BrandBlack

[jrdatrackstar23]

I'm kicking myself for not grabbing the off-white J.C 2.5 lows when I had the chance... They got down to like $60 through nordstrom rack. Now they are nowhere to be found as far as I've looked

Yea same here, I wish would’ve gotten a chance to try the Jetlon on those. It’s crazy how many people didn’t rock with the JC3 cushioning. Me personally, I thought they were amazing cushioning wise, but I can definitely see them not living up to the hype if the JC2 cushioning was softer. I think the only reason I was able to be fine with the JC3 cushioning was because:

1. I never experienced Jetlon
2. I had just hit my 30s when getting the JC3 so I was all about maximum cushioning, as long as it had some give and wasn’t a brick.

That being said, since having the Harden Vol 2 in multiple pairs, I can’t see myself leaving Boost. Never thought I would hang up my Rare Metals, but Boost just makes the Jetlon EVL feel non-existent.

 

[kaz109]

Yea same here, I wish would’ve gotten a chance to try the Jetlon on those. It’s crazy how many people didn’t rock with the JC3 cushioning. Me personally, I thought they were amazing cushioning wise, but I can definitely see them not living up to the hype if the JC2 cushioning was softer. I think the only reason I was able to be fine with the JC3 cushioning was because:

1. I never experienced Jetlon
2. I had just hit my 30s when getting the JC3 so I was all about maximum cushioning, as long as it had some give and wasn’t a brick.

That being said, since having the Harden Vol 2 in multiple pairs, I can’t see myself leaving Boost. Never thought I would hang up my Rare Metals, but Boost just makes the Jetlon EVL feel non-existent.

Find yourself a pair of jc2 and you'll never look back if you are all about cushion. The first iteration of the jetlon was epic

 

[iks mod]

^I have to agree here, if you like boost, the JC2/force vector tooling is just amazing...
I definitely like boost for certain uses, especially running/casual, but the second gen Jetlon in the JC2 is just more alive... makes for fantastic on court experience.

Also, although it is probably the firmest setup Brandblack put out, I still enjoyed the 1st ver. of jetlon used in the JC1/Raptors. Though it was firm, it had pretty solid response and the legs felt decent after long sessions. I still think the RM cushion was the sweet spot for me (but that traction...).

 

[iks mod]

Here I come, out of the woodwork

Brandblack Rare Metal 2 Performance Review - WearTesters

The Brandblack Rare Metal 2 is the long awaited follow up to the Brandblack Rare Metal which was a well-rounded on court performer.

weartesters.com

I will always be curious as to what Raysse is cooking up next. These are definitely interesting and I'd love to try them. $250 is quite a big jump from the previous basketball-specific shoes, but I suppose it's in line with the pricing of their other product.

 

[rfx45]

$250?

are they out of their minds? i didnt even know this brand existed and then they come out swinging with a $250 bball shoes?

when the older BB couldnt even sell on the sales rack of FNL for $70?

 

[jrdatrackstar23]

Yea, that $250 price tag was definitely a let-down but I understand and respect what they have to do. Their other models priced that high definitely sell (the newer fashion models) so no knock on them making money they know they’re capable of making.

Definitely limits their market though when KD Trey type shoes are like $50 at Kohl’s lol

 

[bigdeav410]

And to be fair they always put out a durable quality product.

 

[yungmatt]

Yeah 250 is crazy

 

[rfx45]

fashion sportswear specific shoes are a different story, you can fool people into buying them by saying its a collab with some designer or its limited but even in that realm i havent heard of the brand for the longest (i dont recall the shoes selling out quick at those prices either)


and to pretty much return to what theyve known for in the bball and then charge $250? what is this the BBB strategy?


theyve always been the brand that was best bang for the buck and before Adidas competed against Nikes with Lillards and Mitchells budget models (that spawned Kyries and PGs and Giannis' budget pricing too), BB was that option so its going away from what made them a success in the first place with this price tag

 

[thapointguy]

Not feeling the final product. $250 definitely not. I don't own anymore BB shoes. It was good while I had them but moving on since they're doing luxury pricing. Yeah it was great when they had sales on shoes and apparel(I still have a few pieces).
He kept the price out the video so the comments wouldn't go crazy.

 

[rfx45]

Here I come, out of the woodwork

Brandblack Rare Metal 2 Performance Review - WearTesters

The Brandblack Rare Metal 2 is the long awaited follow up to the Brandblack Rare Metal which was a well-rounded on court performer.

weartesters.com

I will always be curious as to what Raysse is cooking up next. These are definitely interesting and I'd love to try them. $250 is quite a big jump from the previous basketball-specific shoes, but I suppose it's in line with the pricing of their other product.

just watched the wt vid and what a goddamn sheep this dude has become

they broke the mold because the shoes looks like a casual shoe thats a bball shoe? wtf

 

[bigdeav410]

just watched the wt vid and what a goddamn sheep this dude has become

they broke the mold because the shoes looks like a casual shoe thats a bball shoe? wtf

No disrespect my man but I have to disagree Chris imhop never comes across as a sheep more like the guy who likes more things then he hates because when a shoe is trash he calls it trash. I understand people not liking the price point but we all know none of us are going to pay retail. And brandbalck has changed(to something I don't like but hey I'm old) but really when you see what they were always trying to do this has kind of been the path from the beginning. And I will say it again eventime I owend a pair they were made very well.

 

[rfx45]

nah, he definitely has sheepish tendencies and to say and imply that dude is making something that no one has done before is ridiculous and coming from a dude like him who has so much history and knowledge, its not all the time but dude acts like it a lot of the times and this is one of those instances acting like the shoe design is some innovative and amazing work of art thats never been seen before

dude is still my favorite yt reviewer but dudes also get preachy and it baffles me when dude does not understand style and design and always accuses the hate as "not having a swoosh" and "if this had a swoosh, people would love em" when in reality the shoes he likes something are ugly, plain and simple

like you said maybe he does like more stuff than he hates but then he goes on a tangent on why others would hate what he likes, for someone who has been doing this for years dude also needs to learn to ignore negative trolls instead of getting into it and bringing it up like he is butthurt

charging $250 for a performance shoe was definitely not the route i saw them moving towards... having jamal crawford as your spokesperson and being focused on performance was not even close to trying to cater to fashion forward ig influencers in the $200+ range

i loved it when they actually used NW for a tester and used his input to improve it (also why many thinks he was a sheep but i never though that - back then), i thought it was cool for us who arent playing elite bball games and thats what i always thought the brand was for, not an uber expensive option that retails more than most Nikes/Jordans

yah we may not pay retail but even at 25% off the shoe is still gon' be $190 and still overpriced, hell even at half off of $125 and you got Giannis, PG, Kyrie, Harden, Mitchell, Dame, etc.... (thats been going on sale for $70-$80 quite quickly) so is the shoe gone be that much better?

and NW is usually know what new tech or innovatinve things the shoe brings and dude didnt mention any

this post has been too long but thats just because i do like the guy and respect what he has created and made a living out of it, we probably all wish we could live playing pick up bball in different shoes everyday, thats a dream right there and i still watch almost every vid he makes and just click off or close the vid when he gets preachy or he starts having convo with his wife unfortunately you cant avoid everything

 

[kaz109]

I love BB shoes and I will cop for sure. They have never let me down and I prefer to not have the same shoe that the entire gym has on.

 

[iks mod]

thapointguy was thinking the exact same thing w/ him not mentioning the price

I'm absolutely with you guys on being disappointed with the luxury pricing. I wouldn't say I'm in for these, but I AM torn... My reasons for this are how good certain performance aspects of the JC1/JC2 lines have been and most of all, how damn close the first Rare Metal was for me in terms of being a perfectly balanced, no-nonsense low-cut hoop shoe. I will spare the details since I've gone on and on about it already in the thread...

When I really put the time in playing with the first two JC models and enough in the Rare Metal, I was truly shocked at the attention to detail and what Raysse/BB accomplished performance-wise.

Now... if traction is anything less than phenomenal with the RM 2, forget it... even if it was at $120

 

[thapointguy]

iks mod long time no talk/see. Hope all is well and you're still hooping (pre-Covid of course). The RM2 news come out you come out the rafters like Sting

$250 is hard to swallow after they've been out the game for a few years. Didn't have a problem with retail price of $160 for the JC3. I paid $140 or something like that can't remember. They went on deep discount later
After the surprise hit of the JC2 I was willing to pay to get them right away. I can't do it now. They should've eased us back into their brand with a lower price like $150. But they may have made less of these with higher price that leads to them selling? If they are confident with their high price and they sell, more power to them.
Maybe these pics will make you splurge on a pair

 

[Kinfolk]

just watched the wt vid and what a goddamn sheep this dude has become

He's been a sheep for a while now.

No disrespect my man but I have to disagree Chris imhop never comes across as a sheep more like the guy who likes more things then he hates because when a shoe is trash he calls it trash.

He's definitely an arrogant sheep.

When Brand Black first got wider spread attention with the JC models, NW saw that as an opportunity to get in on the ground floor and be a part of something. Nike and Adidas don't really acknowledge him in the way that he would like them to (ie input, a job, perks beyond influencer event invitations). He kissed up to UA for a long time and I don't think they love him the way that he's dying to be loved either.

Brand Black let him do the collab with his little logo on it and everything. It was a cool shoe but that was the full extent aside from him testing their stuff and giving feedback.

I can't remember the name of the shoe now but it was a Brand Black Basketball shoe with a Vibram outsole. He "tested" it, threw the review up, caught a ton of flack because the review was bogus AF, then he deleted the review and did some scrubbing and cleanup to try to hide the fact that he had given the shoe a favorable view basically because he wanted to be in Raysse's good graces and possibly work for him or something along those lines.

FWIW, Raysse's brother in law is a friend of mine.

I stopped watching his content a while ago but have you ever noticed what he used to talk about what his dream job would be?

nah, he definitely has sheepish tendencies and to say and imply that dude is making something that no one has done before is ridiculous and coming from a dude like him who has so much history and knowledge, its not all the time but dude acts like it a lot of the times and this is one of those instances acting like the shoe design is some innovative and amazing work of art thats never been seen before

dudes also get preachy and it baffles me when dude does not understand style and design and always accuses the hate as "not having a swoosh" and "if this had a swoosh, people would love em" when in reality the shoes he likes something are ugly, plain and simple

like you said maybe he does like more stuff than he hates but then he goes on a tangent on why others would hate what he likes, for someone who has been doing this for years dude also needs to learn to ignore negative trolls instead of getting into it and bringing it up like he is butthurt


this post has been too long but thats just because i do like the guy and respect what he has created and made a living out of it, we probably all wish we could live playing pick up bball in different shoes everyday, thats a dream right there and i still watch almost every vid he makes and just click off or close the vid when he gets preachy or he starts having convo with his wife unfortunately you cant avoid everything

When he gets preachy as you say, always comes at it like underground hip hop fans do when the masses discover their favorite artist and attempt to Gatekeep said artist's work and say possessive stuff like "I was a fan when he performed in front of 10 people behind a homeless shelter in the middle of a snowstorm".

It's like shut up dude, you were not the only guy to cop the Zoom BB's when they first dropped. The shoes were mass produced and worn by weekend warriors globally lol.

Sometimes he left me wondering if he really wanted people to watch his videos or if he just wanted to talk s*** to people that call his BS on whatever platforms he's on.

He used to be good and then he started acting like a WWF heel, except the arena is 1/4 full and there were better wrestlers/shoe reviewers elsewhere.

 

[bigdeav410]

He's been a sheep for a while now.




He's definitely an arrogant sheep.

When Brand Black first got wider spread attention with the JC models, NW saw that as an opportunity to get in on the ground floor and be a part of something. Nike and Adidas don't really acknowledge him in the way that he would like them to (ie input, a job, perks beyond influencer event invitations). He kissed up to UA for a long time and I don't think they love him the way that he's dying to be loved either.

Brand Black let him do the collab with his little logo on it and everything. It was a cool shoe but that was the full extent aside from him testing their stuff and giving feedback.

I can't remember the name of the shoe now but it was a Brand Black Basketball shoe with a Vibram outsole. He "tested" it, threw the review up, caught a ton of flack because the review was bogus AF, then he deleted the review and did some scrubbing and cleanup to try to hide the fact that he had given the shoe a favorable view basically because he wanted to be in Raysse's good graces and possibly work for him or something along those lines.

FWIW, Raysse's brother in law is a friend of mine.

I stopped watching his content a while ago but have you ever noticed what he used to talk about what his dream job would be?



When he gets preachy as you say, always comes at it like underground hip hop fans do when the masses discover their favorite artist and attempt to Gatekeep said artist's work and say possessive stuff like "I was a fan when he performed in front of 10 people behind a homeless shelter in the middle of a snowstorm".

It's like shut up dude, you were not the only guy to cop the Zoom BB's when they first dropped. The shoes were mass produced and worn by weekend warriors globally lol.

Sometimes he left me wondering if he really wanted people to watch his videos or if he just wanted to talk s*** to people that call his BS on whatever platforms he's on.

He used to be good and then he started acting like a WWF heel, except the arena is 1/4 full and there were better wrestlers/shoe reviewers elsewhere.

I watch his reviews from time to time and have always served me and my family well when buying shoes. He might have alterior motives but thats on him. I just feel like calling him a sheep may be a tad harsh but hey thats just my opinion.

As far as the preachy I think most fans feel that way when this are happy to see everyone finally get on the wave. Not defending him just saying it is a human trait most of us exhibit at times.

And as far as the price. I don't agree with it I wish it was cheaper. But what I mean when I say the brand has always been trending in this direction is since day one they've always created weird looking clothing that sort of fit that mid tier luxury aesthetic. So its not surprising to me to see their prices in that mid tier luxury class

 

[duke40]

He used to be good and then he started acting like a WWF heel, except the arena is 1/4 full and there were better wrestlers/shoe reviewers elsewhere.

Who do you enjoy watching that is better? And I think the king of the Zoom BB worship is Schwollo, but maybe I misunderstood what you were trying to convey.

 

[bigdeav410]

duke40 do you still work with wheretestesters??

 

[duke40]

bigdeav410 that is the case

 

[bigdeav410]

Did you get a pair of RM2 to try out and if so how are they??

 

[the red model]

I tried the Delta's with the encased midsole and vibram outsole. The cushion was firm as hell and they didn't grip well. I thought they looked great though. I had the green pair.

 

[rfx45]

Who do you enjoy watching that is better? And I think the king of the Zoom BB worship is Schwollo, but maybe I misunderstood what you were trying to convey.

i know the questions not directed at me but knowledge-wise, not many can compete with nw, i just really wish he would let go of things and comments by now since he h as been doing for so long and not let it get on the vids but i am also sure a lot of shill followers and patreon group or discord groups encourage it, hell there are even reaction vids to his vids which probably doesnt help

like honestly its cool if its a small dig here and there but he tends to drag em and the latest where he just wants nike/jb to make a lot more pairs and yeah its what we all want but we all know and he should really know by now that it just doesnt work that way and why it isnt as simple as that

as a reviewer, not many are better to be honest though a few are more athletic, i do think kickgenius were the peak and i can never forget them lowkey blasting other reviewers who cant play ball during the jordan event foamers good too

too lazy to search it but isnt schwollo mainly a written reviewer? i dont remember him having a yt channel

but yah he’s still cool in my book and whats great with yt is i can fast forward and/or skip


oh and to close it off, he did sound more sheepish in the bb vid because if it was any other brand charging $250, he would have blasted them but he didnt even make that big of a deal on em that stood out

if nike started charging $250 for lebrons or new AJs, he’d go ballistic and probably make a dedicated vid about it

 

[duke40]

rfx45 thanks for the response - That’s honestly what I was looking for. We actually turned off the comments on the written reviews/website to try to stop the trolling (it was getting bad - especially from other reviewers). And I agree - KG may have been the most athletic ever to do reviews. It’s just bad now because the basketball market is it booming so not as much money or views in it so a lot of the other channels quit doing performance reviews.