This Kyrie Infinity, so called Kyrie 8, has failed quite a few reviewers. Anyway, for those who may be considering buying this Kyrie Infinity, an objective review of the shoes is necessary and here it is.
The first impression it gave me when I held it in my hands was that its materials felt very bad and its workmanship was also mediocre. In order to make up for this, Nike adopts genuine leather from the edge of the forefoot to the upper. Compared with its predecessors, however, this Kyrie Infinity is still far from being satisfying.
Nike’s last is still there and is also superior in quality. With this, I can enjoy excellent comfortness offered by the shoes. Besides that, I found that so long as I fasten the shoelaces, the shoes can still provided me with good wrapping. But it should be made particular mention of that the wrapping in the front part remains to be improved because of the thin materials used there.
Both the inner part of the heel and the shoe tongue are padded with a lot of foam, which, as is known to many sneaker fans, won’t lead to the desired result. “The more, the better.” doesn’t apply here. Therefore, if you are in need of particular excellent wrapping, you are very likely to get disappointed at this Kyrie Infinity. But on the other hand, one of its advantages is that it can be suitable for a wide range of people with different foot shape.
In the forefoot a Zoom Strobel is used which is the same as that in GT Run, but I don’t think it has done a better job than Zoom Turbo. In the heel, there is also a Zoom, but you can barely feel it if you don’t take a closer look at it. In spite of that, “half a loaf is better than no bread.”, and it is certainly stiffer than foams, offering a relatively nice support.
I have to admit that it was beyond my wildest dreams when I found that Nike equips the shoes with an anti-torsional device in the arch. However, it just turned out that the device’s role is minimal：it is not hard enough so that it can’t offer any support in the midsole. And with the soft vamp material, the shoe’s anti-torsion performance has gone from bad to worse. Therefore, you’d better not expect too much of it. After several rounds of matches, my feet has suffered a lot.
Taking a look at its outsole, I had thought the shoe’s grip would be satisfying. However, it failed me once again. The rubber of the outsole is again rather soft and is therefore prone to deformation. When I was playing basketball yesterday, I almost slipped a couple of times, from which you can see its poor grip performance.
For its cushioning performance, you can’t expect too much of it, either. Owing to the position of the cushion in the forefoot, I didn’t get much benefit from it.
However, this Kyrie Infinity is not without advantages. A single shoe weighs about 400 grams, which is above the average level. Over and above that, its breathability, I think, can be listed as superior. Personally, I get sweaty easily on my feet, but I don’t feel stuffy in the shoes.
Overall:
To sums up, this is the worst Kyrie shoes of the series. To a professional player, this Kyrie Infinity is definitely unsuitable and not qualified for high-tensity way of playing. But for daily low-intensity exercise, these shoes are more than sufficient.