Customer Reviews adidas Originals Rod Laver

Love these shoes and used to wear them when I was a kid, but I found them to be too hard soled for me today (25 years later) for tennis. If it matters, I am a woman. Maybe a taller man would have no issue getting the shoe to flex. I also had to order a size 7 women's (perfect length, a little narrow). I usually wear a 7.5 or even an 8 because I like a little extra width.

My modest review has more to do with my pancake feet than the shoe. I love the look of the shoe; it's exactly what I want it to be. Unfortunately, the shoe runs too narrow for my flat feet. It's narrower than other comparable shoes (Converse All-stars, Nike Pro Sport). I ended up with the Nike Pro Sport canvas shoe. The Nike is fine for my feet but I just love the look of the Laver and wish they made a wide size.

I bought these shoes for my husband who uses them for the gym. He found them just "okay." They require some break-in time and are rather stiff.

I wanted a pair of these so desperately when I was younger about 2 years ago. My private school buddies had them and I did not, so when I saw them here I purchased. There are very sporty but I made the mistake of wearing them during a 3 mile march. They certainly are not meant for exercise and don't hold a candle to MBT's or New Balance. For being cute and short jaunts they will do.

Nice shoes... I purchased these for my 15 year old son. He was very pleased with them and says there very comfortable.

Classic looks but very uncomfortable - These shoes look great just like they always did but I don't remember them being so uncomfortable. After wearing them for about an hour my feet start to burn. Honestly, I can't wear these for any great length of time. Oh well, maybe they just need a good long break-in period.

These are (as everyone else attests) an awesome trainer. I was pretty surprised how comfy they were as I'd tried on a pair of my mates a few years ago and they felt horrible. The worst part though is that the nylon mesh fabric has become soaked with disco fudge and they just look really patchy and dirty.

Not great for women - These are great-looking sneakers, but they are really designed and sized for men. The correlation to women's sizing is off, mainly in the proportions. The whole toe area down to ball of the foot is too wide, probably for most women; so, the sneakers buckle at the front when laced for a secure fit. I love the look, but they are not as comfortable as they should be -- and they certainly are not suited for actually playing tennis. FRUSTRATING.

Adidas is slipping on quality - These shoes look great, and they're not entirely uncomfortable, but the quality of materials used is very questionable. Whereas the original Rod Lavers (I believe) had a traditional hard rubber outsole (as all tennis-specific shoes do), Adidas has instead used the softer midsole polyurethane material for both the midsole and outsole. The result? traction is a problem with these shoes out of the box. I nearly slipped and fell several times while walking on concrete/tile floors the first time I wore them. This does improve as the outsole gets scuffed up by the ground, but it just seemed ridiculous to me since these are TENNIS shoes! I can only guess that the Adidas "Originals" line is dedicated only to visual reproduction, and not quality or performance. Too bad, Adidas, I'll definitely try other "originals" shoes in store before buying.

Adidas Original Rod Laver - This shoe gave me the worst blisters on the top of my big toe ball mound. The problem is where the stitching for the laces are rubs on my feet (both of them). I am still breaking them in. I have never had a shoe that did this to me. They are so cute though.

Rod Laver review - I love the look, but they aren't comfortable at all. The sole insole burns my feet, and the mesh cuts into the front of my feet.

These hurt - I'm an Adidas guy. All my shoes are Adidas. These actually hurt my feet. Then when I step and my foot flexes the metal eyelet digs in to my foot. I can't return these since I wore them for a full day to try to break them in. They now just sit on my shoe rack.

Like others, I found this new version too heavy and narrow. I should have listened to what others said, but I HAD to see for myself. Don't be like me.

Great looking shoe but the sole on the left one has completely split after about six months of use.

Poor traction so it feels slick and like a cheaply made shoe. The white part at the toe scuffs very easily. It was scuffed by the first day and you cannot buff it out. I am not hard on my shoes. I am really disappointed and would not buy them again. The black mesh is certainly easier to keep clean than the white. This is the first time I have worn black and wish I had made another choice.

I have an older pair of the Lavers that are very comfortable but this new pair falls short on quality. They are also running a half size small so I will be returning these.

Uncomfortable, cheap materials - I have never owned a pair of Adidas shoes before. I have heard good things, so I thought I would give them a shot. The Rod Lavers were uncomfortable and I thought the materials used were sub-par. I broke my ankle and had to have surgery a couple years ago, so I have been wearing really supportive New Balances ever since. I experience no pain in my ankle and haven't for some time. However, after walking around in these shoes for 10-15 minutes, my ankle started to hurt. I went ahead and exchanged them, decided to give Adidas another shot and go with the Superstar IIs. That is a nice shoe... comfy and the materials are what I would have expected. More stylish than the Lavers, too, in my opinion.

Don't judge a shoe by its brand - Over the years I’ve been satisfied with Adidas quality shoes. But upon receiving these Rod Laver's I had to reevaluate my judgment. The shoe looks great out of the box, but take a picture, because it will never look near that decent again. After only 6 hours of wearing these shoes had accumulated dirt on the toe and tongue area, and excessively on the mid-heel area. No amount of bleach helped remove the stain, and I was only able to wear them once more before retiring them. Only consider these if you live in a bubble.

Great shoe until it fell apart - I loved my Rod Lavers - I had a pair 20 years ago and loved them then as well - but the sole started to come apart after only 3 months. True, I’m on my feet all day, but I’m not particularly hard on shoes. The soles of these started shredding and falling off in chunks! I bought ‘em for summer, but they didn't make it through spring.

Heavier (much) than they were before. Warning. I have had 4-5 pairs of rod lavers. I bought 2 new pairs of rod laver "originals" from adidas directly, and was so dissappointed. The material is not at all like it used to be, much worse quality. The soles are super-heavy. I actually weighed and compared, but I cant find the photo right now, but it is ridiculous. The new ones feel really cheap and heavy, and it totally destroys the rod laver feeling. I hope they stop making them that way and go back to making them with quality like before.

Zappos is truly amazing, let's get that out of the way. Every company in America should be trying to follow the lead set by Zappos in terms of customer support and customer care. Ugh...the shoes, so disappointed. I had owned the Rod Lavers a few years ago and wanted another pair for summer. Boy, has this shoe changed.. These things weigh a ton and the quality is really poor. Fit is fine but trust me, you will be amazed by how heavy these puppies are. They will be sent back and I will look for something else.

I have worn Rod Lavers since the late '90s - they fit my foot perfectly and became my shoe of choice. But I knew that the most recent pair of Lavers I bought in the fall of '14 were different the moment I put them on. The design has changed - they have gotten wider and the arch support has greatly diminished. It blows my mind that Adidas would so drastically alter the design of the shoe without giving any kind of notice or explanation. I even contacted their customer service only to find they had no idea. I would have likely continued buying these shoes for many more years, but now I am off to find a new shoe.

Unfortunately, the changes Adidas has made to this shoe make it very uncomfortable. The sole is now very unyielding and heavy and after a short wear, I feel like I have two paddles tied to my feet.

I tried these on and immediately hated them. Way too narrow, and felt like I was standing on a jagged rock. Who would ever wear these?