- 934
- 14
- Joined
- Oct 26, 2007
Finally put in enough hours to put up a review, and I wanted to share my thought with everyone in case anyone is on the fence or had some questions. I'm reviewing these exclusively as performance shoes, but I talk a little about the appearance. If you care about stats - 6'2", about 230, which as big as I've ever been, size 12
Fit: Impeccable. I'm a true 12 in Nike and ordered a 12, they fit like a sock. The last is more like a foot than any other shoe I've ever worn, looking down at my feet it looks like the shoe is just an outline of my foot, the shape of the shoe is perfect. My feet are a little wide but not massively so, to test further I asked my friend who also wears a 12 but has narrow feet. He said they fit him perfectly, too, so the fit and lock down on these is great no matter what your foot type is - order your true size.
Support: Top notch. Since the shoe fits so perfectly, it took me a few hours to really appreciate how subtly it works. There's never a second when you have to think about your feet or worry about your base. The Vs are a little stiff for the first few hours, but they break in and mold to your foot even more so; like a leather wallet that starts curving. I'm blown away by the next-gen flywire; it's actually more substantive than I thought and of course light as hell. My feet felt great after long days on the court, never a blister or sore feet or knee problems.
Comfort/Cushioning: Perfect, for the third time. The back of the heel is split and soft foam, while the rest of the shoe is reinforced with carbon fiber and cushioned with zoom air. This makes the ride absolutely smooth, there's a bounce under the ball of your foot and your heel, soft enough to cushion the landing but hard enough to let you feel the ground and use your foot naturally. It's an ideal setup. The tongue became my favorite part of the shoe once I started playing in the Vs, and it's a big part of the comfort. Wrapped from the sides of the midsole, the tongue is actually basically an inner-bootie for the front of your foot. It's flexible, comfortable, breathable, and just tight enough to feel like a second skin. The back of your foot is covered by the heel cup, which locks down your foot and is cushioned enough to make it comfortable.
This is the first time in a while I've been legitimately impressed with a Nike product. The design is utterly beautiful - heel cup, cushioning on the back of the shoe, padded tongue bootie and flywire on the front, which means no wasted material, no weight, no bulky designs, nothing that shouldn't be there. Underfoot the carbon fiber gives the shoe a rock solid feel, combined with the zoom bags and the outrigger, you hardly notice you're wearing shoes. I'm not including ankle protection in my review but it's a low cut shoe, but it would qualify as a 10/10 under most guidelines. My ankle was free to move and flex naturally and I never even tweaked my ankle, even after some nasty cuts and stepping on other people's feet.
The design of these - I have the Aways - is also something I wanted to mention. These are the first basketball shoes I've ever worn that have gotten RAVES from everyone. I've balled in a lot of kicks, but never have I gotten the reaction the Kobe V has. The purple is really hot in person, and the yellow sets off the back. Much better looking in person, especially in a well-lit gym. Girls at the gym gave me props, dudes on my team decided to cop them after seeing them on feet, these are a beautiful shoe. And after many hours of ball, they still look brand new.
I'm not exaggerating or being a hypebeast when I say this: The Kobe V is the best performance basketball shoe I've ever worn in my life. It's not even close. It's a perfect basketball shoe.
100/100
A+
10/10
etc.
Maybe someday something better will come out, but for right now, there's no shoe that's as good as the Kobe V. I'm actually going to sell all my other kicks I have stored to ball and just use the money to cop more Vs, because these are the best basketball shoes ever made. Frankly, I've been using them as my running and weightlifting shoes too, and I haven't had a better pair. I ran a few miles in them the other day outdoors on asphalt and they are comfy, minimalist shoes. Great for basically everything. I'm tempted to call these the best athletic shoes of all time. If you could put cleats on them I'd wear it for baseball, football, or soccer or anything on the grass.
Fellas, I'm crowning them: The Kobe V is the greatest basketball shoe of all time. Everything else can take a step back, the champ is here
Fit: Impeccable. I'm a true 12 in Nike and ordered a 12, they fit like a sock. The last is more like a foot than any other shoe I've ever worn, looking down at my feet it looks like the shoe is just an outline of my foot, the shape of the shoe is perfect. My feet are a little wide but not massively so, to test further I asked my friend who also wears a 12 but has narrow feet. He said they fit him perfectly, too, so the fit and lock down on these is great no matter what your foot type is - order your true size.
Support: Top notch. Since the shoe fits so perfectly, it took me a few hours to really appreciate how subtly it works. There's never a second when you have to think about your feet or worry about your base. The Vs are a little stiff for the first few hours, but they break in and mold to your foot even more so; like a leather wallet that starts curving. I'm blown away by the next-gen flywire; it's actually more substantive than I thought and of course light as hell. My feet felt great after long days on the court, never a blister or sore feet or knee problems.
Comfort/Cushioning: Perfect, for the third time. The back of the heel is split and soft foam, while the rest of the shoe is reinforced with carbon fiber and cushioned with zoom air. This makes the ride absolutely smooth, there's a bounce under the ball of your foot and your heel, soft enough to cushion the landing but hard enough to let you feel the ground and use your foot naturally. It's an ideal setup. The tongue became my favorite part of the shoe once I started playing in the Vs, and it's a big part of the comfort. Wrapped from the sides of the midsole, the tongue is actually basically an inner-bootie for the front of your foot. It's flexible, comfortable, breathable, and just tight enough to feel like a second skin. The back of your foot is covered by the heel cup, which locks down your foot and is cushioned enough to make it comfortable.
This is the first time in a while I've been legitimately impressed with a Nike product. The design is utterly beautiful - heel cup, cushioning on the back of the shoe, padded tongue bootie and flywire on the front, which means no wasted material, no weight, no bulky designs, nothing that shouldn't be there. Underfoot the carbon fiber gives the shoe a rock solid feel, combined with the zoom bags and the outrigger, you hardly notice you're wearing shoes. I'm not including ankle protection in my review but it's a low cut shoe, but it would qualify as a 10/10 under most guidelines. My ankle was free to move and flex naturally and I never even tweaked my ankle, even after some nasty cuts and stepping on other people's feet.
The design of these - I have the Aways - is also something I wanted to mention. These are the first basketball shoes I've ever worn that have gotten RAVES from everyone. I've balled in a lot of kicks, but never have I gotten the reaction the Kobe V has. The purple is really hot in person, and the yellow sets off the back. Much better looking in person, especially in a well-lit gym. Girls at the gym gave me props, dudes on my team decided to cop them after seeing them on feet, these are a beautiful shoe. And after many hours of ball, they still look brand new.
I'm not exaggerating or being a hypebeast when I say this: The Kobe V is the best performance basketball shoe I've ever worn in my life. It's not even close. It's a perfect basketball shoe.
100/100
A+
10/10
etc.
Maybe someday something better will come out, but for right now, there's no shoe that's as good as the Kobe V. I'm actually going to sell all my other kicks I have stored to ball and just use the money to cop more Vs, because these are the best basketball shoes ever made. Frankly, I've been using them as my running and weightlifting shoes too, and I haven't had a better pair. I ran a few miles in them the other day outdoors on asphalt and they are comfy, minimalist shoes. Great for basically everything. I'm tempted to call these the best athletic shoes of all time. If you could put cleats on them I'd wear it for baseball, football, or soccer or anything on the grass.
Fellas, I'm crowning them: The Kobe V is the greatest basketball shoe of all time. Everything else can take a step back, the champ is here
