The Adidas Lite Racer is one of the best slip-on laceless shoes for going through airport security. Having gone through many slip-on shoes at the airport, I’ve picked this Adidas shoe as not only my favorite travel shoe, but now as my everyday shoe.
As a former athlete, I’m prone to more than the occasional aches and pains. After a recent sciatica flare-up, I could barely bend over to tie my shoes. So, I had a friend take me shoe shopping and spent an entire day looking for the ultimate slip-on shoe for my next flight.
I discovered the Adidas Lite Racer pretty quickly on the shelves, but thought that one of the first shoes I found couldn’t possibly be the best. I put it aside and eventually went to a different shoe store. After a few more hours of trying on shoes (and trying the patients of store clerks), I went back and tried on the laceless Adidas one more time.
The Adidas Lite Racer for Airline Travel
I realized that my search was over as sneaker is lightweight and comfortable. Because it is laceless, it slips off and back on in a breeze.
Since I wear custom made orthotics, I liked that the shoe has separate inserts that come out. I was able to easily replace the factory inserts with my custom insoles. If you wear any type of inserts, you should always bring them with you as you shoe shop.
The style is very sleek and modern with a nylon fabric mesh. It has what appears to be bungee like “laces” over the top, which seem more decorative than anything else. It’s the elastic nylon fabric that holds the shoe on the foot.
I’ve put as many as 15 miles in a day of walking in mine. My phone’s pedometer shows that I’ve put hundreds of miles on them, and no signs of rips or tears. They still fit perfect.
In fact, I now wear mine everyday and not just to the airport. If I’m going to run, climb, or workout, I use a different shoe.
The true test (for me) is how my body feels after a few days of walking on concrete. I’ve put this shoe through it paces and I don’t have the sore feet and aching back that most slip-on shoes give me. So wearing these through airport security is a no brainier.
When selecting footwear for travel, you always to think ahead. Airplanes get diverted to different airports, flights get cancelled, and more. There are many things that can put you in a position, far from home, where you have to do some serious walking. The last thing you want to be in is a set of flip-flops.
While the Adidas Lite Racer would not be my first choice of shoes to be wearing stranded away from home, because that would be my set of hiking boots. But, these shoes will definitely give me superior comfort and support that’s hard to find in laceless slip-on shoes. So when I go to the airport, these are what I wear.
The drawbacks
The Adidas Lite Racer is promoted as a running shoe. However, it appears that they don’t stand up to the rigors of intense physical activity. The big toe ripping its way out of the top of the fabric seems to be a common problem if used as a running shoe. But for airline traveling, and walking around as a tourist, you shouldn’t have that problem.