The New Year brings something special to hoopers everywhere… the Jordan Melo M9.
Traction – Full length herringbone. These should perform without flaws. One area that concerned me initially was the forefoot pod – since the CP3.V’s heel pod gave a slight unbalanced feeling – but after having them in-hand, any concern I had is now gone due to the way they designed the outsole. I didn’t get any shots sowing the way the forefoot is contoured a bit for stability but if you watch the video I show it. Only other concern would have been the translucent sections but the rubber seems pliable enough so that may not even come up as an issue. As a side note, the rubber used is nowhere near as soft as the CP3.VI or Kobe 8 so outdoor players may wish to consider this as a potential pick-up if they perform well.
Cushion – Heel and forefoot Zoom Air! The heel feels great as the large volume Zoom unit rests directly under foot. You don’t feel the forefoot too much while standing around but if you move around a little bit and shift your weight on the ball of the foot and you can feel it for sure. To say this looks to be an awesome cushion experience would be a major understatement.
Material – This particular version isn’t the best to go with – in my opinion – as the regular retail versions will feature more plush materials such as Nubuck, leather and patent leather. Since this is the Christmas Day model, I get to deal with 3M – reflective material for those who don’t know – along the entire upper which is usually pretty stiff. I will try to keep an open mind when it comes to the overall materials since I know that the other colorways won’t feature the same material build as this version.
Fit – These actually fit true to size. The interior is nicely padded with the inner booty and the term ‘premium’ comes to mind once they are on my feet. Lockdown is insane as well… I can tell just from lacing them up.
The Flywire ‘M’ strap is attached to the collars heel so you will gain perfect heel lockdown no matter what your heel is shaped like. Sometimes, those of us with slender or even wide feet and heels don’t get the same fit as someone with a more normal shaped foot so this design will make up for any wearers foot. Definitely a plus.
The rest of the Flywire is attached to the Strobel Board. This will ensure the shoe is locked onto your foot. Basically, if you thought the minimal usage of Flywire wasn’t going to work… you were wrong.
Ventilation – The ventilation is more apparent than what was featured on the Melo M8 but the inner booty will soak up moisture versus allowing heat and moisture to escape. This shouldn’t be a huge problem since the material and build along the upper is fairly minimal and the entire upper will wrap itself around your foot, moving with your foot much more naturally than a solid upper panel would.
Support – There is a TPU shank under foot – the red and green parts found under the outsole – as well a TPU lateral cage… very similar to what was seen on the LeBron X. These features along with the incredible fit and lockdown will offer the wearer plenty of support that will allow freedom of movement while keeping you contained and protected.
Overall, these look like they might be one of the most beastly performance models to come from Jordan Brand in quite some time. The M8 was great but these definitely are an improvement. Maybe not quite what a Guard would want in terms of flexibility – midsole mainly – but the rest of the shoe literally looks like it’s been designed perfectly.
Hit after hit and people still don’t take Jordan Brand seriously… such a shame.
Can’t wait to see the performance review! Have a happy new year and thank you a lot for bring us these amazing reviews
Does this shoe in terms of comfort, be one of the best? Happy New Year from Spain!
actually diggin the design , wouldn’t wear them casually but I thnk look real sick on court . I think my fav colour way so far is the Knicks away and the red and black .
Looks awesome man!! Cant wait to hear your full review as i always love the details that goes into it. Also, this shoe looks amazing for outdoor balllrrs!!
there doesnt seem like there’s an aspect of the shoe that will preform mediocre, let alone bad
You are correct my friend! At least IMO. Only thing I can ding these on is the ventilation. But like you said, it’s not even that bad. Looking forward to purchasing a different cw tho, because the 3M is a bit stiff.
I’ve been waiting for this review to come ever since the leaked pictures of these came out. Very excited to see how well they perform. Thank nightwing and happy new year.
These got me so excited!
Justin Taylor designed the shoe.
Man, I can’t wait for the other CW’s to drop. These seem as though they will perform like a dream. Hoping the black/white CW drops soon. Holding out for that. The white ones aren’t in the first CW releases so I guess they will come out eventually. Any idea? Thanks and happu NY!
Are these a all-around player sneaker or mainly for forwards only? By the looks of it….. it can accommodate all positions! Sorry if I’m bothering anyone!
I don’t think guards who are light on their feet would want a midsole that is quite rigid, like this one. Also the very heavy-set centers might prefer max air or a very absorbent foam over zoom cushioning, just to absorb all of that impact created on the joints by a heavy body. But the m9 seems like it would definitely suit combo guards, forwards, and the more mobile big guys.
I havent looked forward to a review this much since the soldier 6. Those made me retire the fly wade 2 for good. Happy new year man and thanks so much for all the time, effort, and work put in to bring us these reviews. Much appreciated.
-trezz
Like most of the other people commenting, I’ve been looking forward to a review of these since pics were first released.
Honestly, I think they look tough from an on-court perspective – no frills, just tech. Hopefully they perform as beastly as they look. This review can’t come out quickly enough!
Thanks NW
is it me or is that a phallic symbol on the outsole? lolz cant wait on this one. the M8s were great but heavy, so looking forward to this one rather than settling on the M8 advance.
This shoes looks insane,
I play guard, and thinking of getting Rose 3. After I saw these shoes, I was like “man, I’ve got to try these on, and it might blow my mind”, but as you said flexibility is the only thing I concern about the M9.
Can’t wait to see your performance review!!
Picked up a pair of these the other day. Only worn them briefly in the store and house. Cushioning is great out of the box. Fit is very good. Traction looks great. Court feel could be better, but that is proven on the court and not in my house.
Can’t wait to see the teasers and reviews to see how you like them. These definitely look to be a nice upgrade from the M8s. I really want to play in this shoe, but I’m not loving the colorway so I’m tempted to wait and trade these for the upcoming black/reds next week.
u gotta keep this cw for casual wear and the other cws to ball in man! The 3M elephant print turns heads! lol
pretty interesting cushion setup. forefront almost look identical to the Jordan XX8 except that the latter has 2 separated outsole zoom bag (looks wider and bigger) chambers while the Melo 9’s have the standard size forefront zoom. while the Melo 9’s seem to still go with the usual full/thicker zoom on the heel, the XX8 might be using a Lunarlon setup for it’s heel. hmmmm…..
No carbon fibre all over as well. Oh…and not booties for the street 🙂
Really excited on how well these will perform on your review. Based on your first impression, these is something that I’m definitely looking forward to.
Im not being stuborn or anything, but in the support section you spelled green greed. Its no big deal im just trying to let you know. 🙂
Do you mean “stubborn”? In addition to that, you are not using “stubborn” in the right context as well. I’m just saving him the trouble of replying.
last year had zoom and air max, this one have zoom at heel and forefoot?
sorry to ask that question, i just finish watching the video. is that zoom bag 10mm? its huge, looks kinda like the lebron 10 zoom max in the heel. how does the cushion feel, compare to last year m8 setup?
Lebron X has full length Max Air setup. M8 has only heel Max Air and zoom fore front like the KD V except that the setup for the M8 is thicker and construct is sturdy.
Sorry, I mean between m9 and m8 cushion
It’s a heel max zoom air bag in the M9 like the one in Nike Zoom Huarache 2K4, except it is visible in M9. It is basically a huge zoom air which is about twice as thick as a usual one.
I was wondering where you got these?
yo nightwing, in the last minute u mentioned u had sketches u drew i think it be cool if you posted them on ur site.