adidas Taekwondo if you have narrow to medium feet, want the defining low-profile shape of 2026, and value real leather and outstanding grip in a sneaker you can slide on without bending down. It works with tailoring, with wide denim and with the slouchy trouser silhouettes dominating fall. Skip it if your feet are wide or your toes are sensitive, if you need cushioning for all-day wear, or if you want something you can hose off and wear again the next morning. Skip it too if you already own a Samba and want variety rather than a second version of the same idea.