curtisboy
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Naw all Star pair has to be Way Way Way more detailed.
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i havent been picked since they switched to the DM thing. i was able to get the kobe and lebron easters when they were still doing it with regular @ replies. since theyve switched to DMs ive gone 0/7.
theyre releasing on christmas morning on footlocker.com, footaction.com and eastbay.com as well. probably champs.com too.
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Balling in my sulfurs in a few hrs, will let you all know my initial thoughts.
That bottom pair looks nice, and I agree it seems a little bland for the All-Stars. Still waiting on an inline CW though and hopefully the BHMs this year are on point as well. Time will tell...
That bottom pair looks nice, and I agree it seems a little bland for the All-Stars. Still waiting on an inline CW though and hopefully the BHMs this year are on point as well. Time will tell...
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Lets go! Waiting on you review.
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why are there so many different reports whether they are releasing Christmas morning or wed morning which is it?
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Swung by HOH on my way to the Heat's game on Saturday and finally saw these, the upper felt stiff and the overall shoe doesnt seem sturdy, I can see a lot of ankle issues. They remind me of the shoes that people wear when they go into the water to surf etc. I'm only sticking to the great colors, means more $ in my pocket 
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That colorway of the 8's on the bottom look similar to the Ink V's.
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christmas morning for footlocker.com, eastbay.com and footaction.com. wednesday morning for NDC and physical stores.
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- Aug 1, 2012
Have played 2-3 hours every day since release day (Thursday) in these shoes. Very impressed by the performance. Some highlights.
NOTICEABLE TRAITS
- the lunarlon midsole is extremely responsive
- I thought the grip & traction would be an issue, but it worked really well with hardwood floors
- great support for such a light & low shoe
- heel feels amazing especially on abrupt impact
- lacing system was a nice touch. good support in the different areas of the foot that makes you feel secure
ONLY CON: When wearing the Kobe VIII's with the matching elite socks, there's a plastic'y film on the socks that make it extremely slippery to play in with the Kobe System insole. I was really worried about the socks & shoes performing like that when I first touched them. It made it hard to cut or change directions quickly.
SOLUTION: Tried the last two days with regular Nike Elite socks and they work perfectly.
SUGGESTION: I would get your true size in these shoes if you're going to use them for a lot of basketball. What I can foresee happening is that the synthetic mesh will stretch out after 6-8 months of a lot of performance use. Same thing happened to several pairs of my Kobe VI's and now I got to double sock on those pairs.
Hope that helps.
NOTICEABLE TRAITS
- the lunarlon midsole is extremely responsive
- I thought the grip & traction would be an issue, but it worked really well with hardwood floors
- great support for such a light & low shoe
- heel feels amazing especially on abrupt impact
- lacing system was a nice touch. good support in the different areas of the foot that makes you feel secure
ONLY CON: When wearing the Kobe VIII's with the matching elite socks, there's a plastic'y film on the socks that make it extremely slippery to play in with the Kobe System insole. I was really worried about the socks & shoes performing like that when I first touched them. It made it hard to cut or change directions quickly.
SOLUTION: Tried the last two days with regular Nike Elite socks and they work perfectly.
SUGGESTION: I would get your true size in these shoes if you're going to use them for a lot of basketball. What I can foresee happening is that the synthetic mesh will stretch out after 6-8 months of a lot of performance use. Same thing happened to several pairs of my Kobe VI's and now I got to double sock on those pairs.
Hope that helps.
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+1
Hopefully it's just another road colorway.
Thanks for the review, can't wait to try it out myself
LoX
formerly aznlurker
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I like that grey/purple/yellow Away pair.!
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That ink looking colorway is sick. Def on board with those.
curtisboy
Banned
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will contribute to the laziness
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Also haven't seen bottom shoe posted yet..
The cw atop is my favorite of the 8s so far with the Sulfurs next up.
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I think I still like the ID options better than the fade with that purple one .
went to my mall today. the 1 store I thought were going to get them isn't getting them at all........VA hates kobe apparently
went to my mall today. the 1 store I thought were going to get them isn't getting them at all........VA hates kobe apparently
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Light gray/purple/yellow is so sick
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I'm on board too. Love the colorblocking on that pair.
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BOTH of those colors are sick to me!
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Alright guys, just got back from about an hour and half of pick-up games and here's my initial impressions:
First off, I thought I'd preface my "review" by saying I am a true 12.5, but I can never find that size and I believe they didn't even produce that size for the VIIIs (According to the dude at FTL), so I went with a 12 after trying on a 13. The 12 fits PERFECT, and instant comfort is an understatement.
On the court:
Traction is superb. Cutting and slashing felt great because you sometimes forget the shoes are even on your foot. Ideally what you want from any shoe is to feel like the shoe is an extension of your foot, meaning you don't want to notice them when playing. The VIIIs gave me that feeling from the get-go. I laced these all the way to the top loopholes and the lockdown was not an issue as it had been with the VI and VII. For example, with the previous two models, I used the "runner's loop" lacing to make sure my heel did not slip when running and cutting. The VIIIs are a huge improvement in that category.
The Lunarlon far exceeded what I thought it would be like. By this I mean that I was hesitant to have a Lunar-based shoe, as bottoming out is my main and primary concern with such cushioning set-ups. This shoe, however, seems to be the most dense Lunar set-up I have seen. I'm not saying that I've tried all lunar-based shoes, but the hyperdunks of old were my favorites till my shin and heel would hurt like hell after they no longer gave me any responsiveness. The VIIIs, though this was my first time giving them a run, feel more springy, if that is even possible from a lunar shoe. In that regard, I have no reason to believe that the hooping shelf life of these will be short.
The EM upper is fantastic. While it is a little bit thicker than I thought it would be judging from the initial pictures, it is highly flexible and, much like a fuse upper, does not show wear much at all. Ofcourse, the shoe does sort of resemble a banana w/ the forefoot bending up slightly, but that is because the shoe is not rigid whatsoever. That is not to say that is not stable, because it completely is, and people should not confuse flexibility with lack of stability. Not as breathable as I would have liked, but it is far more breathable than the previous models I can remember (to give you an idea, I have only owned the ZKI, the V, VI, and VII).
The "system" component is night and day compared to that of the VII. The VII was great but the system was executed poorly. With these, the insole is perfect, and I like the feeling of not having the usual sock-liner on the insole, as your foot does not slide around with this rubber-esque feel being in direct contact with your foot.
Overall, I'd say Nike struck gold with everything about this shoe. The EM is great, the comfort is out of this world, and the fact that it's the lightest shoe I own for basketball is a nice perk. It's nice wearing a shoe and after hooping not having cinder blocks for feet, they almost feel refreshed if that makes sense. The one drawback is I wish the tongue was a little bit more padded. I understand that adding such a concept would take away from having an extremely light shoe, but the added comfort that would result from maybe some pro-combat style padding on the tongue would be fantastic. Other than that, I HIGHLY recommend those who enjoy hooping in lightweight shoes and low-tops to absolutely try these out.
Hope this helps my NT fam out! Happy holidays everyone!
First off, I thought I'd preface my "review" by saying I am a true 12.5, but I can never find that size and I believe they didn't even produce that size for the VIIIs (According to the dude at FTL), so I went with a 12 after trying on a 13. The 12 fits PERFECT, and instant comfort is an understatement.
On the court:
Traction is superb. Cutting and slashing felt great because you sometimes forget the shoes are even on your foot. Ideally what you want from any shoe is to feel like the shoe is an extension of your foot, meaning you don't want to notice them when playing. The VIIIs gave me that feeling from the get-go. I laced these all the way to the top loopholes and the lockdown was not an issue as it had been with the VI and VII. For example, with the previous two models, I used the "runner's loop" lacing to make sure my heel did not slip when running and cutting. The VIIIs are a huge improvement in that category.
The Lunarlon far exceeded what I thought it would be like. By this I mean that I was hesitant to have a Lunar-based shoe, as bottoming out is my main and primary concern with such cushioning set-ups. This shoe, however, seems to be the most dense Lunar set-up I have seen. I'm not saying that I've tried all lunar-based shoes, but the hyperdunks of old were my favorites till my shin and heel would hurt like hell after they no longer gave me any responsiveness. The VIIIs, though this was my first time giving them a run, feel more springy, if that is even possible from a lunar shoe. In that regard, I have no reason to believe that the hooping shelf life of these will be short.
The EM upper is fantastic. While it is a little bit thicker than I thought it would be judging from the initial pictures, it is highly flexible and, much like a fuse upper, does not show wear much at all. Ofcourse, the shoe does sort of resemble a banana w/ the forefoot bending up slightly, but that is because the shoe is not rigid whatsoever. That is not to say that is not stable, because it completely is, and people should not confuse flexibility with lack of stability. Not as breathable as I would have liked, but it is far more breathable than the previous models I can remember (to give you an idea, I have only owned the ZKI, the V, VI, and VII).
The "system" component is night and day compared to that of the VII. The VII was great but the system was executed poorly. With these, the insole is perfect, and I like the feeling of not having the usual sock-liner on the insole, as your foot does not slide around with this rubber-esque feel being in direct contact with your foot.
Overall, I'd say Nike struck gold with everything about this shoe. The EM is great, the comfort is out of this world, and the fact that it's the lightest shoe I own for basketball is a nice perk. It's nice wearing a shoe and after hooping not having cinder blocks for feet, they almost feel refreshed if that makes sense. The one drawback is I wish the tongue was a little bit more padded. I understand that adding such a concept would take away from having an extremely light shoe, but the added comfort that would result from maybe some pro-combat style padding on the tongue would be fantastic. Other than that, I HIGHLY recommend those who enjoy hooping in lightweight shoes and low-tops to absolutely try these out.
Hope this helps my NT fam out! Happy holidays everyone!
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You know whats hard? Im liking every single colorway so far. Can you say Zoom Kobe V?
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Nice detailed review skeetermcgee! NICE! Really excited now..
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Purple pattern is nice, color not so much. Potential iD option? Look at the heel, it looks like the full shozoku, on both pairs. Those can't be iDs since the Kobe signature is not silver. Gotta be Kobe's Road Alternate. Hope iD will have that pattern on iD though.
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curtisboy
Banned
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- Feb 3, 2010
Wassup with every VIII having a white sole **** is wack
