ZOOM KOBE III (3) REVIEW!!!!!

[jayson2251986]

Balled in my CHINA AZKIII's. I'm a HUGE Kobe fan but I put myself in an UNBIASED OPINION HERE! I made sure I went on the court with the mentality ofbeing VERY CRITICAL TO THIS SPECIFIC KOBE SIG SHOE! I made sure that I balled in the Zoom Lebron II's for about a few days before wearing these because theLebron II's are one of my top favorite hoop shoes to ball in, and it's a non-Kobe shoe. Here's the REVIEW:

Comfort and Fit - 10/10
The shoe looks super paper thin. To make things worse to the eye, the tongue in the shoe is super paper thin that I was a lil' weary on putting these shoeson because of the fear of a 'paper cut.' The shoes look so sharp and deadly that it seems that it would not only be able to make cuts on the floor butalso on my feet!! Eric Avar of Nike proved me wrong, ONCE AGAIN! Like Ripley's BELIEVE OR NOT, the shoes were a total opposite! Once I snug my dogs insidethese babies, it was OFF! I was amazed at how much cushioning the Zoon Air Bag gave, while knowing how thin the shoes really are!! The midsoles of the shoesalso provided a relative comfort factor on the side of my feet as I was cutting on the floor and make stops on the dime. The space in the toe box area is aperfect fit! The heel area also provided much comforting space that allow my heels to land without much rugged impact. Props to the Full-Length Zoom Air Bag!Though it looks like a cage, the shoes provided comfort much like sleeping on a Tempur-Pedic mattress! On the matters of the paper-thin tongue, wearing quartersocks seem to do the trick! Plus it's stylish too!

Ankle-Feel Protection - 10/10
This is very short. The reason being is because I didn't really sprain or twist my ankle during the 4 hours of rugged and slashing play. The surprisingthing is that though the the shoe seems very flimsy at first feel, once I laced these up to the top, it feels as though I was protected by a strap on the2k4's!! Once again, Eric Avar puts the Ripley's on these bad boys!!

Breathability - 10/10
WOW!!! That's all I can say! Is there such a thing as TOO MUCH AIR?! I know it's winter and all, but when I ball for about 4 hours of pick-up straight,my dogs do get a lil heated in there. NEVER did that happen during these 4 hours of play with the AZKIII! What's ClimaCool? Move over Adidas, these shoeswill freeze over the competition!! I did remember looking at my feet and pondering whether my feet were numb or something...It was ridiculously COOL!

Responsiveness - 10/10 (Can I exceed to 11/10?)
This is by far the best part of the shoe. The description is not as along as the Comfort section but let me say that the II's were by far the mostresponsive/low-to-the-ground shoes I've ever balled in...until the III's came out! This shoe is so low to the ground that it seems like I could feelevery tiny pebbles that were embedded on the dirty courts of my community park's indoor court...Just Kidding. But it did exceed the II's responsivenessin terms of allowing me to feel the court and to cut as I was running. In addition, it seems as if there is some kind of brain in this shoe because everytime Ileaped in the to lay a smack down or a power rebound....I got up VERY VERY fast. With these shoes, you will know how it feels to play like Trix (aka ShawnMarion) without hurting your heels or toes on the landing! Thanks Nike for making one of my wishes come true!

Durability - ??/10
Only time will tell. However, so far from my first full-on session....it seemed to hold its grounds. Looks pretty fresh and new too, after being stepped on andbeaten by a bunch of 250 pound beasts. My prediction is that this shoe will last only for one-two seasons of basketball battling.

Traction - 10/10
I played on the dirty courts to see how this shoe tested. APPROVED! The huge out-rigger was also a huge factor in allowing me to make certain cuts and moves oncall. I'm a big fan on the technology and the traction design of the wave and the diamonds seem to allow me to ball in another higher level!!

Style - 10/10 (this is the biased opinion, sorry I didn't keep my 100% WORD)
Neck-Breaker!!!!

Weight and Lightness - (Look at the comment)
13 oz. NEED I SAY MORE?!

OVERALL - 10/10
GREAT JOB ERIC AVAR!!!!! You did it once again and proved once more that YOU ARE THE BEST IN THE GAME! My favorite designer BY A LONG SHOT!!! Can't waitfor the Black/white/maize to come out so I could fully use that in a basketball tourney coming soon!

These just replaced the 2k4's as my personal favorite hoop shoe of all time!!

 

[deezyvsop]

I'm a HUGE Kobe fan but I put myself in an UNBIASED OPINION HERE!
No offense, but I read that and then glanced over the scores you gave without reading the review and kind of shook my head. 10/10 on every singlething, except for durability?

I wonder what kind of scores/reviews these shoes would get if we slapped a Reebok or New Balance logo on them?

 

[ssgefiestoakagerger]

Sounds amazing. Can you tell me if they fit true to size?

 

[hugree]

is it yet another review after only 1 wear ? sure seem like it (4h).

 

[rapsa]

decent review!very useful

 

[ezpinoy]

i would also like to know if it was true to size??!?!?

 

[jayson2251986]

It was true to size. I don't have extreme long or wide feet. Yes, you're right...this is a review after one wearing. It's not 100% accurate becauseof it. But it can be updated and I can tell that some of the scores may fluctuate as I keep playing with these shoes.

 

[kapsi1911]

Originally Posted by jayson2251986

It was true to size. I don't have extreme long or wide feet. Yes, you're right...this is a review after one wearing. It's not 100% accurate because of it. But it can be updated and I can tell that some of the scores may fluctuate as I keep playing with these shoes.

I'm not going to doubt that these are some amazing shoes, but honestly this review comes off as biased, extremely so.

 

[goosebear10]

nice job..but only after a couple of days???gotta give it more run than that plus its kind of hard to say youre a HUGE kobe fan and then say youre giving anunbiased opinion on that player's signature product.I mean at least you were honest about admitting that youre a fan but its hard to read the review andprocessing the information without questioning whether or not there is some sort of bias or slant to the review...anyways nice job again

 

[slefly]

as if goosebear's reviews are not biased at all. get real. kobe 3 is great for balling or profiling. great cushioning, responsive, flexible, outstandingtraction, lightweight and amazing comfort. xx3 cant touch this. word to your mother.

 

[jayson2251986]

Yea, I have a feeling in terms of its performance....bang-for-your-buck and pound-for-pound....the ZK3 will outgun the XX3....But the XX3 is still a must copjust for sake. The Blue ones are the hottest XX3's!

 

[gggggas]

jayson2251986, what about the outsole's durability? I know it's hard to tell yet but in your opinion would these hold up well outdoors?

 

[chris chicago]

nike should send you a check for this review

 

[ed2324]

is there an arch?

 

[jayson2251986]

Gggggas, regarding outdoors performance....Judging from the outsole and traction pattern...the answer is: 'Not so much'. The depth of the patterns onthe rubber outsole is very shallow in comparison to the ZK1's, which are great outdoor shoes.



Ed2324, YES. There is an arch. It looks as if there isn't on the outside, but there seems to be some kind of spacing and design on the inside of the shoe(on the insoles) which provide that arch-support you need. Also, the carbon-fiber plate seems to assist in that as well.

 

[ed2324]

what's it like compared to the 2k4's fit because 4 2k4s I wear a 8.5 but is it possible to go a 9 in the ZK3?
thanx

 

[pr baller 23]

Yeah, How is the sizing? I wear a size 10.5 in the haurache 2k4,2k5 and Kobe 1. But for some reason I had to go up to and 11 in the Kobe 2s, and they killed mypinky toe, and on hard cuts my toes would touch the end of the shoe no matter how tied up they were. So What would you recomend? 2k4 and 2k5 fit pretty closeto the same, and the kobe1 are a little looser. Thanks for the help

 

[pr baller 23]

ANYONE? can someone please shed some light on the question above?

 

[jayson2251986]

Fits same as Kobe II's

 

[gggggas]

I just returned from a store here in Greece(Thessaloniki) which recently got the ZK3 Black Mamba! Of course I went inside and test wore the shoe.
I tested the shoe on hardwood and of course these are my first impressions, not a review!

FIT: The shoe fits very very tight! Much tighter than the ZK2 Ultimate yet true to size! YES the Achilles issue some had with the Ultimates is solved heresince the heel counter is much lower than the one in the Ultimate.

Comfort: The shoe is very comfortable out of the box but it needs to be broken in.

Cushioning: The cushioning is much thicker compared to the Ultimate and the Lite(Haven't tested the Strengths sorry) and it is really responsive(I ran abit inside the store

) Yet it does not have that mushy and springyfeel like the Lites and other shoes like the ZLIV or the ZLV but is still very soft.

Ankle Protection: This really confused me. It is really tight around the ankle once you lace it all the way up but imo it is padded too much around the ankleand it does not provide the max protection though it's high. Still it is not restrictive at all and doesn't feel like a high top shoe.
One more thing I noticed on the rubber outsole is that it is very soft. I could squeeze it without applying much pressure.

These are my impressions on the ZK3 just by test wearing and running a lil bit, don't take it as a review.

 

[pr baller 23]

K what I need to know is do they fit like the the 2k4,2k5 length wise, or do they fit like the kobe 2s length wise? Cause the length of a size 10.5 is shorterin the Kobe 2s. My feet were right at the end on the Kobe 2s and I had to go up to an 11. So what do you figure I should go with? would it hurt the performanceif I went up the half size to 11 for the Kobe 3, like would there be to much room? thanks for the help, Im just asking all these questions cause I plan onordering a Pair offline now and not waiting till they come out, so Any more help would be great. thanks

 

[gggggas]

They fit exactly like the ZK2 Ultimates length wise but much tighter on the midfoot. I think you should get sz11 like the ZK2 Ultimates (except if you havewide feet since it's very tight) and I don't think that it would hurt the performance.

 

[pr baller 23]

Thanks man, you have been most helpfull. Im a little worried now though, If they feel like the 2s I dont really want them. I dont like the way the 2s feel. itslike your heel is on a slant downwards, then at the middle of your foot it goes back up so that your toes are high, so the middle of your foot is lower thenthe heel and toes. No arch support I guess. I thought these were gonna be more like the 2k4s. Some people are saying they arent as light as once thought. ohwell

 

[gggggas]

I know exactly what you mean about the ZK2 Ultimates, they feel too low to the ground but don't worry. The ZK3 is totally different, The cushioning is muchthicker and you don't feel that differences on the thickness from the heel to the toes. It feels thick all the way! Even on the forefoot it feels thick andbouncy. The Zoom Air feels very good! Thick but very very responsive and cushy! You are still low to the ground but you really run on cushioning!!! Just likeKobe wanted: " I wanted to feel like if I was walking on cushioning"
And about the weight: 13oz! That's all I'm saying, they become like an extension of your foot!So light and they fit so snug!

 

[b1lly hoyle]

There is NO WAY you can rate Traction as 10/10.

On a NBA level court to a dusty court...the pattern doesn't have by any means 'great' traction as you'd suggest. The diamond pattern isentirely illogical and the wave/herringbone pattern along the outrigger should be positioned under the entire forefoot.