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

ajny88 said:
I know no one cares... but imo the AD is a better on court performer than the XI
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I agree with your view.  I'm older.  Not wearing that as a badge of honor.  People on the Jordan boards seem to thrive on older vs younger, and it turns into a cat fight (which is why I like Kobe boards).

If I was younger and still played, I would probably love the 10 and AD.  Seem like beasts.  But do you see where I'm going with this?  

The Jordan line has performers like the XXXI, and then there are 'sellers' that make serious $ (retros).

I hope that's where this signature line is going.  Satisfying both performance and people who just want to wear 'grails' casually.  The Kobe line has A LOT of 'grails.'
 
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First night playing in my AD iDs. Here are some brief thoughts.

Traction: Even with a clear outsole, traction was great on a mildly dusty court. You can definitely notice the different grip strengths of the front section vs the heel area due to the two different traction patterns. The front is definitely a lot better than the rear, so I wish they used the front "nub" pattern throughout the entire out sole. I am on my toes mostly so despite the differences, I didn't have any issues with traction. Wiped maybe every 10 plays on a mildly dusty court. 

Cushion: Was great for me. No real complaints. No pain in my knees, back, or balls of my feet. No arch soreness either. I found the lunarlon to be soft. Didn't feel the zoom unit as much though. I can definitely notice the zoom unit on the kobe 11 elite, but not on this model. Despite that, was still very satisfied with the cushioning. 

Materials: I hated this shoe on my first try on and was hesitant to even play in these. The top tongue portion is made of a very hard material with fake leather paint over it. It does not bend easily and so it keeps digging into your shins. Very painful to just walk in. I don't recommend playing in these without crew socks or you'll get chafed. Once I started playing though, it broke in after the first game and I didn't notice it anymore. I found the mesh to be soft and didn't require a lot of break in time. A lot of youtube reviewers said the materials were hard and stiff and hurting their feet from everywhere (Nightwing), but I only had the small issue with the tongue, which went away. 

Fit: Go TTS. It is a little long, but not enough to go down half a size. I had about 4/5ths of a thumbs width of space between my toes and the end of the shoe. Width wise, these were very slightly narrow. I have wide feet and got pins and needles in my right shoe because I laced the fore foot too tight. It went away after relacing. Compared to the kobe 11 flyknit, I would say these are a smidge wider. Just barely. On the kobe 11 elite, I always get a pinky blister, but did not have any issues with these tonight. Wore the same socks in both too. Heel lock down was great as expected in a kobe signature. No heel slip whatsoever. Containment was also adequate. No dead space above my toes, which I like. 

Overall: Loved playing in these tonight. Definitely more than the 11s. Love the aesthetics too. Only had one issue that may be a deal breaker for me and that is the tiny out rigger. It definitely rolls under the shoe a bit on hard cuts. I've seen Schwollo complain about this too and it is definitely noticeable. Wish they made the out rigger beefier to avoid this problem. I was initially concerned about heel strike and transition because of the heel counter being on the bottom of the shoe. Was pleasantly surprised with the transition and did not find the shoe to be clunky. 

Anyways, hope this first impression helped any of you on the fence. I know this shoe got a lot of bad reviews and some really good reviews. This was just my experience with them. Will not be playing in my 11s anymore. 
 
I love the aesthetic look of the AD's. I will be using the AD's as a rehab shoe to get me back on my game. I picked up the Navy's and now want to pick up what I can. I regret not scooping the grey pair at my local outlet. They had it for like $112. I was on the fence and blew it lol.
 
Motoyuki said:
View media item 2337501

First night playing in my AD iDs. Here are some brief thoughts.

Traction: Even with a clear outsole, traction was great on a mildly dusty court. You can definitely notice the different grip strengths of the front section vs the heel area due to the two different traction patterns. The front is definitely a lot better than the rear, so I wish they used the front "nub" pattern throughout the entire out sole. I am on my toes mostly so despite the differences, I didn't have any issues with traction. Wiped maybe every 10 plays on a mildly dusty court. 

Cushion: Was great for me. No real complaints. No pain in my knees, back, or balls of my feet. No arch soreness either. I found the lunarlon to be soft. Didn't feel the zoom unit as much though. I can definitely notice the zoom unit on the kobe 11 elite, but not on this model. Despite that, was still very satisfied with the cushioning. 

Materials: I hated this shoe on my first try on and was hesitant to even play in these. The top tongue portion is made of a very hard material with fake leather paint over it. It does not bend easily and so it keeps digging into your shins. Very painful to just walk in. I don't recommend playing in these without crew socks or you'll get chafed. Once I started playing though, it broke in after the first game and I didn't notice it anymore. I found the mesh to be soft and didn't require a lot of break in time. A lot of youtube reviewers said the materials were hard and stiff and hurting their feet from everywhere (Nightwing), but I only had the small issue with the tongue, which went away. 

Fit: Go TTS. It is a little long, but not enough to go down half a size. I had about 4/5ths of a thumbs width of space between my toes and the end of the shoe. Width wise, these were very slightly narrow. I have wide feet and got pins and needles in my right shoe because I laced the fore foot too tight. It went away after relacing. Compared to the kobe 11 flyknit, I would say these are a smidge wider. Just barely. On the kobe 11 elite, I always get a pinky blister, but did not have any issues with these tonight. Wore the same socks in both too. Heel lock down was great as expected in a kobe signature. No heel slip whatsoever. Containment was also adequate. No dead space above my toes, which I like. 

Overall: Loved playing in these tonight. Definitely more than the 11s. Love the aesthetics too. Only had one issue that may be a deal breaker for me and that is the tiny out rigger. It definitely rolls under the shoe a bit on hard cuts. I've seen Schwollo complain about this too and it is definitely noticeable. Wish they made the out rigger beefier to avoid this problem. I was initially concerned about heel strike and transition because of the heel counter being on the bottom of the shoe. Was pleasantly surprised with the transition and did not find the shoe to be clunky. 

Anyways, hope this first impression helped any of you on the fence. I know this shoe got a lot of bad reviews and some really good reviews. This was just my experience with them. Will not be playing in my 11s anymore. 
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Nice review, my feelings are the same. That outrigger is the only neg for me. Also the lunar gets softer everytime and as that happens the zoom comes out of its shell... the hard TPU shell that needs to be broken in too.

They should come with a warning: "it gets better, don't give up"
 
Nike has the opportunity to be creative with the upper and the most they can do is make is black and apply a graphic to the midsole?! I've lost hope for anything more than TB cws on this model.
 
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619destroyer said:
i cant wait for them to go ON SALE on top of my employee discount
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I take it you're an FTL employee? I have 2 like a mile away in Mission Valley 
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And on another note, this thread is dead. I hadn't been in here in nearly a month and only 240 posts. I thought I was the only one that was "meh" on ADs.  Anyway, like the vast majority of you, only want them on super steep discount. But to a degree, I'm not complaining between all of the other brands/lines I buy, my wallet had been taking a beating. Kinda nice it's taking a breather TBH.
 
Grab the AD's in white or navy for $90 or wait for the navy PG1's for $60? I have a gift card I need to use.
 
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Mastralf said:
 
I love the aesthetic look of the AD's. I will be using the AD's as a rehab shoe to get me back on my game. I picked up the Navy's and now want to pick up what I can. I regret not scooping the grey pair at my local outlet. They had it for like $112. I was on the fence and blew it lol.
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I slept so hard on the grey pair and was very lucky to get one of the last available pairs from Foot Locker.  In hand, I have to say this is one of my favorite colorways of the Kobes of all time.  The way the iridescent heel cup compliments the simplicity of the rest of the shoe is beautiful.  In the sunlight, the heel cup is blinding.  The shoe is flashy without overdoing it. So happy, and lucky I was able to get a pair.  

Good luck with your recovery!
 
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Nike released these BHM's on ID for $160. There's the graphic pattern and they can't be edited.
 
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Only FK can save these.  Unleash the FK.  45 pages into a signature line release?  SMH.  The iD AD thread is worse.
 
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Cool to see how he did not lace the second hole from the top. Probably relates to the hard tongue that digs into your shins. 
 
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