Kobe X Official Thread Elite Series ‘Elite Team’ April 18th, ‘Elevate’ May 15th, ‘Rose Gold’ June 5

Wayne141 said:
Nike Free was promoted as a tech on the Kobe IIs, but the way it was executed on that shoe was more for show/marketing than anything else. I've owned a good number of IIs, and that shoe doesn't have nearly the level of flexibility you'd need to take full advantage of Free tech like you would in most Nike Free shoes. If you look at advertisements for a lot of Free shoes, they even market the added level of flexibility you get from Free by literally showing you how you can bend some of the Free shoes almost into a ball, which you clearly can't do with the IIs. If you have a midfoot shank that's designed to give added stability so you avoid pronating too much when you're moving around, you're obviously going to have decreased flexibility. The shank on the IIs is a major reason why Nike Free on that model was basically negligible.

The X's design is much more true to how a usual Nike Free shoe behaves compared to the IIs specifically because, like you said, they're using that carbon fiber clip on the outrigger to give added stability instead of the typical midfoot shank that you see on most basketball shoes. Because of that move, the Xs have more added flexibility and can behave more like a typical Free shoe.
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This is a fantastic explanation and I agree wholeheartedly. The II's were a lush, heavily-cushioned shoe but not what I would deem anywhere near a "Free" shoe. The siping in the outsole with the individual traction pods harkened to a Free runner, but not in execution at all.
 
MP23 said:
This is a fantastic explanation and I agree wholeheartedly. The II's were a lush, heavily-cushioned shoe but not what I would deem anywhere near a "Free" shoe. The siping in the outsole with the individual traction pods harkened to a Free runner, but not in execution at all.
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I dunno, I thought the Kobe !! midsole was very minimal and actually hurt my arch because of the weird flex. The midsole was really thin, aside from the thin air zoom. The weird shape of the heel rubbed the skin off of my achilles. I agree that the huge carbon fiber mid plate made the shoes oddly stiff though. 
 
anyone break these in yet? how long did it take? played 2 hours of pick up ball and felt like i was playing in the 7's :\
 
Philart84 said:
I dunno, I thought the Kobe !! midsole was very minimal and actually hurt my arch because of the weird flex. The midsole was really thin, aside from the thin air zoom. The weird shape of the heel rubbed the skin off of my achilles. I agree that the huge carbon fiber mid plate made the shoes oddly stiff though. 
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I agree that the heel rubbed the skin, definitely had to wear higher cut socks. I am still having a tough time trying to decide what CW to get; right by the ES so gonna get a pair for $100 or less, just don't know which one is the best one for everyday use.
 
Seen the Xs in person today together with the Kyries ... is it just me or the upper is basically the same? and it feels like a flyknit too.. i won't surprised if they dont release a flyknit low of the Xs since the upper is one of the main features (tech-wise)

I really like the 5am. I might cop the Vinos for sure.
 
Just noticed blackouts are off the discount list on Footlocker 
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 Stil not sure if these Xs are worth it though. 
 
jretro23 said:
anyone break these in yet? how long did it take? played 2 hours of pick up ball and felt like i was playing in the 7's :\
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What kind of socks are you wearing?

I only wear elite socks (more comfortable) and it felt broken in after 1 day. I've played 2 games and pickup for 2 hours already in them. I have 0 pain on my feet after playing whereas other kobes I would be sore for the rest of the day
 
al3x89 said:
What kind of socks are you wearing?

I only wear elite socks (more comfortable) and it felt broken in after 1 day. I've played 2 games and pickup for 2 hours already in them. I have 0 pain on my feet after playing whereas other kobes I would be sore for the rest of the day
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This. Spot on.
 
both shoes from yesterday are PEs.

that yellow pair is nice.. but i mean, we had a yellow pair last year (first em, "bruce lee") and they sat.. so :rolleyes
 
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