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Oh, you mean like the HWC 7?
Nike LeBron 18 *First Look*
- Thread in 'Nike' Thread starter Started by alchemist iq,
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Tried the James Gang 18's on today...as usual "tongue-gate" is extremely overrated lol
Didn't bother me at all, but to each his own.
Didn't bother me at all, but to each his own.
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Yea the tongue is not even remotely a problem
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What does EP stand for? Sorry I just collect Jordan's but these are undeniable to me.
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engineered performance
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Do they fit differently then the normal pairs? Or feel different?
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^ a tad bit wider, molded on a different last compared to most pairs. More widely available in Asia from my understanding.
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Oh nice thanks man, I already made the mistake of buying the kyrie 6s in tts, and I hear that these run real tight on weartesters. I hate **** being closed can try on anything.
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EP stands for "Extended Play" ; basically shoes that come in EP sizing are made on a wider last. They usually release in Asian countries like China, Korea and Japan, etc. The 'EP' shoes tend to feel a bit roomier than the shoes that come in standard sizing.
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why the name sisterhood? I'd rather finals. The name doesn't matter to me but still sisterhood ?
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they're kinda WNBA orange?
there's a sisterhood pack of nike/jordan stuff dropping this season
there's a sisterhood pack of nike/jordan stuff dropping this season
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They can call them whatever they want, but they'll be known as the ugly ****s Lebron wore when he won a chip as a Laker.
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These are an absolute monster on the court
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These are an absolute monster on the court
Could you elaborate on that? What were your favorite features? TTS?
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Yeah for sure. I’ll write up a little initial thoughts post on them in a little bit in detail. High-level: went TTS and they feel a little big in terms of lockdown in the heel area - it feels like I have to really tighten the top laces to keep my heel down when playing. Other than that, the zoom strobel embedded in the air unit is a thing of beauty.
Detailed write up to come later this morning!
Detailed write up to come later this morning!
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toe drags?
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LeBron 18 - First Impression:
Materials:
The new knitposite is very tough and feels, like some have alluded to, a candle wick at first. It was so rugged that the shoe didn't feel pliable at all in terms of the upper when I initially put them on. After about an hour of wearing them around and casually walking around in them, you could feel the knitposite loosen up and start to give a bit. It does feel durable, but I've seen recent posts on here showing how the toebox area is already coming apart with the knit, so that's disappointing to see. Overall, the way the shoe is built makes it very hard for any ventilation to occur, so your foot is pretty much enveloped in a thick layer of non-breathable knit.
Lockdown:
This was my one issue, and maybe this is specific to my foot and a personal issue, but my heel felt like it was not locked down firm enough unless I re-laced the shoe pretty tight near the top. Once I did this, the shoe felt great, but anytime I was cutting or making a hard stop, the shoe felt unstable because it felt like my foot was not secure on the footbed. It leads me to another small gripe I have with the shoe and the flywire underneath/woven into the knit - the laces kind of get stuck at first with the flywire, so it's not completely locked down at times. It's hard to describe, but that's why re-lacing was ultimately needed. Other than the heel issue at first, which went away, the lockdown was great.
Fit:
I recommend TTS, and that's what I went with. For those with narrow feet, I can definitely see TTS working perfectly (remember the shoe loosens up a little with the knitposite). For Widefooters - definitely try these on and you'll probably need to go .5 size up. The toebox area can feel a little tight (I would imagine) if you have wide feet, so I recommend trying these on if you can (remember Nike+ members can wear them and return within 60 days of purchase - that's my go-to with the pandemic and stores around me not having options at times).
Cushion:
This is easily the best part of the shoe, and it's the best by MILES. Most everyone in here knows the specs alraedy, so I won't re-hash those, but I'll talk more about how it feels on-court. At first, you can feel the bounce and overall comfort the minute you step into the shoe. It was very KD12 like for me, with the added comfort of the Air bag in the heel in which the zoom strobel sits in. Because of the full-length zoom, the shoe feels better as you wear it longer - at least that has been my experience with full-length zoom set-ups.
On-court, the shoe feels incredible. I have had knee and ankle issues for the last 8-9 years and I can easily tell after I play or workout whether a shoes cushioning set-up is suitable for my aging, breaking down body. I have not had any knee pain or soreness after wearing the 18s, and I attribute that largely to the cushion implementation. While you would think court feel has been sacrificed in the 18s, I compare it against the 17s and the court feel and overall height of the ride, if you will, is much closer to the ground. Granted, these won't feel like Kobes or older PGs, but if you value cushioning and impact protection over court feel, then the 18s check every box. If you're looking for a quicker ride, and something not so heavy (these do feel bottom-heavy as hell when you first wear them), these are definitely not for you. When compared to the 17 and 16 for cushioning, these remind me more of the 16s, with that set-up on HGH.
Traction:
The traction on these, so far, have been money. I can't recall a LeBron model as of late where I did NOT have to repeatedly wipe down the bottoms of each shoe to get dust off and enhance the stopping power on cuts and runs, etc. With the 18, I did not have to once, and I was on the same courts I always play on (could be the new COVID cleaning protocols and my gym is finally doing their job right
). The rubber used looks rather durable, also, which is something I would not say of the last like 10 LeBron models. I don't know what others are saying about outdoor usage and how they would hold up, but in regards to previous models, I have to think the 18s are built a little better for the outdoors with how thick the outsole seems to be.
Overall, these really feel great on the court. I wasn't expecting a break-in period for a knit-based shoe, especially with how comfortable they were in terms of the cushioning from the get-go. But, having said that, I've only put in probably 7 hours of wearing these on-court for hoops-related activities, and the shoe has felt better over time progressively. I will also say this - with the price point of the shoe, I seriously doubt anyone needs to buy some of the GRs for retail. I was able to scoop these with a 20% off code that was expiring, otherwise I would have waited myself. If you can get a pair on discount later, I think the wait is worth it. These are great shoes but they are NOT $200-retail-worthy shoes. Hopefully this helps a lot of folks who are on the fence or want to use these on-court! Let me know all feedback and questions - much appreciated!
Materials:
The new knitposite is very tough and feels, like some have alluded to, a candle wick at first. It was so rugged that the shoe didn't feel pliable at all in terms of the upper when I initially put them on. After about an hour of wearing them around and casually walking around in them, you could feel the knitposite loosen up and start to give a bit. It does feel durable, but I've seen recent posts on here showing how the toebox area is already coming apart with the knit, so that's disappointing to see. Overall, the way the shoe is built makes it very hard for any ventilation to occur, so your foot is pretty much enveloped in a thick layer of non-breathable knit.
Lockdown:
This was my one issue, and maybe this is specific to my foot and a personal issue, but my heel felt like it was not locked down firm enough unless I re-laced the shoe pretty tight near the top. Once I did this, the shoe felt great, but anytime I was cutting or making a hard stop, the shoe felt unstable because it felt like my foot was not secure on the footbed. It leads me to another small gripe I have with the shoe and the flywire underneath/woven into the knit - the laces kind of get stuck at first with the flywire, so it's not completely locked down at times. It's hard to describe, but that's why re-lacing was ultimately needed. Other than the heel issue at first, which went away, the lockdown was great.
Fit:
I recommend TTS, and that's what I went with. For those with narrow feet, I can definitely see TTS working perfectly (remember the shoe loosens up a little with the knitposite). For Widefooters - definitely try these on and you'll probably need to go .5 size up. The toebox area can feel a little tight (I would imagine) if you have wide feet, so I recommend trying these on if you can (remember Nike+ members can wear them and return within 60 days of purchase - that's my go-to with the pandemic and stores around me not having options at times).
Cushion:
This is easily the best part of the shoe, and it's the best by MILES. Most everyone in here knows the specs alraedy, so I won't re-hash those, but I'll talk more about how it feels on-court. At first, you can feel the bounce and overall comfort the minute you step into the shoe. It was very KD12 like for me, with the added comfort of the Air bag in the heel in which the zoom strobel sits in. Because of the full-length zoom, the shoe feels better as you wear it longer - at least that has been my experience with full-length zoom set-ups.
On-court, the shoe feels incredible. I have had knee and ankle issues for the last 8-9 years and I can easily tell after I play or workout whether a shoes cushioning set-up is suitable for my aging, breaking down body. I have not had any knee pain or soreness after wearing the 18s, and I attribute that largely to the cushion implementation. While you would think court feel has been sacrificed in the 18s, I compare it against the 17s and the court feel and overall height of the ride, if you will, is much closer to the ground. Granted, these won't feel like Kobes or older PGs, but if you value cushioning and impact protection over court feel, then the 18s check every box. If you're looking for a quicker ride, and something not so heavy (these do feel bottom-heavy as hell when you first wear them), these are definitely not for you. When compared to the 17 and 16 for cushioning, these remind me more of the 16s, with that set-up on HGH.
Traction:
The traction on these, so far, have been money. I can't recall a LeBron model as of late where I did NOT have to repeatedly wipe down the bottoms of each shoe to get dust off and enhance the stopping power on cuts and runs, etc. With the 18, I did not have to once, and I was on the same courts I always play on (could be the new COVID cleaning protocols and my gym is finally doing their job right
). The rubber used looks rather durable, also, which is something I would not say of the last like 10 LeBron models. I don't know what others are saying about outdoor usage and how they would hold up, but in regards to previous models, I have to think the 18s are built a little better for the outdoors with how thick the outsole seems to be.Overall, these really feel great on the court. I wasn't expecting a break-in period for a knit-based shoe, especially with how comfortable they were in terms of the cushioning from the get-go. But, having said that, I've only put in probably 7 hours of wearing these on-court for hoops-related activities, and the shoe has felt better over time progressively. I will also say this - with the price point of the shoe, I seriously doubt anyone needs to buy some of the GRs for retail. I was able to scoop these with a 20% off code that was expiring, otherwise I would have waited myself. If you can get a pair on discount later, I think the wait is worth it. These are great shoes but they are NOT $200-retail-worthy shoes. Hopefully this helps a lot of folks who are on the fence or want to use these on-court! Let me know all feedback and questions - much appreciated!
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Good review. This will be a strictly casual shoe for me so the durability for toe drags doesn’t bother me. Just gotta wait for the right colorway and sales.
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For casual these will feel better and better the more you wear them for sure. I’d go TTS for casual.
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Hands down TTS for me at least. These have a nice amount of room. Not like the Kyrie/KD/pg lines
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