To tell the truth, I’ve been waiting for this Air Jordan Melo M9 to go on sale for a long time, and when it was finally available, I tried my best to cop one pair. Since then I wore the shoes on various occasions for it has won my favor. After it accompanied me for a period of time, I’ve got quite a good knowledge of the shoes and here are the performance review and my ratings of their various performances.
To being with, I want to talk about its ankle support. Actually, this Air Jordan Melo M9 belongs to the middle-top shoes. In conjunction with Melo’s powerful style of playing, the M9’s ankle protection is quite adequate. When the shoelaces are tightened, I can feel my ankle being tightly covered by the shoes’ vamp. However, the ankle support is, to my relief, not the stiff kind. In other words, the flexibility in the ankle part is still ample instead of being sacrificed for the sake of ankle protection.
(ankle support: 4.5/5)
With regard to the grip, honestly, I am not satisfactory with it. I once played basketball in the shoes on clean wood floor indoors. During the two hours of exercise, I found that the M9’s grip was not top notch as is expected. In many of the lateral movements, I suffered some slight slippery though it didn’t seriously affect my performance on the pitch. Nonetheless, it did cause a slight distraction for me because I prefer to play as a guard.
(grip:3.5/5）
Speaking of cushioning, this is really the trump of M9. Both in the front and rear parts are equipped with Zoom Air, with the rear one thickened. Therefore, with such excellent setups, M9 can offer me terrific comfort in the heel on every landing. But perhaps because the shoes are original designed for forwards, their cushioning is actually superfluous for me.
(cushioning: 5/5)
The most compelling part of M9 may be the dynamic Flywire that connects the midsole of the shoe to the ankle. Therefore, before testing the shoes, I was rather curious to see what this design would bring to me. But after two hours of tests, I was failed. After I tightened the shoelaces I could not in the least feel the effect of such Flywire without deliberately tightening it. Therefore, I tried to tightened the Flywire, but I found that this design would only cause great pressure on my insteps. While the M9’s inner design allows me to play basketball without wearing socks and worrying about rubbing of my feet, it still can’t compensate for the discomfort caused by its dynamic Flywire.
(comfort: 2.5/5)
As mentioned above, my personal style of play on the court is biased towards the guard. Therefore, the M9, designed for powerful small forwards, and the Zoom Air in the forefoot, for me, provide excellent cushioning, but I somehow feel like being stuck in mud with this design. Although I was well protected by Zoom Air on courts, at the same time it made me work harder to push myself forward. In a word, the responsiveness of M9 is far from what a guard needs.
(responsiveness : 2.5/5)
In terms of the weight, it’s definitely too heavy for a guard, and I could clearly feel it the moment I put it on. Therefore, those who have a distaste for heavy shoes had better think twice before purchasing.
(weight: 2.5/5)
Overall:
In summary, the M9 has excellent cushioning and a fairly comfortable interior design,, but in terms of its dynamic Flywire, responsiveness and weight, it is not that satisfactory for me as a guard. Perhaps for power forwards and centers, it can be made the most of.
(overall: 3.5/5)