Adidas Adizero Prime X 2.0 Strung vs Adidas Adizero Prime X 3 Strung:
Which to Choose

Start with what's identical: both use tall Lightstrike Pro foam over a carbon propulsion system, both weigh essentially the same (the 2.0 lands around 295g in a men's 8.5 and the 3 around 291g in a men's US 9 — both heavy by racer standards and neither meaningfully lighter than the other), and both share the same honest quirk of feeling a touch tippy and disconnected at slow jogging paces before settling into a strong forward roll once you lift the tempo. The heel stack is also close, roughly 50mm on the 2.0 versus 48mm on the 3, so the sheer height and long-run protection carry straight over. The genuine difference is geometry. The 2.0 runs a 7mm drop with a high 43.5mm forefoot; the 3 keeps a similar heel but drops the forefoot to 35mm, pushing the offset all the way up to 13mm. That's a big change in feel: the 3's taller heel-to-toe gap cushions the heel strike and leans on an aggressive rocker for long-effort comfort, where the 2.0 sits flatter and more forefoot-planted. That geometry shift tracks with how each is tuned — the 2.0's sweet spot is a bit faster and sharper (optimal around 3:45–4:30 min/km, peaking near 3:30–3:45), while the 3 is pitched slightly more toward sustained uptempo long runs (optimal around 4:15–5:00 min/km). The carbon setup is also refined rather than reinvented, with the 3 running a full-length carbon plate stacked over Energy Rods 2.0 for smoother, more runnable transitions.