adidas Gazelle Indoor Review: Suede, Fit, and Whether It's the One to Buy
The Gazelle Indoor is the shoe people end up with after they have tried the Samba and found it too narrow, and tried the Spezial and found it too roomy. It sits between them, and that middle position is the entire reason it works.
Here is what it actually is, how it fits, and who should skip it.
What is the adidas Gazelle Indoor?
It is the indoor-court version of the Gazelle, built on adidas's indoor training heritage rather than the outdoor terrace lineage. The shape is a slim, low-cut, court-inspired silhouette that sits close to the foot.
Construction is straightforward and has not changed much: a soft suede upper, a gum rubber outsole, lace-up closure, the signature Three-Stripes with Trefoil detailing, and a textile lining. The women's pairs add gold Gazelle lettering along the side. It is a simple shoe, and the suede is doing most of the work.
How does the Gazelle Indoor fit?
The Gazelle Indoor is the slim one. That is the single most useful thing to know before you order.
Where the Handball Spezial is the roomiest of the classic terrace models and the Samba runs narrow but structured, the Gazelle Indoor is low-volume and close-fitting through the midfoot. If you have a wide foot or a high instep, this is the model in the family most likely to give you trouble, and the Spezial is the better call. If you have a narrow foot and Sambas feel sloppy on you, this is the one.
Our Gazelle Indoor sizing guide goes size by size, and there is a women's Gazelle Indoor sizing guide as well. For the model family as a whole, do adidas Gazelles run true to size covers the broader question.
The suede is the point
Take the suede off this shoe and there is not much left. There is no cushioning story, no midsole technology, no plate. It is a flat gum sole and a soft upper.
That sounds like a criticism and it is not. A thin, flexible suede low-top is one of the few sneaker categories that genuinely looks better after a year than it did new. Suede takes creasing as character in a way that leather and mesh do not. The tradeoff is that suede and heavy rain do not get along, which in Portland is a real consideration from about now until spring. Keep a brush around and accept that this is a dry-day shoe.
Which colorway?
Two worth calling out for the season. The red in JI2063 is the men's pick, and red suede is one of those colors that reads richer in person than it photographs. The ash green in JS1396 is the women's pick and it is the more wearable of the two, muted enough to behave like a neutral against denim or cream.
Both are the sort of color you buy when you already own a black or white pair and want the second one to be interesting. If this is your first pair in the family, a neutral is the more sensible starting point.
Gazelle Indoor vs Samba vs Spezial
The short version. The Samba is narrow, structured, and the most recognizable of the three. The Handball Spezial is the roomiest and the softest out of the box, and it is the one to pick for wide feet. The Gazelle Indoor is the slimmest and the most understated, and it is the one people buy when they want the terrace look without the Samba being quite so obvious.
We compare all three properly in Samba vs Gazelle vs Spezial, and the complete Gazelle guide maps out the wider Gazelle family.
Who should buy it
Buy the Gazelle Indoor if you have a narrow to normal foot, you want a suede low-top that is not a Samba, and you are comfortable with a shoe that is more about shape than comfort technology.
Skip it if you have wide feet, if you need real cushioning for long days on concrete, or if this is going to be your only pair through a wet winter. In those cases the Spezial is the better buy.
Browse the full lineup in the Gazelle collection.
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