- 1,079
- 10
- Joined
- Dec 8, 2005
I just got these last night, and played about three hours (8 games to 15 by 2's and 1's) in themimmediately. First off, for those who haven't read my reviews, I am 5'10", 200 lb. point. Still play a driving game with kick out three's andtight defense. And away we go:
Right out of the box, theseshoes feel light. Not Hyped-up Dunk light, but lighter than a shoe this stable and supportive should be. This is not a flimsy, cheap light, though. Like Istated, you can tell from the heel Bounce unit and clear heel cup, along with a pronounced midsole wrap around the heel and midfoot, this shoe is built forstability.
No fit sleeve like the Creator, but the tongue is made like the KGbounce, a sort of spandex-mesh that forms to the foot. It feels thin, but the padding is dense and never allowed for any lace pressure or discomfort, and Iwear my shoes tied as tight as possible (I hate any movement of my foot in the shoe, in any direction). The inner is not lined, but there were no chafing orrubbing issues anywhere. I wore adidas no show Ultratech socks, and there was absolutely no discomfort at all around the top lining of the ankle collar.
The strap and black are sueded, and the inner padding is justthat: straight foam pad, no gimmicks, and it feels great. The ankle strap really locks the ankle in, and kept any minute heel slip from happening (although theBounce heel cup keeps this from happening anyway). The only complaint I have about the strap is the lace placement. There are actually lace loops on the insideof the strap on both sides, which helps secure the ankle, but this also puts the knot from the laces directly behind the strap. This didn't really botherme, but it could cause a pressure spot for some.
The fit is true to size (I currently ball in Zoom 96, Zoom 95,T-Mac VI, AZK I, LB IV, and these are all size 10.5). The fit feels like a second skin at first, but after playing for about 30 minutes, I had to stop andre-tighten once. The forefoot is not as form-fitting as the Creator (or the Zoom 95), which is obviously because these are made for bigger men and the Creatoris for guards. However, I could feel my foot sliding over the outer edge on a couple of hard cuts (I feel the stripe placement of the Creator would help guardsin this area). Not an extreme amount of movement, but enough that I noticed.
The support in these, again, is a very strong point. The anklestrap, while supportive of the ankle, allows for a real feel for freedom of movement and a quicker feel than other ankle strap shoes like the LB IV and NikeElite series. You may be able to see from the picture, but there are flex notches cut into the shoe just between the blue and black materials above the topmidfoot lace loop. This allows for a comfortable, natural feeling while playing by making the shoe less stiff and restrictive. I especially noticed this whenshooting jumpers. Most people know when you bend to jump shoot, the area in front of the ankle is stressed, and if the shoe is too stiff, this creates majordiscomfort (a la 2K3). These flex notches eliminate that. The midfoot stripe placement cuts down on motion inside the shoe, and for once I did notice thestripe-support system working (adidas has claimed this for years).
Cushioning in these is great, the best I have felt from adidassince the a3 Superstar Ultra (please retro). I changed the Comfort insole (thick foam, normal PU insert)
originally in the shoe to the Cushion w/ adiprene inserts, and thefeel automatically livened. There is a bouncy feel, almost like an Asics running shoe, to the shoe with these, where the Comfort just feels thick and soft. Theshoe itself has very little cushion in the internal midsole, with most of the additional cushion coming from the black outer midsole foam. Court feel is great,even for a big man shoe, with a low, dense forefoot.
I have been very critical of adidas traction lately, but these aregreat. The old Jabbar herringbone makes a return appearance (from the KG Bounce), and that puts these on another level. It was so good on the indoor collegecourt that I almost rolled my ankle trying to slide around a high pick. About time.
The shoe shows very little wear from the first wearing. Of coursethe patent wrinkled, but it is very minimal. Midsole shows no compression creases yet. The upper shows a surprising resistance to scuffs. Most patent scuffs onthe first step, it seems.
For a shoe supposedly geared to big men/post up players, I foundit to be a very good all around shoe. It may not feel as quick as Creators or light as Pro Model 08, it was a great shoe to play in, and I actually had funbecause of them. I am past the flash stage, so I was a little leery of the patent colorways, but I bit the bullet and grabbed them. I haven't had this manycomments from other players on a shoe in years. Most of the people at UTA play in Jordans or Nikes, but I had at least 5 people ask where I got them, and Ioverheard three or four talk about how nice they were. Overall, I am very quickly becoming an adidas disciple.
