Ballin’ on a budget. We can’t all afford the $150-$200 price range shoes that we’d hope to obtain. Thus, each brand has a division that works on a certain budget to give those who are watching their pockets a great performance shoe. Today we’re reviewing the Nike Air Max Audacity 2016.
Traction
The Nike Air Max Audacity 2016 uses a pliable rubber compound along the outsole. If the traction looks familiar it’s because it was carried over from last year’s model, which was worn by Anthony Davis. The latest model, the 2016, is currently worn Ben Simmons, the NBA’s #1 draft pick. The rubber traction is quite inconsistent and found myself wiping more often than I should because I was in slip-n-slide mode like a noob on an ice skating rink.
Those who plan to used these outdoors should turn to something else because the rubber compound won’t last as long. If you play on pristine NBA/NCAA courts you should be okay. If you’re on a dusty court, you’re better off roller skating blind-folded. Regardless of the position you play, the traction just didn’t cut it.
Cushion
Cushion: Air MAX!!! The 180-degree Air Max bag on the heel gives enough proper cushioning upon landing impact. The shoe also features a soft Phylon midsole to help with the compression and friction upon landing. This setup isn’t my cup of tea because I prefer being lower to the ground. Had the shoe used an Articulated Zoom Air unit on the heel and inserted an EVA crash pad foam beneath the forefoot it would have been more forgiving. However, this is a budget friendly model, so for $100 having an Air Max unit and a soft Phylon is already a plus.
Materials
The Nike Air Max Audacity features a soft mesh upper along the shoe that is backed with some foam panels at areas where cushion is necessary. Fuse is utilized at high-wear areas such as the toe box, along the areas where the lacing strands are located, and around the heel. A stretchy neoprene backing allows for an easy on-foot feel. Nothing to run around and flaunt about, but pretty basic and standard for an everyday ball shoe.
Fit
Adequate. The shoe fits great as long as I laced it tight. The Flywire strands keep your foot locked into the footbed. With the exception of the lackluster TPU heel counter, the shoe fits true to size. The ankle color is dense but not overly padded. When paired with the neoprene heel collar it makes for an easy stretch and fit. Even if you wear thick socks and an ankle brace, your fit should more than suffice. Wide-footers, no need to worry — theNike Air Max Audacity is wide-foot friendly.
Support
The support comes directly from the fit of the shoe, which is the main issue due to the flimsy TPU heel counter and the slippery outsole traction. These two items on the shoe just don’t work well together, even if it is just a budget model shoe. I’d like to see a more padded ankle/Achilles collar, however, it was good enough as long as the shoe was laced tight. While I understand that the basketball division works on a particular budget, we would definitely like to see these particular issues adjusted for the next iteration.
Nike Air Max Audacity 2016 Overall
Swoosh. Nothing ground-breaking or new technologically innovative, but the shoe does its job. For a budget friendly shoe, the materials were implemented tastefully. The cushioning setup was adequate with the soft Phylon midsole and the 180 Max Air bag, although not my cup of tea. For big men who slash and cut and play on pristine courts, you shouldn’t have a problem with these (I don’t have much access to a pristine court).
The Nike Air Max Audacity 2016 is definitely not on the Hyperdunk 2016 or KD9 level, but those watching what they spend would be surprised with this shoe. Here’s hoping the Audacity 2017 makes some adjustments with the budget because this was a surprisingly decent shoe. Until next time.
For $100 I’d rather go to the outlets and see what they have there on sale, I never understood why people bother with this price range
Not all individuals have outlets close to them, so those who work on the budget have to look elsewhere. I can understand that the shoe is not for everyone, but not everyone can afford shoes at high multitude of prices. We Weartest shoes from all brands and prices, at the end of the day, we try to give our best assessment and the experience of testing shoes to give users the best information possible when buying shoes, regardless of price.
I don’t think he was questioning why you Weartest them, but rather why people don’t look a little further. Because even if you don’t live close to an outlet there’s still the online world. Just yesterday Adidas delivered my Lillard 2s, they’re on sale right now on Adidas’ own website and including shipping they cost me €49. I could’ve bought 2 pairs of those for less than the shoe you reviewed here! The only downside is that you’ll need a little patience for shoes to hit sales and to have your size, also depends on your country.
But even these budget shoes goes on clearance and outlets. So it can probably be snatched down the road in the $40-$50 range. But I understand your point why pay the retail price of $100 for a budget shoe when you can get last year’s signatures and/or certain CWS of current signatures (err Lebron 13) for around $100-$125. But I’m sure there are many people interested in these boys reviewing every basketball sneakers whether it’s shoestring budget or hyper-priced budget.
Interesting traction pattern but, too bad it doesn’t work. The cushioning and design for 100 is ok. Overall for 100 is solid. Good performance review by Nyjumpman23.
Nate2, always appreciative of you reading and supporting. Yea, I Agree, for something on a budget, it’s not as bad as it seems,but the designer(s) of this particular shoe are listening, and they are good people. We know they’ll make the proper adjustments with the limited pricepoint they have to work under.
Interesting? shoe, but finding sales on previous year models online either through footlocker, finish line, ebay etc is a much better option for people like me who ball on a budget but want good shoes.
UA micro G pro a slept on shoe that has good sales, and the Anatomix spawn are nice too.
loved the roller skating and ice rink analogies btw lol
Some people might prefer the materials of this model over another model. Everyone has their own preference. Just because you like something doesn’t mean someone else will.
Again, everyone’s foot is formed into a shoe very differently, so one shoe might work better than another. And also, it’s nice to see a company reference a budget model because not everyone can afford higher end costing kicks. Thanks for reading!
It is BS that companies even give us budget friendly models. We should get the best they can offer at a reasonable price every time. Budget models are not there to help people who can’t afford top of the line shoes, they are there to create the idea of ‘top of the line’. Shout out to brandblack for not trying to pull this marketing scheme.
Unfortunately, we all wish the same, but companies need to some how make money to stay afloat, which we understand, however, some shoes work better for others as stated above, not all shoes work for all people, some people want lighter materials, or some others prefer a Large PSI max heel rather than zoom, it all depends on the individual on which shoe works for their feet. It’s individualistic. Not all shoes that work for me will work for you and vise-versa, but definitely get what you’re saying, we all wish shoes stayed about under 100
the max air in the heel is very similar to the one in the ambassador 7, which i remember you like a lot. but here you’re saying otherwise?
That particular model of the ambassador 7 was 2 years ago, and my body has aged about 20 LOL.
I really like the max, but depending how the shoe was put together certain cushions work better in certain formalities of the shoe. It really depends on the overall construction.
The Ambassador is similar to the Lebron 8 PS with Max heel and Forefoot zoom, so it had more than adequate cushion. Meanwhile the Audacity only had Max Heel cushion. Every little bit of extra impact protection counts. This is based on what “I personally” prefer and what works or doesn’t work or me. As I get older (and ACL repair years ago), I try to find a balance between good cushion/comfort so it eases the tension on body/knees.
It is an excellent shoe for those with big feet and you do not get a bigger size and is very economical in most reminds me of the old uptempo
Couldnt’ agree more. For those with wide feet, it’s definitely wide foot friendly and economical. Just wish for better traction overall and better support.
How do you explain that so much big men wears them in the NBA ?? (Anthony Davis, Rudy Gobert, Z-Bo, DMC used to wear them too, Valenciunas, Javaaaaaaale McGee, Andrew Bogut, Etc…)
I mean, they are endorsed by Nike, they can shoes any model I think and those guys come and ask for a 60€ pair of kicks…even Vince Carter is playing in them…What the hell ? What’s the secret of those shoes ? ahaha