The BrandBlack Future Legend performance review is here. Is this really what legends are made of? Find out…
Traction – Amazing traction. Dust or not, these guys grip the floor. The pattern itself is widely dispersed so dust won’t get stuck within. In addition, the compound is soft and each individual traction blade sweeps and sways along the floor like bristles on a brush. I wouldn’t recommend them for outdoor players that wish to have an outsole that lasts, but indoors players will be more than happy with how the Brandblack Future Legend’s traction performs.
Cushion – Jetlon Plus (or Jetlon EVL) is used here much like on the recently released BrandBlack Rare Metal. BrandBlack was able to add 40% more rebound to the already awesome foam cushion while the midsole itself sits 25% lower to the ground. Ultimate impact protection and court feel are what you’ll receive with these bad boys, putting them in a very small category alongside the likes of Micro G and Boost.
Materials – The forefoot of the Brandblack Future Legend is constructed of synthetic nubuck while the midfoot is Jacquard. There is also a removable 3D-molded strap that increases lockdown in ways that I didn’t think was possible — being that it’s attached solely with Velcro. These are convertibles with laces. Mid or low…the power is yours.
Fit – They fit true to size. I’m not sure what to recommend wide footers as they just fit perfectly on my feet.
Lockdown is something that can be completely adjusted with the simple addition of the 3D modeled strap. Without it, the fit is great. There is an internal compression sock that hugs the foot all the way up to the ankle. There is a pillow of sorts under the laces that feels like its made of memory foam. This helps relieve lace pressure since the entire interior is all compression material. As they are in this low top form, the shoe locks the foot in from front to back without issue. However…
If you put that 3D-molded strap onto the ankle, the lockdown increases exponentially. I honestly didn’t think the strap was going to be of any use when I received the shoe. I just didn’t think something that was held in place by two pieces of Velcro could really make that much of a difference. Alas…I was wrong. Strap it on and you’re locked into the Brandblack Future Legend like you wouldn’t believe.
Support – This shoe utilizes a Force Vector plate that runs between the outsole and midsole. Acting as torsional support and lateral support without hindering mobility and flex. The shoe itself is built on a nice wide base that promotes natural stability while the outsole widens into the exaggerated outrigger for ultimate lateral support. At the heel is a large, yet extremely lightweight, TPU heel counter. It extends alongside the medial and lateral side of the heel ensuring that your heel stays right where its supposed to — on the footbed.
Overall – As most of you know, I wear-test products for some brands prior to product manufacturing. This means that when I test a shoe in it’s early sample stages my feedback is given to the brand(s) and sometimes they take the feedback and it turns into the product you see on the shelf. The BrandBlack Future Legend is the first time where I gave no feedback. I had nothing to critique. The shoe worked so well as it was that there really was no need to say anything other than, “man, these are awesome.”
Traction, cushion, and lockdown are all standout features of the Brandblack Future Legend. If you grab a pair I hope that you enjoy them as much as I did.
Be sure to let us know below in the comment section what you think of them once you’ve given them your own test run on-court.
You can pick up the Brandblack Future Legend at Brandblack.com for $120.
This level performance for 120 is crazy! Another great product by Brandblack.
So jetlon evl is lower to the ground but with better impact protection than jetlon?
BB is making it hard to choose…seems like every model is top tier. For such a (relatively) low price too…
Sounds like another good one from BB. Is the cushion more plush on this or the Rare Metals?
wow smh just bought the rare metals today only to find out this has better traction
Rare Metals are no slouch in the traction dept.
Cushion is listed as black foam on their website- is blackfoam or jetlon plus??
Tech sheet we have says Jetlon Plus
Anything else to say about length compared to the Rare Metal? I believe you found the RM to be true to size, but varying opinions found it on the long side. I went half down on those, and when broken-in they feel true to size now.
I wear the same size in most shoes, these included.
Me too the rare metals ran a half size too long for me. Width wise was good.
Same here. Got my regular size 9 for RMs and found them too long. I’d like to get FLs but I don’t want to make sure I get the right size. Will wait for other opinions.
told you so.
Better shoe overall: Rare Metals or Future Legends
You mention that it uses jetlon plus, but the the BB website says it’s blackfoam. I wonder which is correct?
Tech sheet we have says Jetlon Plus
In the BB interview with Slam (won’t link but it has been posted as an article on WT), it’s implied that Jetlon Plus is the same compound as Blackfoam, but of course trimmed down:
“He’s J. Crossover, so we needed a shoe that was very low to the ground. We were able to do that with our Jet-Lon Plus Foam, which has 40 percent more rebound than regular foam.
We actually put that in the JC3, but I kept the height the same. What it ended up doing was making an incredibly plush shoe, but it kind of made you feel like you weren’t really that connected to the ground. It dawned on me that I had an opportunity now to actually lower the shoe and not lose any cushioning. We were able to take almost a quarter of the height out and lower you really close to the ground and not compromise any cushioning.”
That being said, I have no issue with how they named it, even though we’ve heard “EVL” and “Plus” juggled around back and forth. For the sake of naming rights and consistency, I can see reason to why they’d call it an evolution of Jetlon vs. continue to carry the Blackfoam label.
The website of brand black actually says that the cushion of these are black foam tho… Thank you for the great performance review.i think I might cop these and the rare metals
The website of brand black actually says that the cushion of these is black foam tho… Thank you for the great performance review.i think I might cop these and the rare metals
Youre welcome, thank you for watching/reading! Tech sheet we have says Jetlon Plus
Anyone know where you can get these in the UK/Europe?
Compared to Rare Metals, is the cushion more plush or comparable? Probably would only cop if Future Legends have better cushion- as a 5 with narrow feet (can’t wear any Adidas), the Rare Metals have everything for me.
Is the traction full length? Nightwing mentioned in an earlier video that the forefoot was rubber, but I may be misunderstanding.
I meant to say full length cushion.
I don’t know, for me, they should have ditched the compression sock. I think it would not appeal to “no-show sock” players and/or to people who like to wear shoes casually without socks (and without the strap). The sock also seems cheap looking. Smooth neoprene or spandex or geofit kind of material should appear more aesthetically pleasing than those vertical ridges/lines of the sock. But I should say that the strap is really intelligently innovative. In games, I would definitely wear the strap. For leisurely walks, I would remove it, and only if the sock is absent, future legend could have been the ultimate convertible. Oh well, rare metal na nga lang.
the hype is strong with this one…
I know that the sock compression is a trend right now.. I just wanted to know if that built in sock is going to smell if u wear a no shoe sock. That is an honest question. One that is seriously stopping me from buying shoes that have this compression sock.
When will these be available for purchase? If they already are, where?
Avail. now at BrandBlack.com
Yooooooo that blacked out c/w is mothercussing sexy
I thought this was supposed to be the model underneath the Rare Metal in BrandBlack’s hierarchy chart? If so, why is the pricing higher? or have I gotten that wrong?
I’m not having a go at the pricing or anything (I think the pricing is great on both of the current releases from BrandBlack), but I’m just confused on what model is supposed to be the higher up one between the two.
I don’t believe they ever promoted one as a “higher up” model. One uses more materials than the other. The price reflects that. They’re not slapping price tags on shoes just for the hell of it.
I know that Jamal Crawford left BrandBlack, but technically, even though BrandBlack didn’t promote it that way, I considered the Rare Metal as a signature model and usually signature models are higher priced than team models (which is what I would consider the Future Legend to be). Regardless of the materials, most brands have their signature models at higher prices than their team models. The pricing threw me off, as most brands have a hierarchy and I can usually tell where each shoe falls in that chart. I just couldn’t with BrandBlack.
Again, I’m not complaining about the pricing itself (the pricing for both shoes is absolutely great). BrandBlack is an awesome brand and a doing a great job of competing with the bigger companies. I hope they can keep it up.
This is a nice shoe he looks so stylish.
Do u have to break-in the cushion? Tried the RM in-store and felt kinda stiff tbh. Thanks
Ima buy these and the rare metal.
Any advice from anyone how to keep the compression sleeve clean? Are these machine washable?
I really enjoy this shoe, unique look and great performance (really hope that all white, gum bottom one releases). One thing that took a little adjusting to was the traction. While great, coverage doesn’t wrap up the midsole like most shoes I wear. Found myself slipping out a few times until I made proper footwork adjustments. Still one of my go to shoes
Hello guys!
Never had the oportunity to buy BB shoes. They dont arrive here in Brasil. But Im going to us next month and need to order the rare metal or this futuro legend what would you recomend for someone Who play with the Rose 6 and the Crazy Explosive?
Thanks for the great material and reviews. I am a bigggg fan!
Future Legend for sure.
cant wait to get my pair.
Im confused what does rebound mean when he is talking about the cushion?
I just copped a pair of these and they do exactly as you say they do. Great shoe and well done Brandblack!
Kyrie 4 or these?
how does this compare to the future legend low? I noticed the low version had a knit upper and no compression sock or strap, but it has the same outsole pattern with the same wide outrigger. do you know if it’s a performance shoe or if it’s intended for lifestyle wear?