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Running shoe foams, technology by technology

ZoomX, Boost, FF Blast, PWRRUN… What each foam is made of, since when, and which shoes of the catalogue use it, family by family.

Published Oct 16, 2026

Every brand names its foam, but behind the trade names there is a handful of materials. Here is every foam technology of the catalogue, sorted by material, as the brand or a published source states it.

The families run from the highest to the lowest energy return: measured on shoes where a study did it, otherwise placed between its neighbours. It is an order, not a score: the midsole's shape, thickness and softness matter as much as its material.

PEBA

Energy return measured on shoes: 87 %

Polyether block amide (Arkema's Pebax), foamed into very light, very soft blocks: the foam of most plated racing shoes.

PEBA blend

Never measured the same way: placed between its neighbours

PEBA combined with another polymer, in a proportion brands almost never publish.

TPEE

Never measured the same way: placed between its neighbours

A polyester-ether elastomer, rarer: a few brands use it in their plated shoes.

TPU

Energy return measured on shoes: 75.9 %

Thermoplastic polyurethane, often as expanded beads fused with steam (adidas Boost is the best-known example): heavier, very resilient.

Supercritical EVA

Never measured the same way: placed between its neighbours

EVA, or an EVA-based blend, foamed with a gas (nitrogen, CO₂) in a supercritical state: finer cells, a lighter foam.

Blend

Never measured the same way: placed between its neighbours

A blend of several polymers whose recipe the brand does not give, often EVA-based.

EVA

Energy return measured on shoes: 65.5 %

Ethylene-vinyl acetate: the historic midsole material, foamed then compression or injection moulded.

Other materials

Another material, named by the brand but in none of the families above.

Material not stated

The brand names the technology without saying what it is made of, or its material changes from one model to another.

Air, gel and inserts

Parts of the midsole that are not a foam: air units, gel, inserts or plates.

Order of the families, from the highest to the lowest energy return, after Hoogkamer et al. 2018, Sports Medicine 48:1009