- 1,079
- 10
- Joined
- Dec 8, 2005
Jordan 16.5
My annual Christmas shoe purchase this year came down to three shoes: Lebron VII, Jordan 16.5, and lastyear's CP3.II. Sorry, no adidas yet, still holding out for the Supernaturals to hit over the U.S. (I still hate you Nene). Since the Lebron's are still$160 (and I haven't really liked the feel of any Air Max since the Elite in 2002), and the CP3's are hard to find in the colors I thought looked good,I picked the 16.5, blk/red. Ever since the pictures of these released, I have loved the looks and performance potential. This is the firs Jordan I have thoughtof purchasing since the white/blk/red XXI, retro's and all. For some reason, none of the recent remix/fusion/numbered appealed that much to me, and I am anold school Jordan head. I played for 3 hours last night, total of 9 full-court to 15, win by 2 games. I bought these at Finish Line and drove straight to thegym, so there was NO break-in time wearing around the house or office. Here we go:
The first thing I noticed, probably like everyone else, was the patent toe cap. I am really not a fan ofJordan patent, as it seems stiff and uncompromising for playing in, especially in flex points like across the tops of the toes. These were no different, as thetoe flexed right in off the Jumpman logo's feet and pushed down into the tops of my toes. This made the shoe extremely stiff during warm-ups and the firsttwo games. However, a deep crease developed through the course of the night and the flexibility gradually increased, providing for a very natural toe-off andstep into jump shots. It provided a level of support to lateral movements and I know it should not stretch out over time. My only fear now is that over timethe crease will deepen and eventually rip, but we will see. Personally, I like creases in shoes; they tend to fit better.
Support and fit over the rest of the shoe is very good, bordering on excellent. These fit A LOT like the XXI.They are wider through the forefoot and toe box, but can be cinched up tight for a better fit. There are wider lace holes (obvious from the 17 influence) toallow for a custom fit, but for the first night I stayed as is. The metal lace loops and oval laces tend to loosen over the course of a game or two, but no bigdeal to just pull a little tighter and go. However, the source of my greatest problem occurs in the lacing system. There is a hidden eye-stay, like theHyperdunk, between the foot and ankle collar. This loop rubbed me absolutely raw, to blister status, after about an hour and a half. I changed into thickerNike Elite socks from an old pair of NBA no shows, but the problem was still there. I unlaced the shoe from the loop and went with just the standard eyelets,but the fit along the heel and ankle noticeably suffered. I am extremely hopeful that this situation goes away after a couple of more game nights, or I mayneed to play with the other variable lacing options to try to compromise the fit around the heel.
Cushioning comes in the form of a large (at least it feels that way) forefoot Zoom unit and I believe the sameblow-molded Air unit found in the XVII, because this shoe feels so much like that one in the cushion dept. it is scary. Not a bad thing, as I found that shoeto have an excellent implementation of forefoot Zoom. I never felt any impact jarring and found myself constantly on my toes on defense and running throughpicks for jumpers. The insole is semi-flat, not like the early Jordan models III, IV, and V, but more like the TS Commander or Zoom Generation, a little insteprise but no pronounced arch. Extremely comfortable. The tongue is not an inner bootie, but does have extended bands from the arch to the ball, and there wereno chafing issues with any stitching anywhere internally. Traction is greatness, again like the XVII, and the translucent outsole really contributes to thelooks, but rarely touches the floor, so mine stayed pretty clean. Maybe I can keep them from yellowing for a little while.
The details on this shoe are also a positive, from the semi-translucent midsole wrap on the heel Air unit, tothe Jordan printed under the translucent outsole, to the quilted tongue overlay. The shoe is very well-ventilated by the mesh side panels. I noticed when Ichanged socks that the ones I wore to start were barely wet, just a little under the toes. It felt extremely smooth after the toe broke in while running and Inever felt any fight or pull from the shoe. No slap the floor feeling, even though it does have a bulky look on the foot.
Overall, I put this shoe in a level under the Zoom BB and Kobe IV, on par with my T-Mac 6, Zoom Flight Kidd,and Jordan XXI. Not a top all-time, but a definite step in the right direction for the .5 series. If all Jordan's can keep this up, I just may be are-convert.
My annual Christmas shoe purchase this year came down to three shoes: Lebron VII, Jordan 16.5, and lastyear's CP3.II. Sorry, no adidas yet, still holding out for the Supernaturals to hit over the U.S. (I still hate you Nene). Since the Lebron's are still$160 (and I haven't really liked the feel of any Air Max since the Elite in 2002), and the CP3's are hard to find in the colors I thought looked good,I picked the 16.5, blk/red. Ever since the pictures of these released, I have loved the looks and performance potential. This is the firs Jordan I have thoughtof purchasing since the white/blk/red XXI, retro's and all. For some reason, none of the recent remix/fusion/numbered appealed that much to me, and I am anold school Jordan head. I played for 3 hours last night, total of 9 full-court to 15, win by 2 games. I bought these at Finish Line and drove straight to thegym, so there was NO break-in time wearing around the house or office. Here we go:
The first thing I noticed, probably like everyone else, was the patent toe cap. I am really not a fan ofJordan patent, as it seems stiff and uncompromising for playing in, especially in flex points like across the tops of the toes. These were no different, as thetoe flexed right in off the Jumpman logo's feet and pushed down into the tops of my toes. This made the shoe extremely stiff during warm-ups and the firsttwo games. However, a deep crease developed through the course of the night and the flexibility gradually increased, providing for a very natural toe-off andstep into jump shots. It provided a level of support to lateral movements and I know it should not stretch out over time. My only fear now is that over timethe crease will deepen and eventually rip, but we will see. Personally, I like creases in shoes; they tend to fit better.
Support and fit over the rest of the shoe is very good, bordering on excellent. These fit A LOT like the XXI.They are wider through the forefoot and toe box, but can be cinched up tight for a better fit. There are wider lace holes (obvious from the 17 influence) toallow for a custom fit, but for the first night I stayed as is. The metal lace loops and oval laces tend to loosen over the course of a game or two, but no bigdeal to just pull a little tighter and go. However, the source of my greatest problem occurs in the lacing system. There is a hidden eye-stay, like theHyperdunk, between the foot and ankle collar. This loop rubbed me absolutely raw, to blister status, after about an hour and a half. I changed into thickerNike Elite socks from an old pair of NBA no shows, but the problem was still there. I unlaced the shoe from the loop and went with just the standard eyelets,but the fit along the heel and ankle noticeably suffered. I am extremely hopeful that this situation goes away after a couple of more game nights, or I mayneed to play with the other variable lacing options to try to compromise the fit around the heel.
Cushioning comes in the form of a large (at least it feels that way) forefoot Zoom unit and I believe the sameblow-molded Air unit found in the XVII, because this shoe feels so much like that one in the cushion dept. it is scary. Not a bad thing, as I found that shoeto have an excellent implementation of forefoot Zoom. I never felt any impact jarring and found myself constantly on my toes on defense and running throughpicks for jumpers. The insole is semi-flat, not like the early Jordan models III, IV, and V, but more like the TS Commander or Zoom Generation, a little insteprise but no pronounced arch. Extremely comfortable. The tongue is not an inner bootie, but does have extended bands from the arch to the ball, and there wereno chafing issues with any stitching anywhere internally. Traction is greatness, again like the XVII, and the translucent outsole really contributes to thelooks, but rarely touches the floor, so mine stayed pretty clean. Maybe I can keep them from yellowing for a little while.
The details on this shoe are also a positive, from the semi-translucent midsole wrap on the heel Air unit, tothe Jordan printed under the translucent outsole, to the quilted tongue overlay. The shoe is very well-ventilated by the mesh side panels. I noticed when Ichanged socks that the ones I wore to start were barely wet, just a little under the toes. It felt extremely smooth after the toe broke in while running and Inever felt any fight or pull from the shoe. No slap the floor feeling, even though it does have a bulky look on the foot.
Overall, I put this shoe in a level under the Zoom BB and Kobe IV, on par with my T-Mac 6, Zoom Flight Kidd,and Jordan XXI. Not a top all-time, but a definite step in the right direction for the .5 series. If all Jordan's can keep this up, I just may be are-convert.
