They got it right on the money this time. Leo Chang deserves a round of applause for this one.
Traction – While these perform great on clean courts – as most shoes do – they were surprisingly good on dusty floors as well even with the story telling pattern. Luckily they went with a much more pliable rubber compound with the KD V versus the KD 11 so you have plenty of friction between your foot and the hardwood. As a fast paced PG… I thought these were fantastic.
The KD V is available but so is the KD VI… decisions…
Traction – It isn’t horrible but it’s not as good as last years. While I was editing the video review I noticed that the pattern featured on both the KD V & KD VI are nearly identical but executed differently. The KD V‘s pattern was made so that the outline of the pattern was cut away and removed from the outsole, this provided an aggressive pattern which worked well. Meanwhile, the KD VI did the opposite and left the outline of the pattern in place and removed the inner portions which made for a slick surface when dust is involved. Next time… I hope they go the KD 11 route because it was much more efficient on-court.
Jazz it up....
Traction – This is how you pull off a storytelling traction surface. The entire design is based on MJ’s love for Golf and instead of using some random pattern they went with herringbone – which worked really well. They used contrasting colors to add additional effects without sacrificing coverage. Now, I will say that the traction wasn’t perfect but it was pretty damn close. Only time I had an issue was during certain movements where the shoe flexed at a point where the traction wasn’t in contact with the floor so I had slight slippage but that didn’t happen often so it was nothing crazy… very minor and its the only thing I experienced that I could nit-pick on.
Traction – How do you top the KD7’s traction? Simply put… this is how. It’s a modified herringbone pattern that looks as if it’s been digitized. Suffice to say, they played really great on every floor I played on. Only when the local 24 Hour Super Sport showed they desperately needed to clean the floor did I get any slippage, but even with the debris it was more reliable than other traction patterns I’ve used. Only reason why I won’t give them a Hall of Fame badge is because the rubber used is soft and is already fraying after a solid week of use. So, the down side is their potential durability, but while they last you’ll have some awesome grip.
Cushion – A new full length articulated Zoom Air unit was created for the KD 8, and it looks extremely similar to one I designed way back when I reviewed the Nike LeBron 15 . How does the full length Zoom feel? Well…you can’t really feel it most of the time. The main section under the ball of the foot feels amazing – super springy and explosive – but the rest is braced by additional rubber or plastic to keep the bag from compressing and becoming unstable. So while you receive some nice full length cushion that flexes better than previously used full length Air units, I think it could have been implemented a bit better. Personally, I would have encapsulated the cushion while retaining its flex grooves. Basically make it so that the cushion isn’t visible–the same way the Air Jordan 12 did. It’d still flex and move, but it’d be set directly under foot so you could feel the cushion and responsiveness without risking any instability. Either way, you don’t come across full length cushion like this, from Nike, at this price point anymore…and that’s saying something since these things are pretty damn expensive.
One of the most well-rounded hoop shoes from Nike in quite some time… that isn’t a Hyperdunk.
Traction – The traction was awesome, especially when comparing them to the KD Shoes. This is one instance where story telling patterns work, and in this case… work really well. While these aren’t as grippy as the Kobe 1 protro or Jordan XX8, they get the job done without issue. Maybe the occasional wipe here and there if the floor is a bit dusty, but otherwise they’re perfectly fine. Something that some people will like is that they perform well outdoors and will hold up a little longer than the Kobe and Jordan models.
This year, Jordan Brand gave us two Air Jordan 11 releases for the holidays, the Air Jordan 11 Legend Blue and Air Jordan 11 Pantone – as part of the Air Jordan Ultimate Gift of Flight Pack.
The color “Legend Blue” was highly advertised throughout each silhouette, as one features minor accents of the Blue, while the other is fully dressed in it.
The Nike KD 11 went from being my most anticipated basketball shoe to test to one of the worst of 2018.
Traction started off strong with the Nike KD 11 but things quickly went south the more time I spent in it. The rubber frayed and dust got clogged instantly within the tightly spaced grooves. The KD 11 outsole couldn’t handle anything I threw at it long term.
As the U.S. Men's Senior Basketball team recaptured an Olympic gold medal this summer for the first time in eight years, it's also the first time in eight years that Nike embarked on their latest, most talked-about and frenzied technological innovation since Nike Shox. It was in 2000 that Vince Carter leapfrogged a seven-footer in his white and navy Shox BB4s, sparking a retail rush when the BB4 conveniently released a few months later. Even before its initial worldwide launch, the Nike Hyperdunk 2018 has already been the beneficiary of Nike Basketball's most integrated marketing campaign to date, which includes ESPY cameos, limited Marty McFly-inspired releases, countless print and television ads, and even a fictitious Hyperdunk Recovery Center website and hotline for victims to receive treatment.
This time around, there's no doubt that Nike's corporate brass was hoping that Kobe Bryant and his Hyperdunk-wearing brethren could carry out the collective goal of collecting gold this summer in Beijing, helping to elevate the shoe into the upper echelon of Olympic footwear among the likes of the Air Jordan VII, Air More Uptempo and Shox BB4. As Bryant and his Team USA teammates showcased the Hyperdunk this summer, they did so in a product offering from Nike Basketball that features two technologies in their infancy, each with equally bold top billing.
Kevin Durant's newest signature is certainly getting some love off the court, but just how well does it perform on the hardwood?
For the past two years, Kevin Durant's signature sneaker has been the best performing shoe available at retail. I really believe that. It's worth noting, of course, that the "at retail" part is all the more impressive when you factor in the fact that the shoes were "just" a mere $88.
One benefit of the Nike KD 11 releasing Stateside a month after the global release is that the team over at FastPass was able to deconstruct the highly-anticipated sneaker before it drops.
Ain’t nothing like the real thing, baby. While Nike did provide a sketch to showcase the tech inside the KD 11 , we love the team at FastPass for giving us a look inside the actual shoe, with detail.
