Comparison of Zoom Kobe I through IV and AJ XIV

[schwollo]

Although I am not a big Kobe fan, I am a big fan of his shoes. Here are my thoughts on the ZK I, II, II ST, III, and IV. Each shoe is ranked against oneanother (1-5, 5 being the highest score). History and looks are only worth half the other criteria. I will have all of these done this week.
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Zoom Kobe I:

This shoe has been my benchmark since it was introduced in 2006. Although many complain of the fit, I find that these fit me perfect due to my wide feet. Ihave yet to find a shoe that has better traction (including the ZK IV, Zoom BB, AJ XXI, and AJ XIV)...dirty floors, clean floors, it doesn't seem to matterwith this shoe. It is heavier than the rest of the ZK line but I enjoy the extra cushioning since I'm 180 lbs. KB scored 81 pts in these shoes sothat's always worth something!


Traction: 5
Fit: 3
Cushioning: 2
Ankle Support: 3
History: 1.5
Looks: 1.5

Overall Score: 16
W/O History and Looks: 13

Zoom Kobe II

After reading all the hype of this shoe when it came out in 2007, I though that this shoe would easily replace the ZKI. However after multiple wearings andgames, I really don't like this shoe except for the looks of the USA colorway. I really don't like the cushioning or the fit of the shoe since I canfeel a lot of movement in the toe box when I cut. I always feel like the shoe is "disconnected" from my foot. Traction is very good but not quiteas good as the ZKI. The cushioning feels bare due to the fact the the insole has the actually zoom air and not the midsole (thus it isn't surrounded byEVA or whatever). Ankle support is good though. Furthermore, different colorways of this shoe fit differently than others which is really frustrating(actually I have two pair of 10.5's and they fit differently as well). Good job Nike Considered..did you not Consider the consumer??


Traction: 3.5
Fit: 1
Cushioning: 1
Ankle Support: 3
History: .75
Looks: 2

Overall Score: 11.25
W/O History and Looks: 9.5


Zoom Kobe II ST (STRENGTH)

Although the ZK II ST's are based on the same shoe, they play completely different due to the Zoom Air being in the midsole of the shoe. Unlike the ZK II,the ZKII ST's feel like a natural progression from the ZKI. The cushioning has more bounce than the ZKI and II but not overly mushy. Fit is much betterthan the ZK II since there is an inner sleeve in the shoe. There is still some wiggle room in the toe box but I fixed this problem with a different insole.Kobe barely wore this shoe in 2007 except for a few playoffs games if I recall.


Traction: 3.5 (tie with ZKII)
Fit: 2
Cushioning: 3
Ankle Support: 3
History: .75
Looks: 2

Overall Score: 14.25
W/O History and Looks: 11.5





Zoom Kobe III

This first time I saw these shoes, I thought, "wow, what a POS!" 1 year later, I thought "what an ugly POS". But after some more time, Ihave grown to like the looks of the shoe..off my feet. This is the type of shoe that looks better off your feet unless your over 6'2". This high cutand wrap around styling make this look like a neoprene boot or sock. That being said, this shoe feels and fits perfectly (in the black colorway at least). Once again, differnt colorways fit differently than others. The black colorway fits to a true while the white fits about 1/3 to 1/2 size bigger. Traction onthis shoe is ok which is dissapointing considering how well they feel and fit. Cushioning and court feel is perfect.

Traction: 1
Fit: 5
Cushioning: 5
Ankle Support: 3
History: 2
Looks: .5

Overall Score: 16.5
W/O History and Looks: 14


Zoom Kobe IV

I always played ball in running shoes when I was in college so trying out lows that were made for bball excitedme. I have never believed that higher cut shoes equaled more ankle protection so I was actually excited about playing in these. This was probably the firstnon Jordan shoe that I purchased at retail just due to the looks and the performance of previous ZK's. I had to move up 1/2 size due to how narrow theshoes run. Fit was great and cushioning felt nice and springy. However, during play, I noticed my forefoot feel like it was touching the court when I'dcut hard or slide on D. I realized that this was the "bottoming out" people were talking about and it was rather annoying since it feels so weird. Traction was good, but not as great as other people had said. Maybe it takes some more time to break in. Lakers and KB24 won a championship inthese..can't knock that.

Traction: 2
Fit: 4
Cushioning: 4
Ankle Support: 3
History: 2.5
Looks: 2.5

Overall Score: 18
W/O History and Looks: 13

 

[andfattoo]

I can say that ZK1s are one of the best ballin shoes i ever had, durable, comfy, and fit great with ankle braces. I got a pair of Kobe II Lites..... and theyfeel pretty big. Im quite sure they would feel pretty good and be good shoes if they werent so big on me, but oh well.

 

[wasps and asps]

wh......where is the rest?

 

[jw air]

i guess you think every kobe shoe is ugly

 

[xsalvioutlawx]

You really rated all of the shoes appeareances that low? I personally felt like the Zoom Kobe II was one of the best looking and performing basketball shoesi've worn in awhile and definetly one of the best Kobe shoes ever created.

 

[cbfpunch]

i don't understand why history and looks would be rated and factored into the overall score. i don't think some of your ratings are even backed by yourdescriptions. and what are you rating each category by? a scale of 1-5, 1-10, -5-+5? also, your overall score is just a sum of all the ratings for thatparticular shoe. did you even play in any of those shoes in those pictures? none of them shows creasing.

 

[deezyvsop]

I've only played in the I's, II's and II ST's. I'm looking for a cheap pair of III's, but that outsole looks suspect and I've heardabout traction issues. I won't touch the IV's because of the lunar.

The I's were the best for me. The II's were too high and firm at the heel, while the II ST addressed that issue, it's still not as comfortable asthe Kobe I. I like the II's cushioning setup better, but the Kobe I is much more comfortable and had better fit for me.

Of course, the 2K4 was supposed to be his first shoe. I liked everything about it except for the firm Zoom. Much preferred the zoom of the 2K5 and on.

 

[schwollo]

Shoes were ranked 1 through 5 ..5 being the highest. I tried to quantify which shoe was the best based on certain attributes and I am surprised the the III wonmyself. Yes the system is flawed because the ideally I would make traction account for more of the score than fit and cushioning these attributes'differences are so minimal.

Looks and history were only ranked .5 throught 2.5 (rather than 1 to 5) since looks and history don't really matter that much to me. I updated the scoreswithout History and Looks as well.
If I were to just rank these shoes just on actual performance. I also should note that the ZKI costs about $70 on Ebay while the ZK IV costs over $100.

1) ZKI
2) ZK IV
3) ZK II ST
4) ZK III
5) ZK II

ZK II Lites were left off bc, frankly, I hated the shoe..felt terrible on my feet and fit was really poor.


No I didn't wear any in the actual pics..I have doubles and/or triples and other colorways as well.

 

[schwollo]

Originally Posted by DeezyVSOP

I've only played in the I's, II's and II ST's. I'm looking for a cheap pair of III's, but that outsole looks suspect and I've heard about traction issues. I won't touch the IV's because of the lunar.

The I's were the best for me. The II's were too high and firm at the heel, while the II ST addressed that issue, it's still not as comfortable as the Kobe I. I like the II's cushioning setup better, but the Kobe I is much more comfortable and had better fit for me.

Of course, the 2K4 was supposed to be his first shoe. I liked everything about it except for the firm Zoom. Much preferred the zoom of the 2K5 and on.

I didn't care for the 2k4 but I really liked the 2K5. However I still like the ZKI and IV better than the 2K5

 

[schwollo]

Decided to do a head to head of the ZK I vs the AJ XIV (my favorite of the Air Jordan line). Why the AJ XIV? Best traction and feel in my opinion.

ZK I vs AJ XIV
Traction: ZKI
Fit: ZK I
Cushioning : AJ XIV
Ankle Support: AJ XIV

Well that didn't help me much...I guess it depends on what you want. I wear either one depending on what I want that day. Can't really go wrong withthe ZK I, IV or AJ XIV!

 

[prettymack1989]

good looks man. i really wanna get them ZK4 but finishline ain gettin dem and i work der and don't wanna drop that if umma just play in dem. if u can can udo a review on the Lebron soldiers dat just dropeed? preciate it

 

[freechef]

why did you rate the kobe iv cushioning so highly (4 out of 5 stars, higher than every other shoe except the kobe iii) after describing that dreadful lunarfoam bottoming-out experience?

 

[krisc]

so Zk1 no one can beat so far?

 

[schwollo]

I think overall the IV's cushioning is still pretty good (esp in the heel) so the shoe is still very responsive. I wouldn't really recommend any ofthese shoes for bigger, heavier player since the cushioning is designed more for feel and lateral movement, rather than straight up and down. I'm suresome shoe out there is better than the ZK I or AJ XIV but I haven't found it and I've worn a lot of shoes.

 

[freechef]

Originally Posted by Schwollo

I think overall the IV's cushioning is still pretty good (esp in the heel) so the shoe is still very responsive. I wouldn't really recommend any of these shoes for bigger, heavier player since the cushioning is designed more for feel and lateral movement, rather than straight up and down. I'm sure some shoe out there is better than the ZK I or AJ XIV but I haven't found it and I've worn a lot of shoes.

Doesn't every shoe in the Kobe line have zoom in the heel? That must be some "out of this world" heel zoom in the kobe iv's toovercome the phenomenon of your forefoot "touching the court" on every hard cut and defensive slide. To be honest, I know people criticize lunarfoam but the "bottoming out" experience I've had with the HD's, even after several months, never felt as severe as you've described it. That doesn't sound "weird" . . . that sounds plain painful! To me, worn out lunar just feels "dead," stiff, no bounceback. I'venever felt acute compression that bad where my toes crash against the floor. Maybe you should return your pair out of consideration of not getting injured. However, to each his own. It's your review. Thanks for posting this.

 

[schwollo]

The bottoming out is painful..just very weird feeling. I'm sure the more I wear them, the more the lunar foam will wear down. I like the springiness ofthe IV's heel cushioning. That being said, I'll keep alternating btwn the ZKI and IV for awhile and pick a true winner eventually.

 

[krisc]

hm...

 

[wasps and asps]

i hate the cushioning in my xiv. i got the black toe ones.

seems like the balls of my feet sit half on the zoom and half off. like it sits right where the zoom ends so when my foot strikes, it feels hard. i took theinsoles out cuz they got the poron inserts and that made it a little better. i dont even think the poron does much cuz its so think, seems like the old shoes ihad with poron it felt different. i forgot what shoes they were tho

 

[schwollo]

Originally Posted by Wasps and Asps

i hate the cushioning in my xiv. i got the black toe ones.

seems like the balls of my feet sit half on the zoom and half off. like it sits right where the zoom ends so when my foot strikes, it feels hard. i took the insoles out cuz they got the poron inserts and that made it a little better. i dont even think the poron does much cuz its so think, seems like the old shoes i had with poron it felt different. i forgot what shoes they were tho

Did you get the retro XIV's? I'm not sure what they did different but the OG's are a lot better performance wise. The OG's aremore flexible and the cushioning is a tad softer. I don't wear the retro XIV's.I like my OG's

 

[wasps and asps]

yeah i got the retros.

i also had the OG black toes also. but i was in like the 5/6th grade i think so i aint care about cushioning, i was just happy that i had a pair

the OGs look better. i hate the ribbing on the OGs

 

[zombiejesus12]

^^ My god.

Why? Why do you need that many pairs?

Why?

 

[cbfpunch]

i don't believe any of these pics are his.

 

[freechef]

Originally Posted by cbfpunch

i don't believe any of these pics are his.

I sorta had the same feeling. I also doubt that he's played ball in any of the shoes he's reviewing.

 

[schwollo]

Why so many pair? I bought those OG's before the retros came out and Ithought I'd never be able to find them again. I've been collecting shoes since '99
The pics are mine...why would I put up pics that aren't mine on a review?
Here are more if you want.

 

[cbfpunch]

would it hurt to tag your pics?