The adidas adiZero Crazy Light broke records in the weight department but fell short in support making the lightest performance basketball shoe a risky on-court option. Not only is the Crazy Light 2 lighter and brighter but they also have added much needed support along the upper. Are they perfect? Not quite… just from a simple try on and inspection I see and feel things I would change… I’ll go over those things during the full review but in the meantime, enjoy this First Impression…
Traction – I found the traction on the Crazy Light to be great, not very durable but it was great for indoor use. This pattern looks to be just as functional for indoor courts and should perform just as good if not greater.
While adidas states these can be used outdoors, I probably wouldn’t recommend it unless you would like to replace them after a few weeks… the grooves are only a few millimeters thick so it will wear down rather quickly.
Cushion – A full length EVA foam midsole is used and it feels very nice upon a first try on. The heel is very well cushioned while the forefoot feels as if they have balanced out the foam a bit so the compression wont cause roll overs. They also come with two insoles – which are not labeled this time around – one featuring PU like most of the adidas products and the other is lightweight foam similar to what is used in the adiPower Howard 2.
Materials – Three layers make up the upper. The synthetic top coat is very thin and similar to TPU while mesh and nylon are used as the under layers. Is the material more supportive… yes, I’ll explain in a bit.
Fit – The fit isn’t very impressive and could use a lot of fine tuning. Right off the bat you will notice how narrow they are… even for a narrow footer such as myself. There is pressure at the forefoot similar to the feeling I had while wearing the Jordan Fly Wade 2 (not the Wade 2 EV) and the rivets used for the eyelets create some unwanted pressure points as well. While the upper is one piece there is a point in which the entire upper meets which is just before the arch… this you can feel as well so I’m not impressed with the overall feeling they have and that’s not even with them laced up. If you are a wide footer these most likely won’t work for you even if you go up ½ size.
The SPRINTFRAME caused some major comfort issues in the original and it looks as if I will have the same thing happen in the second installment. It feels as if it’s molded to the shape of an arch and not everyone has the same foot shape so I can feel the frame pushing my arch upward. When I placed the PU insole inside – to try and relieve the pressure – it ended up making things worse so I will use the lightweight foam insole as they were slightly more comfortable from a fit standpoint.
Ventilation – SPRINTWEB is featured along the entire upper however there are only 4 ventilation points and they are found on the medial side. The rest of the upper is blocked by the fuse process and the material (nylon) used which ended up not allowing any air flow at all… I blew air through these areas to confirm this and it’s true. Last year’s Crazy Light is far more ventilated than this year’s version.
Support – This is the area that made the original Crazy Light nearly dangerous for some players to wear. I am happy to say that adidas has made great advancements in the support of the shoe in every area that I had problems.
A thin TPU panel is placed along the toe which reinforces the thin upper so the material shouldn’t buckle under pressure this time around. Looks like I wasn’t the only one who thought the Crazy Light lacked support… this is a huge improvement.
As long as these don’t end up pinching my feet too badly then they look as if they’ll perform much better than the Crazy Light, however, there are plenty of things I would personally have done differently in order to achieve the 9.5oz mark. Maybe I will get into that in detail with the full review but until then just stay tuned for updates on their performance with Teasers.
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Funny. I thought it was weird blowing in through the upper. I was trying to pass some air into the lateral side and I nearly passed out because they was no air going in.
The upper does break in though, I hope you went TTS.
Glad im not the only one haha
wow i was super excited about these and it looks as if they dont live up to all the hype
They dont feel too bad after getting some hours in on court
OMG YESSSS You got these!!!!! But damn they aren’t as good eh… at this point what would you recommend above these shoes that are within its price range.
Never said they werent as good, just a bit uncomfortable upon try on.
Would you recommend the adi rose 2.5 or the crazy light 2’s?:)
I need to finish playing in them then you can decide after the review
Yo Nightwing,
Did you get toe blisters from the first CLs? Because I did… I had to double up my socks to make sure that wouldn’t happen, the shoes were fit, not bigger not smaller, anyway, my question, do these present the same? Will they give me blisters and all that? I don’t know what it was exactly, still haven’t found out, I’m guessing it’s because my toe rubbed against the sprint frame, looking for your input here, man. Please reply soon,
-Matt
No i didnt… I rolled ankle multiple times from the lack of support though.
i wanted to give these shoes a try, but since you mentioned how narrow it is. i think i’m better off not trying them. lol
Your wack! The ventilation is sick. As a center I love these shoes in everyday. And it fits perfectly and the ventilation is fine, don’t listen to this night wing guy, if u want then get it. Guys it’s a great shoe.
Oh and guys don’t get the rose2.5 there heavy and hot
Tiiiiiiiiiiiiight
Yoooooooo night wing I just got my pair at the adidas outlet in downtown Orlando in the New York Knicks colors and got bright neon orange socks
I was playing ball like crazy
And the traction on my pair was amazing