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Nike Air Max Actualizer II Performance Review

Happy Air Max Day!

Nike Air Max Actualizer II Performance Review 1Traction – Full length herringbone is in place and you really can’t go wrong with this setup. They gripped great on all courts no matter their condition. I personally love this type of herringbone, where it’s aggressive and makes up the entire outsole versus other setups that feature the traction pattern recessed into the outsole… similar to the way older Jordan signatures were back in the day. Greatest part about this outsole in particular is that the rubber is durable enough to be used outdoors so if you are one of the many blacktop ballers then you may want to consider these as an on-court option given their relatively affordable price range.

 

Nike Air Max Actualizer II Performance Review 2Cushion – The same exact setup is used with the Actualizer II that we saw in the Air Max Stutter Step. This setup focuses primarily on heel impact protection which is great for certain players… just not me or other Guards. Again, given their relatively low price, you could easily just place a new insole inside the shoe and be perfectly fine. I would like to see a lower priced option come focus in on forefoot cushion. Seems to me that the forefoot focused sneakers I’ve seen – that I can think of at least – all breach the $100 mark which I find a little strange.

 

Nike Air Max Actualizer II Performance Review 3Materials – The materials are bad, they are durable but will require a break-in period. However, I wasn’t a fan of the fake 1st Gen Flywire on the medial side panel… I just don’t see how it has a place at all and it would have been much more acceptable had it just been a synthetic of some sort. But by faking the funk… it just seemed rather weird and why would you have to fake the 1st Gen stuff as it is; isn’t it already the cheapest Flywire based material you can use? Maybe I’m nitpicking… I mean, it worked overall… I just don’t see why you’d fake your own product. This is Nike we’re talking about… not some second rate brand.

 

Nike Air Max Actualizer II Performance Review 4Fit – They fit true to size but these cater towards wider footed players. I was able to achieve great lockdown along the midfoot and heel portions of the shoe but the forefoot left a lot for me to desire. I had to tie them so tight that the forefoot materials warped a bit… I haven’t had that happen since the LeBron 9. If you have wide feet then this could possibly be a great attribute since most of today’s shoes are built around a much narrower last but for someone like myself… it didn’t quite cut it.

 

Nike Air Max Actualizer II Performance Review 5Ventilation – The ventilation wasn’t too great. There are some perforated sections and they’re placed perfectly in the areas that your foot naturally allows heat to escape from – which is great – but the sloppy forefoot fit in addition to their overall lack of ventilation caused for some internal slippage… that equals more blistering… and I had just received plenty of blisters while testing the Jordan True Flight for the very same issue. Lack of ventilation isn’t always a bad thing but only when you have a shoe that contains the foot properly. Again, wide footers may not have this issue but I did so just throwing it out there.

 

Nike Air Max Actualizer II Performance Review 6Support – The overall support was fine for what the shoe offers. Nothing over the top but not lacking either. Things would have definitely been a little better had the forefoot fit better but for what it’s worth… not bad.

 

Nike Air Max Actualizer II Performance Review 7Overall – Directly comparing these with the last ‘lower end’ or budget friendly model – the Air Max Stutter Step – I definitely enjoyed the Stutter Step more. That doesn’t mean that these were horrible but they just aren’t for me. Now, this is basically a wider version of the Stutter Step (with less ventilation) so if something snug, such as the Stutter Step, just doesn’t work for you then this has a greater potential to.

If the information in the review applies to you, your foot and style of play then you can grab these now over at Finish Line.

Nike Air Max Actualizer II Performance Review 8 copy

8 comments
  1. these are probably one of the worst scoring shoes that i can remember. overall, great review as it is nice to see some budget models get some love.

    1. I think there were shoes that NW2303 bought that were so bad, he didn’t even bother reviewing them on his site..Zig Reebook Wall…if I do recall.

  2. I am hating these. I am definitely passing. Fake flywire??? Quality at its finest. Even though these are cheap, I would rather spend more on better quality than spend less for a not as good quality shoe. I actually like the stutter steps. They are cheap and nice quality .

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