Air Jordan XXXVI (36) first info…

I have never had an issue with a clear outsole.
Same here!

Traction problems are related to specific designs/shoes (ex: xxx1) or courts, NOT clear soles in my experience. Honestly I don't understand all that talk we see in regards to clear sole traction on youtube or whatever except for generating more views or discussions and people keeping on convincing themselves or viewers that clear soles are more problematic and then way too many people have been getting onto that bandwagon in recent years because of some self proclaimed influencers/ pseudo-experts people listen to, only having their butt dyno as a reference. No offense to anyone but I've became sick and tired of all that non-sense with time of people either just trying to find something to say or it appears like these days like people in general either seem to lend more credibility to those who have negative stuff to say just because it gives people the false impression they are more knowledgeable or that they are not sellouts.
I mean it's one thing to be passionate, can we just be objective and not get lost in all the hype, if the outsole design generates performance issues,then it's not good(like the xxx1) period, just don't blame it on clear soles in general for whatever reason. Now if they change the compound, that's a whole other story, but what do people outside of Nike really know about this? You can't just judge on looks to draw any conclusions. For example I hate everything about the xxx3, the looks, the upper, the fit and comfort are horrible, but guess what, they have a full clear sole and probably the best outsole ever in regards to traction, hands down! These would stick on ice. At the former school where I used to coach, they had probably the most slippery court I've ever seen anywhere. I've tested every Air Jordan from 1 to 34(except the 17,24,26,27)on it over the years. Some were real bad like the xxxi in regards to traction only , most were somewhere in between and few were good enough for such extreme conditions on this particular court like the xi, but the xxx3 were simply on a class of their own, not even close.
So if it's good, it's good. If you don't like clear outsoled good, I respect that, but no need to create a false narrative and invent stuff to convince people over time just so you get more people on your side in hopes Nike will adopt your personal agenda just because you're not a fan of x, y,z aspect. I get it, to each is own and people have the right to voice their opinion, I respect that. Can we just not pass false information and create false hype just because we want change? Just be honest about it.

Not saying Nike or JB never make mistake, because they do, and sometimes they do make alot of questionable choices but I don't believe that if clear soles were that bad from a performance point of view that they would have stuck with it for so long now on performance shoes if it was still impeding performance at this point.

I understsand clear soles are part of Air Jordans DNA and I still love them on older models. But besides that , I am personally tired of full clear soles on newer models year in and year out because I think it has just became overused on every new Jordan model for the last how many years now and I thinks it's became an easy way of putting little effort into outsole design just because with clear soles, materials used are a design cue by nature.

That said, I'd like to see a return to solid rubber outsoles just from a design point of view and/or Nike could have made a better job of incorporating a mix of both clear and solid rubber on any given shoe for the last few models just like they did with the V, VI,XI,XVI originally for example.

My only real issues with clear soles is that 1)they yellow over time unfortunately 2) at some point some models started oxydizing badly around certain areas almost right away even when kept DS.

I'll repeat clear outsoles = NO traction issue compared with solid outsoles. Can we just forget about it once and for all and move on to legitimate discussions at this point?
 
Last edited:
The traditional Guo Ailuns
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FLPOE7oaMAEd3s3?format=jpg&name=large
I really really love the design of the leno-weave on these, subtle detail but looking great!
 
Same here!

Traction problems are related to specific designs/shoes (ex: xxx1) or courts, NOT clear soles in my experience. Honestly I don't understand all that talk we see in regards to clear sole traction on youtube or whatever except for generating more views or discussions and people keeping on convincing themselves or viewers that clear soles are more problematic and then way too many people have been getting onto that bandwagon in recent years because of some self proclaimed influencers/ pseudo-experts people listen to, only having their butt dyno as a reference. No offense to anyone but I've became sick and tired of all that non-sense with time of people either just trying to find something to say or it appears like these days like people in general either seem to lend more credibility to those who have negative stuff to say just because it gives people the false impression they are more knowledgeable or that they are not sellouts.
I mean it's one thing to be passionate, can we just be objective and not get lost in all the hype, if the outsole design generates performance issues,then it's not good(like the xxx1) period, just don't blame it on clear soles in general for whatever reason. Now if they change the compound, that's a whole other story, but what do people outside of Nike really know about this? You can't just judge on looks to draw any conclusions. For example I hate everything about the xxx3, the looks, the upper, the fit and comfort are horrible, but guess what, they have a full clear sole and probably the best outsole ever in regards to traction, hands down! These would stick on ice. At the former school where I used to coach, they had probably the most slippery court I've ever seen anywhere. I've tested every Air Jordan from 1 to 34(except the 17,24,26,27)on it over the years. Some were real bad like the xxxi in regards to traction only , most were somewhere in between and few were good enough for such extreme conditions on this particular court like the xi, but the xxx3 were simply on a class of their own, not even close.
So if it's good, it's good. If you don't like clear outsoled good, I respect that, but no need to create a false narrative and invent stuff to convince people over time just so you get more people on your side in hopes Nike will adopt your personal agenda just because you're not a fan of x, y,z aspect. I get it, to each is own and people have the right to voice their opinion, I respect that. Can we just not pass false information and create false hype just because we want change? Just be honest about it.

Not saying Nike or JB never make mistake, because they do, and sometimes they do make alot of questionable choices but I don't believe that if clear soles were that bad from a performance point of view that they would have stuck with it for so long now on performance shoes if it was still impeding performance at this point.

I understsand clear soles are part of Air Jordans DNA and I still love them on older models. But besides that , I am personally tired of full clear soles on newer models year in and year out because I think it has just became overused on every new Jordan model for the last how many years now and I thinks it's became an easy way of putting little effort into outsole design just because with clear soles, materials used are a design cue by nature.

That said, I'd like to see a return to solid rubber outsoles just from a design point of view and/or Nike could have made a better job of blending clear and solid rubber while creating outsole designs for the last few models just like they did with the V, VI,XI,XVI originally for example.

My only real issues with clear soles is that 1)they yellow over time unfortunately 2) at some point some models started oxydizing badly around certain areas almost right away even when kept DS.

I'll repeat clear outsoles = NO traction issue compared with solid outsoles. Can we just forget about it once and for all and move on to legitimate discussions at this point?
I agree. problem was years prior to this clear outsole discussions, some shoes that have clear soles had bad traction that created this false narrative of "all clear soles are bad"? so that created the false belief that it is true. same goes to people claiming that the cut of the shoes doesn't have an effect on protecting your ankles from rolling or claiming they knew better than sports doctors. that is why I don't trust influencers in general (especially the established ones) when it comes to claims or even hype. I watch them for their entertainment value.

same here, I don't care if some people don't like clear outsoles but stop the nonsense on saying that they are bad because someone promoted that narrative.
 
I’ll add - like it was stated, unless the rubber compound is changed, clear traction should and usually does equal solid. However, there is a process to make the runner clear that can harden or soften the compound - too hard and it’s aiding everywhere, too soft and you wear them down quicker but grip is crazy. Black soles don’t have the same lengthy process and are easiest to get right, lighter colors are more difficult (on the spectrum). Yes, rubber/PU has different hardnesses measured on a scale (it’s called rubber durometer) and it can change easily.

BUT… I have had just as many bad solid as translucent over my 13+ years of reviewing shoes. It’s both - a pattern and a rubber problem - but as you said, clear doesn’t equal bad.

Now, ankle support not coming from the height of the shoe…
 
Back
Top Bottom