THE OFFICIAL NIKE KOBE FOOTWEAR THREAD: RIP LEGEND 1978-2020. MAMBA FOREVER | 3 Releases 4/13

[Blue Mamba]

New Kobe shoe, mentalities got replaced with these: http://store.nike.com/us/en_us/pd/k...ns-basketball-shoe/pid-11258431/pgid-11459052

 

[kaycurrency]

I wasn't referring just to this shoe, I meant in general with the insole remark

To be honest Kobe used the original insoles that came in the shoes that last few years and did NOT wear special insoles

Like I said, I haven't hooped in the Kobe AD so I can't personally speak on how well the cushioning system works in this shoe... but I've hooped in the Kobe 10 elites with the same cushioning system as the AD's and they worked fine for me... but that's me.


All of my comments were based off the statements "Cushioning doesn't matter if you're not athletic or not hooping at a NBA level"... that's a BS statement. I'm 30-years-old and I'm not nearly as athletic as I was in high school but I prefer Zoom over any other cushioning system Nike has to offer because Max Air gives me shin splints and Lunar, though it's comfortable, tends to bottom out after a few months of hooping... And Kobe might have used the stock cushioning setup in his shoes but that doesn't mean ALL NBA athletes prefer the stock cushioning systems, Because if that were the case Kyrie wouldn't change out the insole in HIS signature shoe from forefoot foam to forefoot Zoom. I guess Nike couldn't justify selling a Signature shoe with forefoot Zoom for only $120 to the masses so Kyrie took it upon himself to request that Nike add an insole with Zoom in the forefoot for his PE's to better suit his game and comfort level.

 

[titanium tea]

such a pessimist point of view

Tell me what is not true tho.  Almost everything I wrote was facts.

 

[thapointguy]

Starting to look like the Lebron 14 thread now

 

[dubnation]

titanium tea
That post lol rofl chasing ad revenue very true but hey if it pays the bills better than a desk job . I'll stick to NT reviews

 

[Naruto]

I wonder how much the shoe companies pay. Or if it's just free shoes and the occasional flight to media events

 

[kaycurrency]

I wonder how much the shoe companies pay. Or if it's just free shoes and the occasional flight to media events

I think it's just free shoes/gear and paid mini vacations to launch events and what not from the shoe company's... I believe most of their income comes from YouTube, if not directly, then definitely from the ad revenue generated through their Channel.


I could be 100% wrong.

 

[titanium tea]

Starting to look like the Lebron 14 thread now

Well let's all just butter up questionable products and reviewers to keep you out of your feelings,  shall we.

Dont get offended by banter. I can only assume I said something about someone you are a fan of.

Chill. 

 

[rfx45]

such a pessimist point of view

Tell me what is not true tho.  Almost everything I wrote was facts.

They are not really facts unless you can provide full documents and each of these people bank accounts and have personally played ball against all of these guys. At the end of the day, we all have opinions but that post certainly sounds very negative from the get go. Funny but very judgmental.

Kick Genius has mentioned on more than one occasion that they do not get as much free shoes and didn't get invited back to some JB/Nike event because they didn't give the older shoes favorable reviews. And NW has constantly trashed Nike/JB and their pricing, it actually gets annoying as it sounds like dude always lectures you about the shoe prices.

You can't say none of these guys are athletic either, especially based on their vids. Jarohmon seems capable enough and plays in plenty of rec game/leagues and KG dudes are plenty athletic. And I believe Foamer and his brother used to play in some college and overseas or something or am I thinking of someone else? And isn't the Hop and Life dude like 5'7" and could dunk? I would call that pretty athletice in comparison tot he average guys but in the end do we really expect these guys to be NBA level athletic (though some of them could probably come close)?

I am not disagreeing with everything you say and that these dudes definitely want to make money, nothing wrong with that but if that was the case then all these guys would do it full time and you certainly can't say that about KG dudes since Tre has practically quit playing ball. If they wanted all that revenue and free kicks all the time, they'd say nothing but the best about each shoes and they'd keep putting up reviews as much as possible but that isn't the case at all. I am not even sure I have seen them give a KG seal of approval on any recent shoes, JJones seemed to loved the Curry3 and still only gave it a "gets the job done" ranking.

Again if these dudes are all about money, they wouldn't talk as much trash about the ADs as they are now, calling it the worst shoe they have ever played in and a rock feeling better on your foot than the ADs

I don't want to drag these out and start the new year arguing but I will say I do not always agree with everything these guys say, like there are plenty time NW feels the unlocked zoom on Jordans can't be felt while I could by just trying them on and some traction being slippery for him but wasn't the case for me. But really I just use it as reference and to get some tech info while seeing some glamour shots of the shoes, I much prefer watching these guys than those who just unbox and talk about rare shoes and hundreds of different colorways of the same shoes (no offense anyone reading here does that ).

 

[truth2truth]

I never realized there is such a big followers of the show reviewer game. I think it's kinda funny to me. If I like a pair of shoes I'll buy it to try it out. If I don't like it I'll return them or won't buy shoes with that kind of setup. I guess I don't ball enough to require shoe knowledge before buying a pair of shoes.

 

[rfx45]

To me, they help a lot of giving me knowledge on shoes that I probably wouldn't even consider like Peak or Anta and hell even Under Armour. I really wouldn't have considered the Clutchfit Drives or even the Curry2s if it weren't for these reviews. I found the Curry2 lows in the outlets for $55 a pair and bought them to try out because I've heard good things about them and if it wasn't for good word of mouth about the shoes, I wouldn't try it even for that price.

I am glad that I did because the Curry2s a very good on-court shoe.

I wouldn't say this is isolated to less known brands either, I am constantly looking for a good basketball shoes and the likes of HyperRevs probably wouldn't even be on my radar if it weren't for these reviews. HyperRevs turned out to be a great basketball shoe, got them for $35 at the outlets and again without knowledge of the shoes beforehand, I wouldn't even give it a second look.

As I said, just use them as reference and for sig shoes, if you are already a loyal follower then you can definitely always just buy and try them yourself and return if it doesn't work for you.

 

[kaycurrency]

^^^^truth


I use those YouTube shoe guys as a reference... they'll say stuff like "if you love ______, then you'll love playing in these" or "If you're used to the firm cushioning in__________, then these might not be the shoes for you".... I don't see them as the ultimate deciding factor when buying shoes to hoop in.


For instance, a lot of those Youtubers hated the AJ 30... I loved the AJ 30, it's probably one of the best shoes I've ever hooped in.

 

[Naruto]

Nightwing is probably with Adidas. He talks very highly of them and is at their media events. He pushes the Adidas > nike view lately

 

[rfx45]

to be fair, Adidas is killing it with their bball line right now, the boost definitely isn't for everyones foot but they've been pretty solid to very good for the most part

and outside of the Hardens, they keep their traction pretty simple so it always grips well even when with a clear sole

I can see where he might seem biased towards Adidas but then dude also love UA and BrandBlack (he has a WearTesters x BrandBlack Collab) so I am not sure if it is biased much there, he seems to test Nikes just as much

 

[thapointguy]

Well let's all just butter up questionable products and reviewers to keep you out of your feelings,  shall we.
Dont get offended by banter. I can only assume I said something about someone you are a fan of.
Chill. 

You must be offended by my banter. My post wasn't even directed towards your post just talking about the direction of this thread the past couple of days. I should be used to it by now but I guess not While we're talking here it seems you only feed off mostly negative stuff in any shoe thread. Just curious, what shoe(s) did you like in 2016 or what shoes does your collection consists of? And no I'm not a fan of any of the reviewers but I respect what they are doing with the free platform. I'll watch solely to pass time or pick up something that I may not have known.

 

[tagjr]

Since we're on the subject of reviewers. My favorite is Nightwing. His older reviews use to be almost 20mins long for each review. And very informative. But I agree he's biased to Addias because of Boost and Bounce cushions. I give him credit for calling out Nike for there BS. Which I'm sure Nike has caught wind of. Now to the Kobe A.d....this process of trying to improve on the previous shoe has to stop. The innovation just isn't there in the Kobe line anymore. The Kobe 9 was the high point in the line IMO.

 

[buc em]

I agree with this above.  I don't think this shoe is a $160 shoe either.  This, along with the 11 EMs should have been at the $120-$130 price point.  This is a shoe that could have come out 7 or 8 years ago.  It almost seems as if there are two teams working 'Kobes.'  The A team did the 9s and 11s, and the B team did the 10s and these ADs.

This is on-point

I do wanna grab a pair of these AD's cause all I wear are Kobes for basketball but the materials seem suuuuper cheap for a $160 shoe.

 

[goldmember]

I only watch those guys reviews for sizing especially NW. Seemed like we have the same shape of foot

Other than that, i could careless what they say because i know what type of player i am and what i need from a bball shoe.

Foamer > all of them tho

 

[fenixconnexion.]

Hearing these feel like the Kobe 10's which isn't a good thing for hooping. Any other opinions?
I love the silouhette and would love a pair to play in.

 

[grittyman]

Played in mine for the first time today...black/white colorway. 

Initial thoughts:

- Traction seemed really good (like 8/10)

- Great fit, normally I like to lace my shoes extra tight but with these I didn't really see the need to do that

- TTS for me, no extra space in the forefoot like the Kobe 11

- Materials felt good, didn't feel overly stiff (like fuse for example)

- Cushioning did feel on the firm side, especially in the midfoot area (didn't mind that, I keep a pair of Kyrie 2's in my rotation and those are fine to me)

Overall I really liked playing in them...saw some reviews where guys mentioned they got blisters or soreness from the upper but I didn't experience any of those issues. Only pain I felt was when I had them laced up super tight and that went away once I loosened the laces up a little bit. 

IMO, they fit better than the 10's but the cushioning isn't as plush

FYI, I'm 6'2/200 lbs if that matters. 

 

[dubnation]

Thanks grittyman ! There's hope yet for these!

 

[gothmog]

I never realized there is such a big followers of the show reviewer game. I think it's kinda funny to me. If I like a pair of shoes I'll buy it to try it out. If I don't like it I'll return them or won't buy shoes with that kind of setup. I guess I don't ball enough to require shoe knowledge before buying a pair of shoes.

true that , majority of these people reviewing shoes hasnt even hit the gym once to improve their physique but they care about the performance of a shoe compared to another to improve their game by 0.000001 % 

 

[dubnation]

I think that number is overstating it lol

 

[big b 33]

 
Played in mine for the first time today...black/white colorway. 

Initial thoughts:

- Traction seemed really good (like 8/10)

- Great fit, normally I like to lace my shoes extra tight but with these I didn't really see the need to do that

- TTS for me, no extra space in the forefoot like the Kobe 11

- Materials felt good, didn't feel overly stiff (like fuse for example)

- Cushioning did feel on the firm side, especially in the midfoot area (didn't mind that, I keep a pair of Kyrie 2's in my rotation and those are fine to me)

Overall I really liked playing in them...saw some reviews where guys mentioned they got blisters or soreness from the upper but I didn't experience any of those issues. Only pain I felt was when I had them laced up super tight and that went away once I loosened the laces up a little bit. 

IMO, they fit better than the 10's but the cushioning isn't as plush

FYI, I'm 6'2/200 lbs if that matters. 

Appreciate the review boss! I'm playing in mine Thursday & we're about the same build so this really helps. I could already tell from trying them on that I could play in them so wasn't concerned. Thanks again for your input. 

 

[big b 33]

Hearing these feel like the Kobe 10's which isn't a good thing for hooping. Any other opinions?
I love the silouhette and would love a pair to play in.

Why isn't it a good thing?