Welp…
Traction – The traction on Nike’s Hyperdunk line has been pretty consistent throughout the years and this year is no different. These probably have the best traction that I’ve experienced on any Hyperdunk other than the 2013 model. Indoor, outdoor…it really didn’t matter. These stuck to the floor perfectly – even in the presence of dirt, dust, and debris. The rubber is pretty durable as well which is a huge plus. I was able to take these between indoor and outdoor courts throughout their testing and they never failed.
Cushion – The cushion sucks. Plain and simple. There is no nice way for me to describe how disappointed I am that this is what Nike now considers Zoom Air. Zoom was once my most coveted cushion system and now when I hear that a shoe will feature Zoom Air I just shake my head. I don’t know where they went wrong with the tensile fiber based Air system but whatever happened has transformed one of the most comfortable setups of all time into lackluster pockets of trash. Nike once set the standard for cushion. They have fallen way off from what they once were. Yes, an insole will help – but that’s something you do to a shoe that retails for $110 or less, not for a shoe that starts out at $140.
Materials – Textile fabric makes up the upper with Fuse overlays. The textile is thin and feels like it has a lot of glue to keep it rigid. It does break-in nicely and seems to be fairly durable – especially in high wear areas – so I can’t complain. They’re not quite as soft as mesh, but not as stiff as Fuse — it’s a compromise that I would be willing to make.
Fit – They fit true to size, and don’t feel narrow or wide; they feel pretty neutral. If you have wide feet then I’d suggest trying them on if possible to ensure you get the appropriate size or desirable fit. The pair tested is the low top, but when the Hyperdunk 2015 originally released they were high tops. I tried on the high top version and immediately felt pain at the achillies area do to the sharp Fuse points. No such issues were present with the fit of the lows. They actually feel less like a low and more like a mid. Even if you aren’t a fan of traditional low tops then you’ll likely appreciate the way these fit the foot.
Support – There’s solid support on the latest Hyperdunk, but you may not appreciate the way it translates aesthetically. Their giant heel is also the heel counter – love it or hate it – and it works really well. The upper supports nicely as well due to it’s semi-stiff properties and the tooling or platform the shoe is built atop of really plays well too. I enjoyed the width of the tooling – despite the shoe missing the traditional outrigger – and having the simple flat outsole with herringbone kept things stable and flexible without sacrificing support.
Overall – I had high hopes for this year’s Hyperdunk once I heard they’d be going back to Zoom cushion. My fingers were crossed that I’d get that Hyperdunk 2011 feeling one more time. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. I enjoyed everything about this year’s Hyperdunk except for the cushion.
The cushion is so bad that I wouldn’t even think about wearing them regularly, and I wouldn’t have even worn them past the first day had it not been for the fact that I was wear-testing them for their performance review. With other shoes within the Nike Basketball lineup offering much better cushion – sometimes at a lesser cost – and other brands offering much better cushioning options as well, Nike really needs to get their Zoom products back to where they should be. Like I said above, Zoom Air used to be some of the best cushion on the market. There are still some models that prove this to be true – this just isn’t one of them.
If this is your first Zoom Air experience…I’m sorry. Go grab a pair of Air Jordan 12’s or 13’s if you really want to feel what Zoom Air is supposed to be like. Yeah, a Retro product that originally released in the mid 90’s offers a truer Zoom Air experience than something releasing in 2015.
Still have a beat up pair of 2011 hyperdunks haha. Only use them for outdoors and theyre still together. The forefoot and heel zoom air is so bouncy its incredible. I love foam based cushions like lunarlon, micro g, boost, etc, but if I could get bouncy zoom air without paying for Jordan’s unlocked zoom, I’d dive for it
Benched….
How about the 14s??? My first zoom shoe was the 2011 HD and I didn’t like it but it was a gs size
Oddly enough as crappy as these shoes are this is probably one of the entertaining reviews I’ve seen in awhile. Lol.
Most*
i too still have a beat up hyperdunk 2011 low for outdoors. the shoe held up and still has the great thing working; adequate forefoot cushion, awesome traction and good ventilation/lockdown. thanks to the reviews, i’ll be looking elsewhere to replace them
high hopes for these when i knew zoom air was gonna be back.
tried the mids in store and immediately put them back and left disappointed.
really cant understand why Nike cant just do this cushioning shit properly.
still rotating between my pairs of 2011 elites, and regular 2011 HD.
2011 elites are straight up the best shoes i’ve ever worn hahahaha.
those n.z.hd.11 elite were highest rating ever by kicksology.. but I remember the timing was off by time I heard that they were hard to get and may or may not had gotten the premium laker colorway already, remember that one I got the cushioning was alright eventually but at first would slap the ground almost with me, I wear my sneakers mostly out walking, whatever..
As Usual, Great and thorough Review NW. Thanks for helping us not waste money.
I tried the high top version on and it took me five minutes to get them on. The high ankle was Unnecessary. After getting them on I couldn’t feel the zoom at all. I thought the zoom bag popped so I looked at the bottom of the shoe to see if there was zoom…I was disappointed. Don’t buy these to hoop inj just purchase to stunt in.
So basically, a good overall shoe with bad cushion. I can deal with it. My legs ares still young lol
same old unstable heel base design. WTF?
Lol what are you talking about?
NW’s performance review is consistent with Zak’s performance review. At least the lows solves the achilles problem. The Hyperdunk is usually Nike go to team shoe. They make the most money so they can afford to make a better shoe. These shoes are worth 100 tops.
I’ll be annoyed if Nike has any of my Magic guys in these next season. Especially Aaron Gordon. Though they had him in a cheaper model last season.
maybe they should rename these to hypercrap ! Nike has been more of a miss than a hit recently. it’s the opposite of what Adidas is doing recently. I guess they got bored of their billions and want to make millions instead.
WTF is wrong with Nike, they have been doing Zoom air right until 4 years ago I think, stop wasting the zoom air units by putting em inside the brick like mid sole.
Basically the 2013 was the last really good hd all around… still might try these since I’m a nike+ member I can send them bac for free…
Well this tells me to get the soldier 9’s instead…
I have a question Nightwing. You said “… now when I hear that a shoe will feature Zoom Air I just shake my head.” What I want to ask is what about other shoe like Hyperrev, Hyperrev 2015, KD 7… We can still feel the zoom in those shoes right? There’s still some shoes that we can feel the zoom in, so why you said that? I’m just wondering, no offense.
I have a question Nightwing. You said “… now when I hear that a shoe will feature Zoom Air I just shake my head.” What I want to ask is what about other shoe like Hyperrev, Hyperrev 2015, KD 7… We can still feel the zoom in those shoes right? There’s still some shoes that we can feel the zoom in, so why you said that? What do you mean by a truer Zoom Air experience? I’m just wondering, no offense. I still don’t know much, so I ask a lot ??
They’ve lost my trust with their products. When there is Zoom in a shoe and you can feel it then it’s noted in the performance review. But when I hear that Zoom is going to be used in a shoe I’m no longer excited because they’ve proven more often than not that their Zoom products have become useless.
thanks for replying Nightwing!
whoever designed this shoe should be executed.
Hello,
Can you post and show the insoles for every review? Some shoes come with good insoles, some come with crap paper insoles! (probably only if removeable maybe, but most are)
We discuss insoles when they are crap, and will recommend to swap when needed. Usually that when the cushion or fit is bad, sometimes when the insole itself is bad.
Some of the guys at our town said that Nightwing is retarded and that these shoes don’t have ass cushion and say that cushion should be rated 7/10, I’m conflicted about buying the shoe, should i listen to nightwing or a bunch of Nike/JB fans?
Man, I’m still rocking my ORIGINAL hyperdunks (I wanna say from 2007?). They’re still going – and I’m honestly right now hard pressed to find something that works better for me. I can fit my wide ass feet in them no problem – my orthotics as well. They offer a nice responsive cushion, lockdown, support, and with double socks, no blisters whatsoever. I mean man. ‘If it aint broke don’t fix it’ definitely rings true in this scenario. Shame that the hyperdunks went down the tubes – maybe the 2016 model will be better. I will say this though – these lows look pretty cool. My hyperdunks are pretty ugly, that’s the only thing i don’t like about em.
anyone else have issues with the zoom unit popping?