Don’t know why people discredit Jordan Brand’s team models… they are often the best to take to the court.
Traction – Just looking at it and you can pretty much see that they will work. Playing in them… you know they work. Not only do they work but the rubber is fairly dense so they are able to perform at a high level on multiple court conditions. I had the best time with these outdoors but indoors they are no slouch.
Cushion – I’m seriously perplexed as to why some shoes with Zoom have that typical Zoom Air feeling and some don’t. The forefoot only Zoom Air setup is just fine but I’d like to be able to feel the Zoom Air underfoot. I can tell its working but if you were to ask me if it was responsive… I’d say no. They are comfortable and everything but when I used to step into a shoe with Zoom Air you’d feel the slight spring or bounce it’d bring… I miss that on a lot of today’s models.
Materials – I LOVE the materials. Perfect blend of synthetic and raw materials. The setup is very similar to a shoe I reviewed a long time ago… the Jordan 2011 Q Flight. Ah, those were the days… back when I could review a shoe and nobody would call me a sellout or accuse me of being ‘nice’ to a brand/ shoe… Anyway, if you like leather but also enjoy what synthetics bring to the table then this should be a shoe you look at. It offers the best of both worlds and does it properly.
Fit – They fit true to size but they are snug so wide footers will want to keep that in mind. Yes, the leather will break in a bit but they made these off of a tight fitting last so it might not help a whole lot. These were designed and built to contain the foot and they do just that. Feels amazing if you ask me… this is how I prefer my kicks to fit.
Ventilation – Not a strong suit… There is some minor ventilation on the tongue but nothing too serious.
Support – Due to the material placement and the fit… the support is wonderful. They remind me of the LeBron 8 (V1). Nice mixture of raw materials and synthetics that happen to work cohesively with one another. There is also a TPU shank for some torsional support which is always a plus.
Overall – Not a jaw dropping performance model but they get the job done. At their price point, you really can’t go wrong. They have even dropped in price for certain colorways so if you were looking for something that performs well outdoors without the fear of them falling apart quickly then this is one model I’d be able to recommend 100%. If you wanted to grab these now for $99 vs their original $114 price tag then hit up Finish Line.
I might pick these up
This was short but informative on the bright side I learned something…..again 😀
They take about a month and a half to break in. Once they break in they are super good. I wouldn’t recommend these if you like to dunk u might want something with better cushioning
hey nightwing, what is the most cushioned shoe in adidas’ current lineup?
I felt the most cushion in the Rose 3 and Crazy Light 2. They both had a nice little bounce/ rebound with the foam that you dont get when they keep you super low to the ground like in the Rose 2/ 2.5.
i wear a size 12 on crazylight2 should i go down a size or stay on a 12
Started viewing your site back in 2011 and yeah there weren’t those people who called you out for saying something you truly thought. Anyways, thnx for the review. I really love those shoes that wraps your foot around. First experienced it in Jordan 2011 and loved them ever since.
Appreciate the continued support. I dont think it matters what I do or say. Its at the point where whatever it is I do, someone will say Im being too negative or too positive. Cant do anything about it so I just keep doing what I’ve been doing.
Hey Nightwing,
I’m a 5′ 10″ white shooting guard and I’m deciding between the Hyperdunk 2013 and the Lebron 11s. Which one would you recommend for a player like me?
I’m a 5 9 pg/sg I played in both HD 2013 and LBJ 11s,, to me, LBJs were too much cushion that actually hurt my knees. You’re used to this,, somewhat firm ground and all that walking around and all of a sudden you’re on top of a mushy marshmallow. Also, I have wide feet, the 11s dug into my lateral side of the foot, it was really painful. For me, HD 2013 was a great shoe. Did not slip once ever in those traction, and cushion, no complains while I do prefer the zoom set up better. HD 2013 is a all around solid shoe, and I’ve heard nothing but compliments for them. Decision will be yours my friend, but there’s my two cents
NIGHTWING i dont know if you have seem the review of the anatomix spawns by kickgenius but there review does not match yours at all they say there is deadspace in the toebox and that the heel is noticeably heavier then the forfoot did you notice these two things and just did not mention them or were these “flaws” not flaws to you and were fine
I understand people have different views im not saying the reviews should match exactly or even extremely close
My son has played in the shoes (2 pair) every since they came out. He hasn’t noticed any toe box issues or heaviness in the heal. Like I said before, he compares the puts the Spawn next to the Jordan xx28 as far as his experience. He won’t ball in any other shoe, if he can help it. But he’s 9 and his experience is just that, his. Everyone is different, but I disagree as well.
I personally do find some dead space in my forefoot in my anatomix spawns. The mesh expands which allows me to move my toes more than I would like to. The heel is more bulky than the rest of the shoe, but I don’t care for it that much.
The mesh is on the top of the foot, it cant expand in that location. The heel in every shoe is thicker/ bulkier than the forefoot. Hyperdunk?
he also said on heel strikes you lose all court feel and the heel to toe transition is very unsmooth and unnatural I ordered these a week ago so just making sure I would like to judge the shoe myself of course
I disagree based on my experience with them but if that’s what he felt then who am I to argue.
You are(wait for it)……..Nightwing2303 professional basketbal shoe reviewer
Lol
Hahaha he replied I have peace right now wooohooo
I jumped and landed on my moms table wooow
lol did she get angry at you?
No we were both cracking up laughing it was hilarious
I know I’m a liittle biase since I dislike having court feel in a shoe, but still why would you need court feel in the heel? Heel striking is not proper running technique, the extra cushioning is there to protect your heel from harsh landings. However making the heel the same height as the forefoot would make it easier to forefoot strike and you would be able to run more naturally. I hope companies start to feature more shoes with equal heel to toe ratios. The Lebron XI is a good example of a shoe with a very little difference in heel to toe ratio. The heel looks like it has a little more foam than the forefoot but its only a couple of millimeters while the full length Nike Zoom Unit is the same height from heel to toe. The original Adidas Boost running shoe is an example of why having to much cushioning in the heel is not practical, many people complained that the shoe caused too much heel striking and made it hard to run on their forefoot.
You don’t need court feel in the heel, you need stability which is why the heel in hoop shoes are slightly thicker or more beefy. The Spawn is one of the lowest sitting shoes avail on the market right now and it sits lower than the LeBron XI, CP3.VII, Crazyquick, Rose 4 etc. If you don’t have an issue with the heel in any of those shoes then the heel in the Spawn shouldn’t be an issue. Construction causes a clunky feeling transitional movement and the Spawn happens to be constructed in a way to promote proper transitional movements. Just my thoughts.
I agree the heel should have more stability but this can be done without making the heel higher off the ground. You can have the foam wrap up the sides like on the Lebron XI or just have the support come from the heel counter.
Thats how its done. The LeBron XI’s midsole doesnt wrap up the heel though, the exterior of the shoe does, just like any shoe. The LeBron XI has a more clunky heel to toe transition that the Spawn due to the way they are constructed.
Using the LeBron is a bad example as well, esp when comparing to the Spawn. Like I said above, the Spawn is one of the lowest sitting shoes avail right now. Which means the LeBron sits higher up.
Sorry I think your misunderstanding what I’m saying. I’m talking about the Lebron XI insole. This edges on the insole by the heel is raised higher to provide better heel lockdown. Also I’m not talking talking about which shoe sits higher or lower to the ground. I’m talking about the difference in heel to forefoot heights. You can argue that the Spawns has a higher heel than toe ratio compared to the Lebron XI, I dont have to actual facts because that’s something you have to really measure. Kickgenius didn’t say anything notice the heel being thicker or heavier than the forefoot on the Lebron XI. While I like talking about have a lower heel in shoes that doesn’t mean that I like lower sitting shoes. I just like having the heel and forefoot to have the same thickness which is hard to find in any type of shoe. These kinds of shoes are usually referred to as Zero Drop shoes. Minimalistic shoes are usually the kind of shoes that are lowing sitting and also tend to be zero drop but they are two different things.
I gotcha. I thought you were talking about thickness.
ok thanks and what is your personal top 3 shoes to hoop in right now
1. XX8 2. CP3.VII 3. Rose 4
that is interesting because the spawn had a signifigantly better overall score then cp3 vii and rose 4 why is the spawn rated so highly but at the same time is not as enjoyable as others?
What’s interesting is that after all this time we still cannot seem to understand that scores mean nothing unless the scores that are rated highly are scores that are wanted by the wearer lol.
I have a personal opinion & I’m entitled to have it while remaining unbiased with the reviews. The spawn was the most highly rated in every category, that alone is going to make it the highest overall. Any shoe with a crappy ventilation score, minimal cushion setup etc is automatically lower. You can’t be blinded by numbers. If I were to read an entire book yet learn nothing from it or remember anything I read then I’d have wasted my time and reading the book wouldve been pointless. That’s what scores are. If they cannot be properly applied to what the wearer specifically wants or needs then the entire thing is useless.
Scores are there to help compare. Cushion in one shoe vs the other and all that good stuff.
Think about it this way. You like Blake Griffin as a player and you love his post game (unlikely but just as an example lol) but his defense and shooting abilities are well below average. Are you going to take the good part of his game and apply it to your game to add his post moves or are you going to emulate his entire game and thus you end up with good post moves and shitty defense and shooting.
But anyway, yes. I personally prefer certain shoes no matter what scores show or say bc I have a personal preference.
Sorry for the long reply
Hey nightwing i was wondering what shoe do you personally like more and would wear the spawn or the superfly 2? thxs!
what happened to the superfly 2s?
Nothing. This is what I’d pick. Do you have a problem with it or something?
I can get his confusion, even i’m completely frustrated trying to pick between this and the super.fly I used to ball in a Reebok shoe until that broke and now i’m using trainers whilst saving up for a new shoe but really not sure which of these two would be more comfortable and I can’t try them on because they’re not avail. help?
Any expected release date for the jordan melo m10? Heard it would be of suede material, from what i know it would be good for a wide footer like me.
Early January, bout the same time the m9 released last year
thanks.
The heel of the m10 destroyed any chance of me buying them
Well, if I can’t get a solid colorway of the Jordan XX8 SEs, then I am going to have to buy the Melo’s instead. I don’t care too much about the looks of the shoe, just after the performance setup that they offer.
I do care about looks I prefer xx8 se over melo m10 when it come to looks tinker hatfield should’ve worked on more ideas the heel cup looks like a last minute slap on
I would agree, it seems like besides making the upper different it is like what else could they make it further different from XX8 and/or XX8 SE.
If they had an internal heel counter or just material overlays instead like in M8 and M9 , the M10 it may come off as cheap looking for an high performance shoe.
I would agree with most people, keeping the carbon fiber heel counter is a better option.
The traction of these look exactly like the Jordan Aero Flights… I know no two models are identical but are the Prime.Flys similar to Aeros in the other categories as well?
Can you please review the Reebok Q96 and Pumpspective Omni
Bronx I’m rooting for q97 the pumpspective omni look like a ripoff $125+tax for a shoe with cheap looking material not worth it
Sorry about typo don’t know what bronx is sounds like a couch potato bull
Hey nightwing,
How are the materials inside the shoe itself? Also do you know a Jordan that is both well ventilated and has cushioning. Thanks keep up the great work!
Regards Jason
Prime mania????
can will these shoes survive a outdoor concrete court?
Hey nightwing how you doing.I want to ask you,im from serbia and this is a very poor country. And courts i play on are very dusty ,so i wondered will these grip the floor with dust on it.Sory for my bad english..thanks…
I bought my pair of prime fly and I have a similar foot as yours, size 11, and I have to say they perform great outdoors. Never had a problem with landings, grip or ankle support. My personal opinions do match a lot with your review. Have to say good job :). I had a question. How do these compare with hyperdunks? Because I tried my friend’s hyperdunks and didn’t feel as comfortable in them as in my Jordans but many people say HD13s are better than prime fly in all aspects.
Once these break in all the way. It took me about a month and a half they are the best or second best basketball shoes I have ever played in. the only thing I would improve is the cushioning but it has gotten a lot more responsive and better over the last month and a half. I would reccomend these to any player as long as your not dunking u might want something with better cushioning. But besides that the fit the support the foot safety and the feeling of these is amazing and they do get a lot better when they break in. also. The fact that they are mid / high top saved me from an ankle injury too. I was doing a quick jab step and a crossover and my foot was ready to go the opposite direction but my ankle wasn’t but luckily the mid top prevented me from an ankle injury. So always play it safe and go with hi / mid. Good luck and God bless