HELP! Kobe II, Strength or Ultimate?

[juschiang]

Like the title suggests, I'm currently trying to decide between getting a pair of the Kobe II Ultimate or Strength and would like to hear people's takeon these 2 shoes

Just a FYI, I'm a post-up/PF type of player, am heavy for my height and just wondering if the busier upper gives Strength a leg up in terms of midfoot andankle support? The outsoles are almost identical so I'd imagine traction & cushioning will be very similar between the two. But I'm veryinterested in knowing what people think that makes 1 superior than the other

Also, I've heard Strength run big so while I'm between 10.5 and 11 (10.5 for Lebron IV and 11 for Kobe IV), most likely I'll have to go with a 10.5for Strengths but one question I do have is, even though I've heard Ultimates run true to size, do people think I can get away with a 10.5 for Ultimates aswell??

Thanks in advance!!

 

[deezyvsop]

In terms of sizing, I went half down on the Strengths and true size on the Ultimates. That's probably the consensus, but you never know how shoes will fityou.

The biggest difference to me is the heel counter. I got rid of my Ultimates because the heel counter went up too high and was hurting my heel/ankle.

The Strengths address that issue and the heel counter doesn't extend that high, so they're fine. But fit isn't that great for me on the Strengths.It's certainly not bad or anything, but I can't lockdown without feeling my feet go numb.

Other that that, they performed pretty much identically. I can't speak about midfoot support, I thought it was fine for both shoes. Ankle support is finetoo, but I'm not a big fan of mids anyway.

I'd go with the Strengths if you're particular about fit at the achilles and rear ankle. They're still pretty light with the extra strap anddesign. I know a lot of people like the Ultimates though.

 

[juschiang]

^^^ Thanks a lot for the quick comparo!!

 

[andfattoo]

Any word on the Lites??

 

[schwollo]

I would go with the Strengths..I hated the Ultimates (and the lites for that matter). They had a very poor fit and the cushioning is minimal. Strength fitbetter and have more cushioning. I thought the Strengths fit true to size but that's just me. Look at my review on page 2 of all the ZK's.

 

[juschiang]

^^^ Schwollo, thanks a lot!! I thought I had seen your post but couldn't find it when I posted butthat was for sure very detailed comparison. I think Ihave my mind made up and am going w/ ST's. Thanks again for the help!

 

[blackcat23mj]

strength and lites fit the same!!! i went half size down on ST and true size on ultimates

 

[andfattoo]

Thanks for the info

 

[schwollo]

Originally Posted by blackcat23mj

strength and lites fit the same!!! i went half size down on ST and true size on ultimates

IMO there is more movement in the toe box with the Lites. Plus the lites are freakin stiff as a board.

 

[shaft]

lites are stiff, ultimate didn't have the lateral fit for me... strength were the best of the 3...

 

[blackcat23mj]

i agree with the stiffness...i like ST, LITES, and lastly ultimates