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PUMA Court Rider 2.0 Performance Review

The PUMA Court Rider 2.0 has been released. The Foamstripe logo is moved to shoe heel. The main colorway is black and orange. The sole is thick. It uses Rider Foam. The resilience is similar with PUMA Court Rider 1.0. The reactivity is fast. The forefoot sole is wide. So the forefoot sole is stable. The center of gravity is not high. So it’s very stable and safe when touching the ground.

The sole is outrigger design. It can offer excellent lateral supporting performance. It uses the same outsole pattern as PUMA Court Rider 1.0. The traction performance is still excellent. There is a big groove pattern which improve the flexibility and ductility. The big outsole structure is more comfortable and flexible.

For the size, you can choose the standard size. It’s low version. The fitness is softer than PUMA Court Rider 1.0. The vamp of shoe head is a little narrow. If your instep is high, it would press your instep. The insole of shoe tree is wide and comfortable. After fastening the shoelaces, it can fix your foot well. The leather part is a little narrow.

The center of gravity is low and the feedback is faster. It’s suitable for guard. If you already have PUMA Court Rider 1.0, you will adapt to the PUMA Court Rider 2.0 fast.

The feedback of PUMA Court Rider 2.0 is similar with the Court Rider 1.0. The center of gravity is low, and it offers fast response. It’s suitable for the defenders who has fast response. If you have PUMA Court Rider 1.0, you can adapt to the PUMA Court Rider 2.0 fastly. The fitness is improved. It can offer stable fitness. The price is also lower. It’s worth to have a try.

 

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Unboxing & Closed Look: UA FLOW VELOCITI WIND 2

UNDER ARMOUR released the UA FLOW VELOCITI WIND running shoes in 2021. With its subversive rubberless outsole design and integrated cushion system, runners can enjoy light and zero-burden experience, it sets off a brand new running shoes’ revolution. Now, the brand-new UA FLOW running shoes UA FLOW VELOCITI WIND 2 has been released. It helps the runners to move efficiently.

UA FLOW VELOCITI WIND 2

The big UA logo on the front side of shoebox

The shoe tag on the side of shoe-box

The UA Warp vamp is made of multiple layers of woven fabric that provide excellent support for the running movements. The fitness is improved.

The UA warp vamp is light and comfortable. The air permeability is also excellent.

The vamp is covered with reflective material. It’s safer for night running.

It has 6 couples of shoelaces holes which is reinforced by suture. It’s durable and also reduce the weight of shoes.

The shoe-tongue is integrated type. The anti-skew design fits your feet better. It’s printed VELOCITI WIND 2 on the shoe-tongue.

The shoe collar is filled with comfortable foam.

The UA FLOW insole technology not only reduce the weight, but also offer excellent cushion performance and resilience.

The outsole uses different pattern according to the force position. It offers excellent skid resistance and traction performance.

The pattern on the rear sole is flat. It offers more stability.

The upwarping radian on the rear sole is high. It increases the land area.

The surface of shoe-pad uses fabric material. The shoe heel position is printed with the name UA FLOW VELOCITI WIND.

The reverse side of shoe-pad uses anti-skidding particle design which increase the friction.

The length of EUR42.5 shoe-pad is about 270mm.

The width of EUR42.5 forefoot shoe-pad is about 97.52mm.

The thickness of EUR42.5 shoe-pad is about 3.83mm.

The insole fabric is EVA material.

The unit weight of EUR42.5 is about 238.4g.

Overall:

UA FLOW VELOCITI WIND 2 continues to use the UA FLOW technology as UA FLOW VELOCITI WIND. The upgraded UA WARP vamp fit the feet well and offers good air permeability. The first feeling after wearing is the light weight. The size is about one size smaller than standard size. The width of shoe tree is moderate. The UA Warp is light and offer good fitness. The UA FLOW insole technology offer excellent cushion performance and resilience.

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Unboxing & Closed Look: PUMA MB.01 LOW UFO

PUMA released PUMA MB.01 for LaMelo Ball. Adhering to the core concept of PUMA basketball, both of the the overall style and details reflect Ball’s personal style, a variety of practical configurations have a bright performance on the court. It releases the low version for the Summer games.

PUMA MB.01 LOW UFO

The shoebox is covered with brilliant universe colors. The middle position has windowing design. You can see the shoes from it.

The shoe tag on the side of shoebox

The fabric material vamp is covered with hot melting material to offer supporting performance and protection. It’s printed with Ball’s slogan ‘NOT FROM HERE’.

There are 5 couples of shoelaces’ holes. The front 2 couples are dynamic design.

The shoe tongue is printed with UFO pattern.

The outboard vamp has embroidered flame pattern.

The inboard vamp uses hot-melting flame pattern.

The insole uses PUMA NITRO FOAM cushion technology. The light low density integrate the comfort and energy feedback.

The outboard forefoot outsole has uptruning design to improve the stability.

The ‘XXX’ on the insole represents Ball’s youngest triple-double honor. The stiff TPU improve the lateral stability.

The outsole uses full-length semi-transparent rubber.

The forefoot axis of rotation as the center point, multi-direction lines offer better traction.

The rhombus pattern on the shoe heel offer better stability.

The fabric of the shoe-pad is bestrewed with gorgeous universe color to echo the pattern of shoe-box.

The length of EUR44 shoe-pad is about 283mm.

The width of EUR44 forefoot shoe-pad is about 95.94mm.

The thickness of EUR44 shoe-pad is about is about 5.52mm.

The insole fabric is EVA material.

The unit weight of EUR44 is about 462.70g.

Overall

The gray green colorway of PUMA MB. 01 LOW UFO basketball shoes looks nice. It continues the specific design of MB.01. The low model improve the flexibility. It’s suitable for the dressing style of most of basketball players.  The size of this model is a little bigger than standard size. The fitness is comfortable after fastening the shoelaces. It improves the flexibility. The insole uses full-length NITRO FOAM technology. The resilience of the forefoot sole is good. And the feedback of rear sole is obvious.

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Unboxing & Closed Look: UA CURRY 4 FLOTRO

The Warriors won the 2022 NBA Finals with a 4-2 win over the Celtics, and Curry won his fourth championship ring and his first Finals MVP trophy. Curry’s offensive performance in the 2022 Finals was spectacular, but it was the UA CURRY 4 FLOTRO that drew the most attention from the sneakerheads. The idea of FLOTRO is to combine Under Armour’s insistence on innovative sneaker design with its homage to classics.

UA CURRY 4 FLOTRO

The white shoe-box is printed with Curry’s logo.

The shoe tag on the side of shoe-box

The vamp is made of anti-fur with a lot of ventilated holes.

There are 6 couples of shoelaces holes covering the whole instep. Both sides of shoelaces holes are different.

The reverse side of shoelaces holes are reinforced, which improve the durability.

For the force bearing point on the outside of the shoe, the original Curry 4’s TPU material was changed to leather, which improve the lateral stability and reduce the phenomenon of foot stuck.

The round leather material on the outside of ankle position has built-in foam, which offer the protection and supporting performance.

The combination of elastic webbing and leather offer comfortable fitness and good supporting performance to the arch.

The brand-new elastic UA Intelliknit shoe collar is flexible and convenient for putting on and taking off.

The inner side of shoe heel has independent foam which fit the foot well.

The insole uses UA FLOW technology. It cancels the outsole rubber, so it reduces the weight. And it offer excellent cushion performance and resilience.

It uses different pattern on the outsole according to the position of the force. The traction performance is excellent.

The arch position has a big area of TPU stability plate.

The pattern of the rear sole is flat. And the heel part is the axis. It improve the flexibility.

The front sole and rear sole use upturning design.

The shoe heel is widen, which more better stability.

The surface of shoe-pad uses fabric material.

The length of EUR42.5 shoe-pad is about 271mm.

The width of EUR42.5 shoe-pad is about 95.45mm.

The thickness of EUR42.5 shoe-pad is about 5.75mm.

The insole uses EVA material.

The unit weight of EUR42.5 is about 340.9g.

Overall:

Under Armour has re-created the CURRY 4 with UA FLOW technology, combining the unique vamp with the Flow cushion technology. It’s a very good news for the fans of CURRY 4. It’s supported by the championship, it’s worthy to collect.

The size is half size smaller than standard size. The width of forefoot is moderate. The brand-new UA IntelliKnit shoe-collar is comfortable. But it’s not very suitable for person who has wide foot and high instep. We suggest you to have a try on physical store. The UA Flow insole has good resilience and cushion performance, and it reduces the overall weight of the shoes.

UA Flow technology is more suitable for playing basketball on indoor court. It’s better not to wear it to play the basketball on outdoor court.

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Unboxing & Closed Look: PUMA COURT RIDER 2.0 BATMAN

PUMA has teamed up with Warner Bros pictures and DC pictures and taken inspiration from the Batman movies, releasing the series shoes with the elements of Batman movies.Today, we want to talk about one of the models,that is PUMA COURT RIDER 2.0 BATMAN.

PUMA COURT RIDER 2.0 BATMAN

The black and white shoebox has big BATMAN.

The shoe tag on the side of shoebox.

The vamp is jointed with leather and fabric material. It has protective and air permeability.

The front 4 couples of shoelace holes uses braid model. The rear 3 couples of shoelaces holes uses leather model to reinforce. It’s durable.

The shoe-tongue has PUMA logo and BATMAN.

The shoe heel is covered with leather. The BATMAN pattern pays homage to the chivalry of the dark hero.

It uses full-length improved RIDER FOAM insole with gradient color.

The widen insole shoe heel improve the stability.

The outsole uses wear-resisting viscidity rubber.

The outsole uses special PUMA logo pattern with several grooves which improve the skid resistance.

The red shoe-pas has several black bat pattern.

The length of EUR42 shoe-pad is about 273mm.

The width of EUR42 forefoot shoe-pad is about 94.66mm.

The thickness of EUR42 shoe-pad is about 5.60mm.

The insole fabric uses non-woven fabrics.

Comparing the appearance of PUMA COURT RIDER 1.0 & PUMA COURT RIDER 2.0:

PUMA COURT RIDER 2.0

PUMA COURT RIDER 1.0

2.0 (L) : the leather area of shoe-head is bigger and the shoelace coverage is smaller.

1.0(R): the leather area of shoe-head is smaller and the shoelace coverage is wider.

2.0(L): braid and leather material shoelace holes, flat and round type shoelaces

1.0(R): braid and leather material shoelace holes, flat and wide type shoelaces

2.0 (L) : the shoeheel leather cover around the position of heel tendon

1.0(R): the shoeheel leather extends to both sides of shoe heel

2.0(above): the outsole rubber on the shoe heel has upturning design

1.0(bottom): the outsole rubber on the shoe heel is gently

2.0(L): The outsole uses PUMA logo pattern. 90° included angle design. The forefoot sole has several grooves design.

1.0(R): The outsole uses PUMA logo pattern. 90° included angle design.  The width of grooves on different position is different.

The unit weight of EUR42 PUMA COURT RIDER 2.0(L) is about 429.7g.

The unit weight of EUR42 PUMA COURT RIDER 1.0(R) is about 416.2g.

PUMA basketball shoes released several new colorways which are suitable for wearing in Summer.

PUMA TRIPLE

The outward of shoe collar, vamp and insole has PUMA track logo.

PUMA FUSION NITRO

FUZIONFIT with adaptive compressed bandage has good elasticity. It can fix the foot and offer more supporting performance.

Overall:

PUMA COURT RIDER 2.0 BATMAN uses the elements of BATMAN theme as decoration. The size is one size bigger than standard size. The thick vamp with inner sleeve design offer good and comfortable fitness. The improved RIDER FOAM material offer fast feedback. The widened insole design offer good stability.

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AIR JORDAN 20 Performance Review

By far there are lots of excellent products in the AIR JORDAN series and from my point of view, the AIR JORDAN 20 is the best of the series that Nike has presented to its fans. In fact, the AIR JORDAN 20 is more than just a pair of basketball shoes. It’s also a piece of art as well as a database of all the JORDAN’s glory in the past.

So with great tribute for it, I bought the sneaker 2 months ago and right now I’ve got some knowledge of it. Hence presenting to you my AIR JORDAN 20 performance review which I hope may do some help for you when you are making decisions.

Let’s get started.

Fit and comfort

True to size or should you deviate from your usual choice? How comfy are these? Initially I did have concerns about the sizing problem, thinking that the wide last might not suit very well my relatively thin

Inside the shoe there’s the so-called one-bootie design, making the footbed not so wide as it looks. But could it be a bother for wide footers? Well, hardly the scenario! Because of the wide design of the shoe, it is more than suitable even for wearers with super wide feet. Simply put, the shoe is made to suit the great masses rather than the minority. So you can still find the right size for your feet even if you think you’ve got special foot type.

In a word, they look as well as feel very snug and compact. For those regular/narrow footers, going true to size will be fine and they can still expect a snug, near one-to-one fit. As for wide footers, going up half a size should be better, but how good or suitable it can be depends on how wide your feet are of course.

Over and above that, the eye-catching wide strip on the vamp is thought by some for improving wrapping, but surprisingly, it is less effective in practice. For the ankle straps, they make me feel uncomfortable and though I can leave them loose during daily wearings, they are a big bane for me when I am exercising. So I don’t actually like the setup.

Cushion

The working principle of I.P.S. seems to be similar to that of SHOX. Inside the midsole of AJ20, there are 20 elastic columns embedded which are placed according to ergonomic principles. Sounds quite novel and a lot of people would even think it as a brilliant new tech.

For all that, its performance on court is what really matters. During my plays, the feelings offered to me by the I.P.S. was the kind between Zoom-Air and air-sole. And since I am not heavy, I feel very comfortable in it both during jumping and landing.

Unlike other cushion setups, there’s no need for me to take a couple of sessions to really feel the I.P.S.’s full potential. It seems things just get awesome at the very beginning. In short, this is a super well-balanced setup that are fantastic for just about anyone.

Thanks to the generous energy return from the setup, I can also enjoy the stellar impact protection and absorption. And since the forefoot area is lower to the ground, I think it would be very agreeable for players who seek to improve their pace on courts.

Protection

In the AJ20, JORDAN BRAND has used a technology called Ankle Strap, which is one of the distinctive features of the AJ20, but also a hassle in practice. At the beginning, I tied the strap directly to the ankle, which made me feel very uncomfortable and seemed to have no protection at all. But later, I learned the correct way to use the strap through the instructions on the shoe box and things improved a lot then.

The strap is connected to the body by a small sticky clasp on the tongue. After doing so, I could obviously feel the security offered by the shoes, though it has yet to be ideal. But it’s a bit frustrating that even when I’ve got it right, I still have to struggle to put on the shoes , and it takes several adjustments to get the straps in the right place. Besides, the straps also chafed the ankle a little bit during the initial wearings, but with longer socks I can easily get rid of the problem

While the I.P.S system itself provides good torsion resistance and support, the AJ20 has also a carbon plate in the midsole to enhance its torsion resistance, according to the detailed information on the shoe box.

As for the outsole, it feels good and its infield performance is very nice at the meantime, which actually surprises me a great deal. Nevertheless, it would be a bit unbearable to play in it on the outfield because you’ll find it wear away easily.

Court feel

The midsole of the shoe is thin, and the insole is right on top of the I.P.S system, so this gives me a nice sense of court. But compared with the zoom-air, the cushion system of this one feels a bit slower during forefoot startup, which may be attributed to I.P.S.’s similar working principle to that of SHOX and its being made too soft.

Traction

Based on my experience, I can ensure you that the grip of the AIR JORDAN 20 is very good. I usually play on indoor courts and even if the wooden floor is dirty, I don’t worry about grip at all.

Before I put on the shoes, I noticed that the AIR JORDAN 20 has 10 protruding dots on each outsole. When I wear the AIR JORDAN 20, I feel that both feet are stepping on these 10 dots, rather than the whole outsole. The floor was dirty that day, but that causes no barrier to the grip provided by the AIR JORDAN 20, and therefore I am able to stop wherever I wanted.

Weight

The AIR JORDAN 20 is actually lightweight despite the chunky appearance. Although the thick outsole makes it look clunky, the AIR JORDAN 20 is fairly light and if you ever get a chance to play in it, you’ll know clearly what I am talking about.

Overall:

Two months are definitely not enough to get full knowledge of a sneaker. So more information and try-on would be best for you if you are right now considering buying the shoes.

To sum up, this review, hopefully, can be of some avail for you. As I mentioned earlier, the sneaker is not only a pair of sneaker, but also a work of art and a database of JORDAN’s past glory days. So, depending on what you want from it, be it the shoes’ commemorative property or their performances, you may decide whether it is your thing.

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AJ35 Low Performance Review

Want a pair of brilliant sneaker with outstanding or eye-catching appearance? Well, if that’s what you’re all about, the odds are that you’re gonna find this AJ35 Low review after your own heart. Along with a few other pairs of sneakers, I’ve played hooping and shooting in these for quite  a couple of months, maybe 6 months heretofore, on indoor hardwood mostly. At first when I got the shoes, I was rather electrified and did jam a few sessions on the concrete and blacktop, but shortly after that, I was dissuaded from doing that because of the relatively poor durability.

Here I wanna break down the shoes for a better perspective, hoping that you may find some helpful references and see whether these are born for you. So let’s not waste any more time and dive right into the core parts.

Vamp

How do the vamp materials perform on-court? Are they comfort-wise?

The AJ35 Low features leather splicing fabric all throughout the vamp. To be frank with you, I could not at first judge from the surface whether it wrapped well or not, but my experience later told me that the the vamp wrapping was quite good and impressive. To make it more explicit, let me put it this way.

While I was playing on court, the vamp materials moved really well with my feet. Since I am a bit of a wide footer, there’s no more room left for my toes and the last is neither too wide nor too narrow, just right to the point. With these I feel there’s plenty of forefoot flex upon each stride and my gait is nicely propelled forward. Over and above that, with the relatively thick and solid vamp materials, the foot containment is also solid for me and I never run into such issues as side movement or rolling out of the footbed.

As for the heel areas there’s also plenty of padding so that my feet sit rather comfortably inside the shoes. So I really can say that the overall lockdown the shoe provides is excellent. Comfort-wise, definitely!

Support

How much support does the vamp offer then?

In terms of the support,  I can’t say that I have any major complaints of it. Since the vamp materials are hard enough, I can assured you that you’ll rarely find issues with security, as is the case for most of AJ shoes.

Whenever I stop suddenly or make lateral movement on court they always hold my feet well without letting my feet slip out of the footbed. While ensuring the possible maximum stability for players, these also keep them as quick and mobile as possible. Besides that, the lacing system works very well, though there’s nothing new about it, which surely offers a reliable sense of security.

In a word, there’s really nothing to complain about in this respect. A top-tier performance! No other way to put it.

Midsole

A large zoom sits in the forefoot area while a horseshoe-like zoom accompanies the heel portion. Not so impressive, definitely. But we all know it’s unwise to judge by appearance. So how does it perform on earth?

In fact, it did take me a couple of sessions to really start feeling this setup’s full potential. At first I could not even feel its existence, but after some time’s going on with it, I’d say the energy return properties it offers is really powerful and wonderful. During startup the feedback from the forefoot propels me forward quite forcefully so that I feel I’ve got somewhat addicted to such feelings.

The forefoot and midfoot areas both feel lower to the ground and faster. And along with the wonderful forefoot energy return, the overall heel-to-toe stride just feels ultra-smooth, which sounds very inviting, especially for those with explosiveness style.

As for the heel area, the zoom there cannot be felt obviously, and if you happen to be the type of player who play on the heels a lot and are also a lighter one, it may be a bit insufficient for use because you cannot even feel it there. But if you are a heavier player, you will then feel  compression. Nevertheless, for me who weigh about 80kg, this is still far from my ideal and no match for Air cushion that is empowered with great potential.

For all that, I can’t say it is awful and lacks impact protection or absorption, just not so that satisfying as its forefoot counterpart.

Overall, if you look after a very responsive ride that’s low to the ground, ultra-stable, and agile and haven’t high requirements for heel cushion performance, this setup may turn out to be as good as you’re going to get.

Traction

Does it bite multiple surfaces well?  How long will the outsoles last?

Nowadays its’ nothing new for sneakers to adopt herringbone pattern in their outsoles. But common as it is, I can’t deny its excellence. It actually comes up medially and laterally at the forefoot and heel area, offering the reliable bite in as many directions as possible, or accommodating quick changes of direction.

As is mentioned earlier, I’ve only played in it on outdoor courts for several times, in spite of the fact that I am a big advocate of outdoor playing. The reason behind this is that after several high-intensity plays, I found that there appeared some obvious damages in the high-use areas of my shoes. Since I value my shoes a great deal, such severe damages are definitely intolerable in my eyes and I had to turn to indoor smooth courts as a result.

Nevertheless, let me still talk a bit about its outdoor performance. Although its traction can still deal with abrasive surfaces, you cannot expect it to last very long. Rubber or concrete, if my memories serve me well, I barely had any issues with it and therefore never slid all over the place. It was always consistent, which I can ensure you.

What about the indoor performance then? Well, it seems like the outsole should still offer excellent traction just as it does outdoors. But, buddy, I hate to break it to you that the indoor performance is a bit inferior if you want the kind of god-like traction.

If , however, without comparison, I find the traction still more than satisfactory on indoor courts. On the hardwood floors mostly, the bite is just impressive and even a cynic cannot find fault with it. Nonetheless, when dust creeps into the pattern, that will be another story. With the dust or debris there, I obviously feel a decrease in responsiveness and the traction will therefore become inconsistent. The best way to make up for this is to wipe the outsoles off carefully, which will do great help. After all, we can’t afford to stop and wipe the outsole every few minutes on courts. That’s surely impractical.

On top of that, I feel the shoes are overall too stiff, and its anti-rollover and anti-torsion, on the other hand, are excellent because of this. However, there’s also a trade-off. The hard materials have also resulted in a little inflexibility, which makes the shoes very suitable for heavy guards.

Overall

The AJ 35 Low is an ultimate low-profile shoe for small and big forwards and heavy guards as well. Of the many AJ sneakers, I think this one is definitely an excellent one.

As for the widely complained problem, the arch area rising up a bit which causes discomfort to the foot, I have not encountered such a bane. But here it should be mentioned that for flat footers, it is best to try the shoes on so that such hassle or discomfort can be avoided.

Overall, this is a pair of good actual combat shoes, and as long as it suits you, it can be said as one of the best for you.

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Air Jordan 36 Performance Review

What’s the powerful and forceful “combat weapon” in your memory? Is it comfortable in all portions? Is it satisfying in all respects? Well, there must be at least one answer in your mind. And when asked to give my own answer, I’d say some models of the AJ series which, after all, basically offers the TOP sneakers of the year all the time. Then what about today’s protagonist, the Air Jordan 36? Well, buddy, I should say that it is a mixed blessing.

Frankly speaking, AJ36 is really a pair of shoes with disadvantages and obvious advantages. Why my saying so? Yep! While the advantages can be very obvious , the negative ones, however, are mainly some hidden safety problems and basically require further thinking and detection to be found. But let’s waste no more time and dive right into my long-term-based(about 10 months) Air Jordan 36 performance review.

Fit and comfort

Sizing guide

From the shoes’ sizes alone, you can feel their upgrades by the brand. These are actually a bit particular because they can offer you the best and comfortable experience only when you’ve picked up your most suitable size. Otherwise, you are most likely to run into a lot of discomfort. Unlike other AJ shoes I’ve worn before, even if I copped a bigger size, I could still make up for it by turning to thick socks or anything the like. For AJ 36, however, I couldn’t have enjoyed its super nice comfort had I not been to the stores and tried them on in the flesh.

For those with high insteps, wide feet and flat feet, they definitely cannot go true to size because their regular sizes here will only make them suffer a lot of discomfort. Therefore, it’s recommended here to actually try on and adjust their regular sizes to either bigger or smaller ones.

And for the normal footers, the pressure on their insteps will be very obvious. Without wearing thick socks, they’ll find their little toes hard pressed at the beginning. So, again, the suggestion is to have a try in person.

Nevertheless, for those of you with thin feet, you’re relieved of the hassle of trying on because you’ll find it more than suitable to go with your regular sizes, maybe even to the point of perfect. As for me who is a wide footer, now that I’ve picked up the right size, I haven’t had any slippage inside the shoes so far and length-wise, things were perfect, so we’re good there.

Comfort

As is mentioned above, whether the shoes are comfortable to wear depends on whether you’ve chosen the right sizes. From my perspective, things are solid comfort-wise. This is no exaggeration, buddy!

Inside the “walls”, there’s plenty of smooth and soft padding, not least around the ankle & heel areas. With the big heel pull tab there, they are made super easy to put on. Over and above that, with the shoe’s smooth finish, I am enabled to slide in nicely with all manner of performance socks.

In conclusion, AJ 36 is a package that’s compact and super comfortable providing that you’ve chosen the right size. Quite right to the point!

Wrapping

The vamp support and wrapping of the whole pair can surely be hailed as top-ranking. Although the vamp deforms obviously while I was making lateral movements, the awesome part here is that I could still feel my feet firmly locked inside. In other words, the vamp can hold my feet super well. Not a bit of slippage, I can assure you! Simply put, the extension and deformation of the vamp will not make you feel that your feet are out of control.

However, the vamp is not capable of controlling its own deformation, bringing on possible or hidden dangers that cannot be felt during plays. For players who are heavier&bigger, the weak strength in the legs or ankles will further result in increasing the risks of hidden dangers. Hence some necessary protection measures here.

Midsole

A Zoom sits in the forefoot area while the Zoom Stroble accompanies the whole soles. Sounds impressive and many people will even regard it as a hardcore setup. So what is the truth on earth? Let me share with you my detailed thoughts.

Objectively speaking, it is actually a hardcore and fairly standard setup. The superposition of the air cushion in the forefoot can not only bring players a very good foot feel and court sense, but also offer wonderful energy return properties.

Nonetheless, it should be mentioned that the forefoot cushion is really that terrific for players with sufficient strength underfoot, but for those with relatively weak strength, they cannot fully experience the nice rebound from it but rather the slight rebound from the upper Zoom Stroble.

For heavier and bigger players, however, the energy return of the forefoot can also be inconsistent because the overall air pressure of Zoom Stroble is not as good as that of large Zoom. Of course, this has also something to do with the foams there. So how good the cushion is actually depends on what you want from it.

Someday I also found that after removing the insoles, the forefoot would become far tougher, which could be obviously felt. Therefore, such special insoles for the shoes are indeed very essential, from which I can get a glimpse of the originality of the brand.

The heel portion is a bit stiffer than the front since it only features a layer of cushion. For me who weighs 80kg, the heel cushion is a bit insufficient for court use while some of my friend who weighs 90kg can receive some feedback fro it. In spite of that, I cannot say the heel cushion falls short of impact protection or a proper heel-to-toe transition. Both are there. It’s just the actual feel is more subdued when compared to the forefoot.

Traction

As of today I don’t have any complaints about the shoes’ traction. The outsole, once again, features the herringbone grains that are basically reliable. In fact, the herringbone is an old hat because it is widely used in the AJ sneakers, from which we can tell that the pattern is really widely enjoyed and powerful.

 

For the traction of this one, based on my personal experiences, it is very nice and is never too much. Thanks to this, I never end up slightly slipping out on a stop, cut, or change of direction.

On indoor courts, I sometimes play on the smooth hardwood floor provided by some indoor stadium in my neighborhood. It is always clean though, it is not suitable for this one. Though the traction is basically fine there, it hasn’t reached the ideal level I want. The number of slight slip-outs, as I had expected, are occasional.

Personally, I prefer outdoor courts because the outfield offers broader vision. Although the outsole lacks a strong and ideal bite indoors, it makes up for that outdoors for the concrete surfaces definitely provide far more friction so that the bite is rather healthy and aggressive.

I deem that I cannot notice better traction on a concrete surface court in any other AJ sneakers released in 2021, though that doesn’t rule out my lack of experiencing enough number of sneakers. Despite that, I do read that people are having more consistent experiences with that shoe in terms of traction.

Overall

There are some amazing aspects on this AJ 36, such as the last, the vamp wrapping, the application of new vamp materials as well as the ultra-lightweight mid-sole technology which  means less energy expenditure.

The Air Jordan 36 is an ultimate low-profile shoe with both advantages and disadvantages. For the most of you, however, I deem that you might as well think twice before taking action. After all, in spite of the inviting advantages in the shoes, its shortcomings cannot be ignored. That is the security problems might result in possible injuries if there are not any precautions.

All in all, the best method to figure out whether this is your thing is to try them on in person. After all, my experience and thoughts here are only for your reference and the final decision is yours.

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Air Jordan 11 Concord Performance Review

It’s almost been two seasons ever since I’ve been excited about this Air Jordan hoop shoe, the AJ11. Now that the big question here is whether the shoes will work well on court, I feel quite delighted to share with you my personal experiences with these. And since two seasons are enough to get intimate knowledge of the shoes, I’m gonna present to you my Air Jordan 11 performance review at length.

It’s safe to say that the AJ11 can definitely be regarded as a very classic shoe in the AJ series and the protagonist of today, the AJ 11 Concord, is also a classic colorway of the classic sneaker. Though beckoned by its simple yet nice-looking appearance at first, I became all the more infatuated with its performances. So how well does it perform on court after all? For the masses, is it a HIT or MISS? Here lie the answers!

The Build

What are the vamp materials and how well they’re made? What about build quality & long-term reliability?

The vamp utilizes black patent leather material without any soft mesh or fabric materials to make it better fit the feet, making it not so friendly to players’ insteps during the first several rounds. In spite of that, judging from my experience, the longer you play in it, the securer you’ll also feel in it because the leather vamp, on the other hand, is hard enough to offer sufficient protection.

But it is also crystal clear that the leather vamp won’t be impressive in air permeability. Indeed, the breathability is very poor, practically nil. Since I don’t have a big sweating problem I don’t really care much about this. Nevertheless, if your skin sweats fast, you’ll probably feel it a bit with these.

As for its wrapping performance, buddy, you might not expect too much of it. To be frank, I’d previously heard from some reviewers that the vamp wrapping had failed them, though not to the point of unplayable. From my perspective, the wrapping is not surprising, but not that bad, either. Before tightening the laces, there’s still room above the insteps. But as long as you tighten the laces, some qualitative change will take place: you’ll only feel that your feet are firmly locked in the footbed, which makes you feel like the two have integrated into one.

Being a middle-top sneaker though, it also locks my ankles quite well, providing a sense of security for me who have ankle injury. With that I can just play to my heart’s content and put to good use my athletic performance.

 

Support

How much all-around support does the sneaker offer? Then what about lateral stability and foot containment?

We all know that a sneaker’s support matters a great deal because it helps avoid potential injuries for us. Then what kind of support can be said to be qualified for on-court use? Well, if you’ve had experience with one of the successful Harden releases, such as the 3rd, you’ll know what a good, supportive sneaker is like. Although the support of the AJ 11 is not a patch on that of the Harden shoes, AJ 11 is capable of overwhelming many sneakers on the current market in this respect.

In fact, while I was making breakthroughs or changing directions, the support features are in place and the vamp simply holds my foot in place nicely and as a result I don’t see any apparent restrictions there. The ankle & heel lockdown, and foam sidewalls medially and laterally to keep the foot in place, I think, can satisfy most hoopers.

Cushion

How good can the impact absorption be ? What about the ride height and comfort?

The AJ 11 features a full-foot Air Sole which sounds good, if not outstanding. Well, on paper that is. But in reality, it may be worse than that, and I personally dislike this setup.

For players like me, heavier and bigger, with a weight of over 80kg, the setup is definitely insufficient for use. Actually, it took me quite a couple of sessions to begin feeling the little energy feedback of the cushion. Afterwards, although the Air Sole did fully break in and start working to its full potential, I still felt the whole sole was stiff and I could feel its a-bit-increased energy feedback only when I was landing.

Surely I cannot say it utterly falls short of impact protection or a proper heel-to-toe transition, but, though both are there, one cannot expect them to be excellent.

The forefoot and midsole areas both feel a bit low to the ground. And visually, there’s no much difference in how the heel feels vs. the forefoot and it just turns out to be the case. The overall cushion is well balanced and stable, every nook and cranny. Yep! You read that right!

Certainly for quite a number of players, this setup is not enough for them to use, but what’s a bad thing for one may be beneficial to another. For those who are close to the explosiveness or the style of Westbrook, these shoes would be quite a blessing. Although I cannot fully experience its good because of my weight, it would be more than agreeable for guards with small weights and those forwards. According to some of my friends who are lighter players, they really appreciate the comfortable and secure experience cushion-wise.

Once again, the cushion won’t be good for everyone. Depending on your personal situations and needs, I’ll leave it for you to decide whether the cushion is your thing.

Anti-torsion

Thanks to the large carbon plate in the midsole, the shoe offers me excellent torsion resistance as well as excellent arch support! In the breakthrough phase, the shoes won’t deform excessively, but definitely some slight deformation is inevitable.

Traction and durability

Is the outsole sensitive to the court dust/debris? Can it deal with various surfaces?

The AJ 11 features herringbone in both the forefoot and the heel areas while the middle portion is covered with crystal materials. If I say that the cushion is super poor, then the traction, on the contrary, is super good.

Personally I prefer outdoor courts to indoor ones. On concrete and blacktop courts without much dust and debris, mostly, I haven’t experienced slippage in it so far. And it’s also true that abrasive surfaces can save the shoe’s traction. Besides, some occasional wipes will keep the bite healthier or have it improved. But even if you don’t want to bother yourself with that, it’s utterly OK because you won’t be  sliding all over the place without wiping them.

On indoor courts, however, I’ve so far played in it for only three times. And my impression is that on smoother indoor courts, the traction is somewhat decreased. After all, though it is super good, it is not undefeatable.

Durability

For the durability, you may first get some clues from the pictures here. This is what they look like right now. To be frank with you, I had no confidence in the durability of the outsole because of its crystal material, but I found later that this was quite a prejudice. A week later, the outsole stood the tests of high-intensity plays and remained intact still. So I deem that you can rest assured to play on concrete courts.

Overall

The AJ 11 is a surprising package, that’s for sure. Except for the cushion it has delivered everything I need. I can say that I feel secure, comfortable, and confident in these. Not only are  their performances made the most of, but my athletic performance is also put to good use.

The sneaker is definitely perfect, and for those completists this is far from their expectations. However, for the most of us, the shoe can be listed as a top-ranking one and is satisfying at the same time. Giving it an opprotunity, the odds are that you’ll also dig this one a lot !

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Air Jordan 14 “Last Shot” Performance Review

As Nike’s most successful signature shoes series, Air Jordan is on the verge of becoming a household name. But I dare say that not all AJ shoes are as excellent as they were hyped. Some of them are truly outstanding and impressive while some are merely beckoning because of their nice looking. Then when it comes to the protagonist of today, the Air Jordan 14 “Last Shot”, is it a HIT or MISS? Let me share with you my detailed thoughts about it.

Although it was not attractive or breathtaking  at the first sight, for me, how it plays on the court is just the one thing that I really care, and I think this is the same for most of you. Now that I’ve copped the shoes for over a year, I’ve got certain knowledge of it and here is my long-term based  Air Jordan 14 “Last Shot”review.

1.Cushion

How’s the impact absorption? Can it offer players sufficient energy return properties?

As a matter of fact, in addition to the price, we are most concerned about the setups of the AJ series sneakers, which is the so-called comfort or foot feeling. So is the “Last Shot”capable of providing that for us?

Someone once asked me that “What are the AJ shoes that can be used for both high-intensity plays and daily wearing and that are also good looking?” Well, my answer are AJ11, AJ12, AJ13 and AJ14 which are all after my own heart in more ways than one. Among them the one with the most excellent performance is the AJ13, followed by AJ14. And with regard to the AJ 14, I am most satisfied with its cushion. After all, as a player who belong to the explosiveness style, the cushion experience it offers to me is way beyond words.

The retro AJ14 features the separated air cushions and a large anti-torsion setup in the sole. Though it is a bit disappointing that the cushions are relatively small, the setup is still playable and quite satisfactory, personally.

In terms of the fan-shaped air cushion in the forefoot, I can barely feel its feedback. Because the air cushion is placed close to the arch area, it is almost impossible for me to feel or use it, not least  when there are stops or direction changes. Does that sound awful? Well, it is not so! Instead, thanks to the brick-like forefoot , I can enjoy a very fast, responsive & stable ride, smooth step transitions as well as a sense of wonderful court feel.

At the meantime, however, the forefoot is also a bit self-contradictory. While I can enjoy its good, it also makes me feel that I don’t feel as happy playing in these shoes as barefoot, which can be said to be quite bewildering.

Compared with the forefoot cushion, the rear one is much more wonderful and satisfying. For me, I can feel its softness and elasticity. Then could the heel feel too much for you? I don’t think so. Even for players weighing above 75kg, they can still enjoy its magic, and though it’s got good compression, it also rebounds back into shape extremely quickly.

It should be mentioned that for different players, their opinions of the setup will vary greatly. The forefoot cushion, being too thin and small, is not suitable for everyone. If you are also the explosiveness type, then it may be your thing as well.

2. Wrapping

Can the vamp wrap the feet well? Will there be extra room in the toebox? Here’s the answers!

To tell the truth, the wrapping of AJ14 is a little bit strange. Normally, the average people won’t feel any pressure in their insteps. On the contrary, there may be some extra room above their insteps while the toebox is somewhat small so that pinches are quite possible during actual plays.

Therefore, for wide footers, not least those with protruding thumb joints, they cannot go true to size of the shoe and it’s thus recommended to go up 1/2 a size to avoid this hassle. As for the normal foot types, they can go with their regular sizes, though the vamp wrapping performance is just so-so, not impressive and great yet.

The nice thing about the quick lacing system is that it allows you to easily lace up your shoes and provides some wrapping around the arch area. Besides that, the design of the heel also enables you to enjoy nice wrapping at the heel, which, again, is quite different from the vamp wrapping.

So in general, the vamp wrapping is not satisfactory while the heel area fits snugly and its wrapping is quite comfortable, if not perfect.

3. Traction

How’s the grip on all manner of surfaces? Is the outsole sensitive to the dust/debris on court? Is the grip better indoors or outdoors?

Unfortunately, I wanna tell you that the AJ14 infield grip, due to the hard outsole, is very poor, especially on dusty indoor courts. Although the outsole features the traditional herringbone pattern which should provide god-like traction, it doesn’t turn out to be as good as it sounds. Anything can sound cool or promising before you actually take a try in the flesh.

As you can see in the picture, the outer area of the sole is rather smooth without any lines, which might lead to slippage on indoor courts when there are such movements as breakthroughs and direction changes, as is told by my bitter experience.

Nevertheless, it is not always that bad. Good news is that on outdoor courts the traction becomes much better and I even couldn’t help asking — “Are these the same shoes I used to wear indoors?”

Yeah, sometimes abrasive surfaces can save a shoe’s traction and this  Air Jordan 14 “Last Shot” is also a case in point. On blacktop and concrete, mostly, I was ablaze to find that I barely had any issues with the traction outdoors. Although dust or debris can at times get stuck in the grains and a few occasional wipes will keep the bite healthy, I seldom do the cleaning which, in my eyes, is more of a chore. Despite that, I never slid all over the place.

Over and above that, because the outsole is hard enough, its wear resistance, or durability, is quite impressive. I even think there isn’t much difference between this one and the XDR.

4. Protection

Talking about a shoe’s protection, it is also of great importance. In some reviewer’s deconstruction I got to know that the AJ14 uses foam that is shark-teeth-like at the forefoot, which can enhance the wrapping and improve the protection while also makes it more nice-looking.

It is worth mentioning that this design also takes into account the anti-rollover performance. The outward extended “teeth”  also increases the contact area with the ground, and the security therefore is also improved.

5. Anti-torsion

In terms of the anti-torsion piece in the arch, it is quite large and it doesn’t need much hype because its power alone is enough to deeply impress us. On the personal note, it’s safe to say that its anti-torsion performance is almost second to none in the sneaker market currently.

 

 

Overall:

Personally speaking, this shoe is cost-effective considering its overall performances. And if you take a great liking for it, it’s also worth your dollar. Just like when I bought AJ12 CNY at its original price, I copped it as soon as possible because I liked it.

I can’t say I had a terrific experience of my life with the Air Jordan 14 “Last Shot”, but what I can say is that the shoe makes me feel secure, comfortable, and confident while I was playing on court. It’s a solid buy if you are the explosiveness style just like I am. Or if you are looking for an almost   well-rounded sneaker, this is also a good choice for you.