Year: 2021

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BROOKS REVEL 5 Performance Review

My deep impression to Brooks brand is for running. I’m preparing for the second full marathon of this year, so I purchased Brooks Revel 5 for training. I want to share my reviews of Brooks Revel 5 with you after running about 70km.

Unboxing:

The shoebox Brooks Revel 5 is also blue. It also prints the picture of the model and colorway on the shoebox, so that you can find the shoes that you want to wear today easily.

Vamp:

Brooks Revel 5 uses upgraded Fit Knit vamp, which is the biggest difference of Brooks Revel 5 with Brooks Revel 4. Although the vamp is made of knit, but the inner layer is the half inner sleeve which is made of elastic ventilated material. So the foot won’t touch the knitted vamp directly.

The flexibility of Brooks Revel 5 is good. The knit and elastic material is soft. It won’t press the foot when bending. The forefoot is protected by plastic material. The stability of Brooks Revel 5 mainly comes from the logo on both sides of vamp. After fastening the shoelaces, it can guarantee the comfort level and stability.

Insole:

The BioMoGo DNA technology insole is elastic. The height of forefoot sole is about 20mm, and the height of rear sole is about 28mm. The unit weight is about 250g. It’s light and elastic in the beginning. After running about 30km, the feedback is different, but the cushioning performance is still good.

The insole doesn’t have built-in stabilizing plate, Brooks Revel 5 is not stiff, but it also keeps the rigidity.

Outsole:

The outsole pattern of BROOKS REVEL is arrows. The black rubber covers the whole outsole.

After running about 70km, I haven’t found obvious abrasion. The abrasive resistance is good.

Testing:

  1. Recover Run

As it’s a pair of new shoes, I firstly choose the recover run for testing Brooks Revel 5. The soft vamp is comfortable. It’s comfortable when running.

  1. Interval Run

Frankly, Brooks Revel 5 is also suitable for interval running. The stable outsole can grip the ground well. The feedback of BioMoGo DNA insole is fast. The drop height is only 8mm. Brooks Revel 5 can satisfy the request of interval running.

  1. LSD Run

As I already had the experience of recover run and interval run, I started to try the LSD run. It’s easy for me to run about half and two hours. The air permeability is good.  Comparing with BROOKS HYPERION ELITE, for the resilience and supporting performance of insole, Brooks Revel 5 is more suitable for middle and short distance running.

Overall:

The appearance and performance of Brooks Revel 5 is good. The Fit Knit vamp is comfortable. The BioMoGo reminds us the foot feeling of NIKE REACT. It’s thinner and lighter. The feedback of Brooks Revel 5 is faster. The traction performance and durability is great. But shoe-pad is easy to skid. You can choose the standard size or half size smaller. You can have a try on physical store before purchasing.

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Deconstructed UA HOVR HAVOC 4 CLONE

The UA CLONE vamp technology of UA HOVR HAVOC 4 CLONE brings us more surprise. The insole uses HOVR+MICRO G technology which is not special. We want to show the inner structure of UA HOVR HAVOC 4 CLONE to our fans.

UA HOVR HAVOC 4 CLONE

Splitting the left shoe from middle part

The A-A section of UA HOVR HAVOC 4 CLONE

Separating the vamp and insole of right shoe

It uses independent shoe tongue, which is convenient for putting on and taking off.

The UA CLONE vamp technology likes a piece of elastic net which is trying to coordinate the adaptation of instep. It can fit the foot very well when exercising.

The inner layer of UA CLONE vamp uses suede material to stabilize the vamp.

The knitted material vamp is anti-skid and hard-wearing. The shoe heel is printed with HOVR HAVOC.

The surface material of insole fabric is EVA.

The reverse side of insole fabric is nonwovens.

The insole uses HOVR+MICRO G cushion. The HOVR technology can keep the energy feedback. The MICRO G foaming material is light and durable.

The forefoot sole adds 3 grooves on the force bearing point to save the effort.

The shoe heel has a lot of punching holes which will offer more deformation and bring more resilience.

The reverse side of arch TPU stabilizing plate has 3 pieces of reinforced ribs to improve the anti-torsion performance.

The length of EUR42.5 TPU stabilizing plate is about 85.79mm.

The width of EUR42.5 TPU stabilizing plate is about 31.69mm.

The thickness of EUR42.5 TPU stabilizing plate is about 2.83mm.

The constrictive energy net on the shoe heel can offer necessary dynamic support when stressing.

The outsole uses big area of rubber which can offer more area to touch the ground and to improve the stability.

The stressing area of forefoot sole uses groove design which improve the feedback and traction performance.

The thickness of EUR42.5 forefoot outsole is about 5.48mm.

The thickness of EUR42.5 rear outsole is about 4.46mm.

The thickness of forefoot sole (insole + outsole) is about 17.04mm.

The thickness of rear sole (insole + outsole) is about 24.03mm. The drop height is 6.99mm.

The unit weight of EUR42.5 is about 364.6g.

The deconstructed parts of UA HOVR HAVOC 4 CLONE

Deconstructed Report

Vamp: The vamp technology UA CLONE has tensioning characteristic which can fit the foot very well when exercising.

Insole: The insole uses double-deck air cushion HOVR+MICRO G which can offer excellent air cushion. The insole is not thick. The drop height is 7mm. It’s suitable for breaking though players.

Overall: UA HOVR HAVOC 4 CLONE is a pair of basketball shoes which is suitable for lightweight players and the players who like break though and faster speed. The height of upper can protect the ankle, and it also keeps the flexibility. It’s worthy to purchase.

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Nike Kyrie Low 4 Keep Sue Fresh Performance Review

Model: Nike Kyrie Low 4 Keep Sue Fresh

Court: outdoor epoxy

Height/Weight: 181cm/81kg

Size: US12

As the fans of Kyrie, I have bought Kyrie 2 till Kyrie 7. Kyrie 7 has got positive feedback in the market. Then the following Kylie Low 4 is called as the simplified version of Kyrie 7. Today, we want to share the performance review of Nike Kyrie Low 4 with you.

Traction Performance: 10 scores

The outsole of Nike Kyrie Low 4 is the same as Kyrie 7. The ripple pattern of outsole is developed after conversion. No matter if the calculation is accurate, the traction performance of the ripple pattern should be excellent, so it’s still used. You can stop in time when you want. The outsole has upturning design. The pattern of the outsole is deep. It should be no problem for normal players to use it at least 3 months.

Cushion Performance & Feedback: 4 scores

The forefoot sole of Nike Kyrie Low 4 uses rectangle Zoom air cushion and full-length cushlon foam cushion. But the actual cushion performance and feedback of Nike Kyrie Low 4 insole is worse. There should be some problems with the density of the full-length cushlon.

Fittness: 8 scores

The vamp of Nike Kyrie Low 4 uses check mesh fabric. Both sides of the vamp are visible. It improves the muggy disadvantages of Kyrie 7. The weight is also lighter than Kyrie 7. The padding on the ankle position is also thickened. The starting speed is fast. The forefoot outboard upturning position of Nike Kyrie Low 4 canceled the TPU design of Kyrie 7. The starting speed of Kyrie Low 4 is better than Kyrie 7. But the later support and fitness is not good. The space on both sides of the vamp is a little empty.

Strength/Supporting Performance: 6 scores

After the Kyrie series starting to use Zoom Turbo, the TPU stabilizing plate is also canceled. But the insole of Kyrie Low 4 has rectangle TPU anti-torsion plate. The strength of Kyrie Low 4 is good at the beginning. But as the durability of vamp is declining, the supporting performance will also decline. The overall stability of Kyrie Low 4 is worse than Kyrie 7.

Overall:

Kyrie Low 4 is suitable for flat foot. The appearance looks nice. But the overall performance is not great. As the price is cheap, if you like it, you can have a try.

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Adidas Dame 7 Performance Review

Damian Lillard had some great moments this past season, he scored 55 points in the playoffs, but lost again in the playoffs. Adidas hasn’t released the Dame 8 when Lillard attended the playoffs and Olympic games, but released the improved Dame 7 extply. So Dame 7 should be reliable for Damian Lillard. Although I haven’t purchased the Dame 7 extply, but I have the normal version Dame 7. The difference between them is the vamp design and the Dame 7 extply uses the environmental protecting material. Except the fitting, Dame 7 extply and Dame 7 are almost the same.

  1. Comfort level

The shape of Dame 7 is similar with Dame 6. The vamp of Dame 7 is thicker than Dame 6. As the padding of Dame 7 on the ankle position is thick and it has wide outrigger design on the forefoot sole, so Dame 7 looks big. The vamp and shoe tongue of Dame 7 is made of knitted mesh fabric. Even if on the hot Summer, it still can keep the feet dry and comfortable. It adds leather lines on both sides of vamp. The insole of Dame 7 uses Lightstrike.

I chose the standard size when trying, but I felt that the forefoot sole is a little empty, so I choose half size smaller. It’s a little tight, but it improve the fitting. The ankle is surrounded by the thick padding. The shoe heel uses thick Lightstrike, although it’s not so comfortable as Boost, but I can feel the cushioning feedback from the Lightstrike when jumping or running. The Lightstrik on the forefoot sole is thinner. So the height of forefoot sole is lower than the shoe heel. It needs time to break-in.

  1. Protection

The vamp of Dame 7 is mainly made of ventilated mesh fabric. The resilience of mesh fabric is good, but it’s not so stable, so Dame 7 adds the leather on both sides of vamp. The leather not only can reinforce the vamp, but also hides the rope belt. As the ankle position is filled with thick padding, after fastening the shoelaces, it can lock the ankle position well. But the shoelaces can’t adjust the forefoot position.

The forefoot sole is a little wide, so it effect the problem of fitting. The forefoot sole has outrigger design, and the shoe heel has stabilizing plate, so the stability is good.

  1. Durability

The depth of outsole pattern is deep. The outboard outsole is the pattern of 7, and the middle pattern is lightning shape. The traction performance of Dame 7 is great, and the sole is not easy to absorb the dust. It can be used on both outdoor and indoor court. After playing a few basketball games, it doesn’t have obvious abrasion on the middle part of the outsole. But the outboard ‘7’ pattern has the abrasion.

Overall:

I’m surprised at the stability of Dame 7. It’s also comfortable. But the shape is big and it’s heavy, it affect the flexibility of the shoes. It also needs time to break-in the low forefoot sole and high shoe heel. For the size, it’s better to try it before purchasing online.

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Air Jordan 36 Performance Review

Item: Air Jordan 36

Tester’s information:

Height/Weight：167cm/86kg

Size：US9.5/EUR43

Foot Type: a little wide

Court: outdoor painting court

This year, the AIR JORDAN 36 released. Many shoe fans are interested in it. And I also love the AJ series basketball shoes. After testing the AJ36, today I want to share the performance review with you.

Traction Performance:

Since AJ34, the outsole of AJ series shoes has changed to the traditional herringbone pattern. The outsole of AJ36 also uses herringbone pattern which also keep the excellent traction performance.

Cushion Performance & Feedback:

It’ said that AJ36 has the largest Zoom Air cushion in the history. The insole uses full-length Zoom Air Strobel with fan-shaped Zoom Air cushion on the forefoot sole. The configuration looks great. But I’m also afraid that it will affect the starting speed.

After testing, I’m surprised at the feedback of insole. It’s soft but also elastic. The starting speed is also fast, not laggard. Maybe it’s due to my heavy weight. For me, the insole doesn’t need times to break-in. I can feel the explosive resilience after wearing. I’d like to jump, run and making some movements after wearing. After jumping to the ground, the ZOOM Air cushion of AJ36 is very comfortable. The cushion performance is top-level.

Since AJ34 starts to use the hollow-out insole design till now, Eclipse Plate is regarded as one of the important Jordan technology. The Eclipse Plate of AJ36 is the upgraded 3.0 version. The appearance of Eclipse Plate 3.0 already has the obvious difference with previous two versions. It’s not integrated circle structure. For most of players who wear AJ36, the change of the structure liberates the arch.

Fitness & Supporting Performance:

The AJ36 uses the brand-new Leno-weave vamp. This kind of material not only can keep the stretched strength of vamp, but also guarantee good air permeability and lightweight. We can see the socks from the vamp. The vamp is very thin.

The vamp fit the instep well and the tenacity of vamp is also good. When moving, the vamp won’t deform excessively and affect the movement of footstep. With the Eclipse Plate which stabilize the insole structure, the overall supporting strength of AJ36 is great.

Durability:

For Jordan series basketball shoes, it is certainly suitable for playing the basketball on indoor court. Not matter the durability of outsole or the brand-new Leno-weave vamp, we don’t suggest you to use it on outdoor cement court.

Overall:

Advantages: AJ36 has comfortable cushion performance, great traction performance, good air permeability and light weight.

Disadvantage: We doubt the durability. It needs time to test it.

AJ36 is a pair of basketball shoes which can help you has better locomotor performance. It has strength boosting sense when running and jumping. The vamp has extreme lightweight. Comparing with previous AJ series basketball shoes, it’s undoubtedly that the performance of AJ36 is the best one.

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Unboxing: Nike LeBron 19

For unboxing the NIKE LeBron 19, we gathered some questions from the shoe fans. Today we want to share these questions with you.

Q: What’s the insole configuration of the LeBron 19?

The insole uses Cushlon foam to match with the separated air cushion. The forefoot sole uses ZOOM Air cushion, and the rear sole uses exposed Max Air. It’s covered a big piece of stabilizing plate to connect the two pieces of air cushion from the middle part of forefoot sole to shoe heel. We can feel the resilience of the ZOOM Air cushion on the forefoot sole when fitting.

Q: It looks that the center of gravity is high. Is it easy to sprain the ankle?

Yes, the center of gravity of LeBron 19 is not low. And the air cushion almost haven’t been covered. But when testing, the degree of the air cushion deformation is within the acceptable range.

Q: Does the LeBron 19 have anti-rollover design?

From the side of chassis, we find that the LeBron 19 has a little out trigger design. But as you know, the anti-rollover performance needs the cooperation of several parts, such as the strength of vamp, traction performance, hardness of sole etc. After testing, we will share more reviews of its anti-rollover performance with you.

Q: What about the abrasion resistance of outsole?

As we haven’t tested it, if you care about the abrasion resistance, you can wait for the our performance review of LeBron 19 after testing it.

Q: What’s the vamp material?

The vamp uses double-deck composite material. The outer layer is similar to nylon material which is tough and has low ductility. The side of vamp has extending Flywire from insole and two pieces of TPU supporting structure to reinforce the lateral stability. And it connects with shoelaces system for the user to adjust. And the inner side has a layer of inner sleeve structure.

Q: Is the fitness good?

The LeBron 19 uses inner sleeve design. The overall fitness is excellent. My colleague’s standard size is US11, but the size US12 is not too big. He thinks that it can choose half size bigger than standard size. Due to the design of shoe collar, the shoe tongue design is also a little high, so it needs time to break-in in the beginning.

Q: What’ the first released colorways?

The first released colorway is black and red one, and the ‘SPACE JAM’ colorway.

Q: What’s the weight?

The unit weight of US12 LeBron 19 is about 640g. It’s heavier about 40g than LeBron 18.

As I’m the fans of LeBron James, I like some details of LeBron 19 design. After testing it, we will share the performance review with you.

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The Released Information of Air Jordan 5 Toro Bravo

Jordan Brand firstly released the Air Jordan 5 red colorway on 2009. Now the ‘angry bull’ returned. The main colorway of Air Jordan 5 ‘Toro Bravo’ is also red. The vamp is made of chamois leather. The shoe tongue has Jumpman logo. The heelpiece has Number ’23’ and traditional Jumpman logo.

The big area of red chamois leather is attractive. With black insole, it looks cool. The insole has shark teeth pattern. The tooth tip uses red color. It corresponds to the meaning of ‘angry bull’.

The shoe tongue uses 3M reflective design. It’s conspicuous under luminous environment. The biggest difference of Air Jordan 5 ‘Toro Bravo’ with previous mould is changing the colourless semi-transparent sole to light blue crystal outsole. The outsole has been upgraded to be more antioxidative. So it will be more durable.

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ASICS Invade Nova Performance Review

When speaking of ASICS Invade Nova basketball shoes, I will remember Nova Surge. ASICS Invade Nova and Nova Surge are similar. They use the same insole and outsole. But the material of vamp is different. What about the configuration of Invade Nova? Let’s have a look at its performance.


The advantages of Asics Invade Nova basketball shoes
Fitness: After wearing Invade Nova and fastening the shoelaces, the fitness is tight.  The Velcro design also improves the fitness.If you are wide foot or high instep, it maybe tight for you. Comparing with Nova Surge, the fitness of Invade Nova is better.


Cushion Performance: The insole of Invade Nova is FlyteFoam insole and gel on rear sole. Although it uses three layers of insole, but it doesn’t have obvious cushion performance. Its location should be interior line shoes. The cushion performance of forefoot sole is also good. It won’t be too soft to affect the starting speed.

Supporting Performance: The upper of mid-high Invade Nova has two pieces of small ‘wings’ which surround the whole heelpiece. It can also protect the ankle well, but it won’t limit the movement of heelpiece. And the material around the heelpiece is soft.


Traction Performance: The outsole is grey and white. The traction performance of most of ASICS basketball shoes is always stable and great. It’s still a reliable outsole.


Abrasive Resistance: After playing basketball on indoor court about 4 times,the sole has small abrasion. It’s not very serious. But the outsole pattern of Nova Surge is shallow than Gelburst and Gelhoop series shoes. So the abrasive resistance should be worse.
The disadvantages of Asics Invade Nova basketball shoes
The fitness of Invade Nova is better than Nova Surge. Its material is also thicker. So it’s a little stuffy when playing basketball. But it’s a small sacrifice comparing its excellent fitness and supporting performance. It’s worthy.
BTW, it’s also a little heavy. As a defender, I can also wear Invade Nova to play, but personally I prefer to Gelburst 24 Low and Gelvoop V13. But I recommend Gelvoop V13 to the players who need good protection.
Size: The shoe tree is a little narrow. I suggest to purchase half size bigger than normal size. You can have a try on physical store before purchasing online.

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New Balance FuelCell Rebel V2 Performance Review

Most of runners are familiar with New Balance FuelCell Rebel running shoes. The first FuelCell Rebel series running shoes are released in 2019.

The shoebox is still red and printed with white NB logo.

Unboxing:

The main colorway is yellow and white.

Let’s have a look at the lateral viewing angle of vamp. The vamp is made of yellow and white tulle. The side vamp is decorated with blue N logo. It can increase the stability of vamp.

The inboard of vamp, the rear part also has a blue N logo.

The viewing angle of shoe head has asymmetrical crashworthy design which is mainly on the position of toes. The crashworthy shoe head has NB logo.

The viewing angle of heelpiece, the middle heelpiece is decorated with a red line. The heelpiece has built-in TPU to increase the strength.

The outsole is made of three different materials and it’s divided into 4 parts.

There is a piece of black U shape rubber plate which covers the periphery of forefoot sole improves the abrasive resistance. The pattern is twill weave with triangular groove design. The middle forefoot sole is yellow rubber plate. The pattern is triangle embossing patter, twill weave and triangle hollow-out. We can see the white foam of insole from the hollow-out design, it offers the abrasive resistance and traction performance.

The inner side and outer side of arch have anti-skidding modules.

The outboard part of arch insole has obvious raised design. It’s different with the arch design of traditional running shoes.

This kind of design can offer a good protection to the foot when running. It improves the resilience of the shoes.

The density of heelpiece rubber outsole is high, the stiffiness is also the strongest. The pattern is still diagonal strip and sunk triangle combination. The outboard area is big, it can offer better abrasive resistance.

The insole uses transparent white foam design. That is FuelCell technology.

The FuelCell technology was developed by New Balance Innovation Design Studio. As the official declared, it has the strongest propulsion and energy feedback. New Balance released the first pair of running shoes with FuelCell technology in 2017.

The outboard of insole has a piece of laser plate which has ‘new balance’ and the series ‘FUELCELL’.

Let’s have a look at the vamp, the vamp is made of integrated knitted mesh fabric.The fitness, appearance and air permeability is good.

The shoelaces position is reinforced by hot-melting coating. The shoelaces holes are flat type. Both of the appearance and anti-skid resistance have been improved.

The shape of shoe tongue is designed according to the foot type. It’s thin and ventilated.

The suture line is good.

The shoe-pad uses classic double layers design. The upper layer fabric is anti-skidding and the bottom layer foam has cushion performance.

The inner side of shoe head is added with a piece of cambered cushioning lining. It’s comfortable after wearing.

Overall:

  1. As a pair of light running shoes which uses the NB core cushioning technology FuelCell. It’s comfortable.
  2. Appearance: The yellow and white colorway is suitable for wearing in Summer. The appearance is nice. The thin mesh fabric vamp has good air permeability.
  3. The cost performance is good.
  4. It has good anti-skidding performance. I used to run after raining, the anti-skid resistance is good.
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Unboxing & Closed Look: CONVERSE G4 LOW

CONVERSE G4 is made for the hoopsters who have full explosive power. The design inspiration comes from the classic CONVERSE ERX. The low type design is flexible. With ZOOM AIR cushion and NIKE REACT technology, the configuration is good.

CONVERSE G4 LOW

The shoebox is black. It’s printed with CONVERSE logo.

The vamp is made of stiff fabric, and it’s covered with thermocompression bonding material to increase the durability and protection.

The shoe tongue is jointed with mesh fabric and leather to avoid moving and improve the comfort level.

The shoe heel is filled with thick foam to plying-up the ankle.

The shoelace holes are arranged in staggered form.

The heelpiece leather with surrounding TPU to improve the supporting performance.

The rubber outsole has upturning design.

The three grooves are designed according to human streamlining design, which improve the flexibility. The multi-directional pattern improves the traction performance.

The blue React material on the rear sole can improve the cushion performance.

Both of the inner side and outer side of heelpiece use upturning design to offer better stability.

The shoe-pad is printed with bee pattern.

The shoe-pad is also printed with the technology information ‘NIKE REACT + NIKE ZOOM AIR’.

The length of EUR42.5 shoe-pad of CONVERSE G4 LOW is about 273mm.

The width of EUR42.5 shoe-pad of CONVERSE G4 LOW is about 92.14mm.

The thickness of of EUR42.5 shoe-pad of CONVERSE G4 LOW is about 4.62mm.

The inner shoe-tag

After taking away the shoe-pad, we can see that the forefoot sole uses fan shaped ZOOM AIR cushion.

From the injecting holes of heelpiece, we can feel the blue REACT material.

The unit weight of EUR42.5 CONVERSE G4 LOW is about 371.7g.

Overall:

The design of CONVERSE G4 is modern. The size is standard. The shoe tongue is thick and comfortable. The overall fitness is good. The forefoot sole uses ZOOM Air cushion and rear sole uses React technology. The feedback is good. The upturning rubber outsole improves the stability. We will test and share the performance review of CONVERSE G4 with you soon.