I know it’s late, but I will do this performance review while I still can (before the XX9). I just forgot to do this one, probably because I was busy in school. Anyways, I don’t want to waste your time with information you already received from Nightwing2303, so I will keep the review portion short. What I really want to talk about is the fact that B-grade doesn’t always mean poor quality. My pair of Air Jordan XX8 are B-grades. Shoelander23 also got his pair from the same store. They have held up just fine, and I could find no noticeable flaws. Best of all, my Zoom bags haven’t popped yet (knock on wood). Watch the video below and share your thoughts on this ongoing discussion. I will say that you just have to be careful with B-grades. They are not necessarily bad quality. I will explain in the video. Below are my thoughts on each performance aspect of the Air Jordan XX8. I will be doing a few more videos in the near future, so stay tuned to WearTesters.
Traction: AWESOME! Some of the best I have ever used. You will be covered no matter what movement you make. The only place where the traction won’t work is in the air.
Cushion: Synonymous with the state in which you should not leave your house when you’re not home. Also synonymous with insane. The Unlocked Zoom is some of the best cushion setups ever. It’s Zoom on steroids. If you want responsive cushion, this is where the “X” marks the spot. My one downside is that playing in it for more than 2 hours caused minor discomfort at the ball of the foot, most likely due to the foot hitting the FlightPlate.
Materials: The shroud is stylish, comfortable and containing. It serves its purpose well. The Carbon Fiber plates not only look awesome, but they help with torsional support and containment.
Fit: Like a glove.
Ventilation: Shrouded.
Support: Minimally Maximum.
Overall: I told you it would be short and sweet. This shoe is one of my favorites because of the innovation and technology that was put into it. It’s a crazy shoe that JB will be improving on with the XX9. I hope they can improve on the XX8, because that will be hard.
If I bought the shoes at an outlet and there isn’t any stamp on the tag, is it still an A grade? Like maybe old stock from the retailers?
Most likely a returned item or old stock.
Still legit though, right? 🙂
If it’s a Nike outlet, then yes.
I’m not familiar with this shoe grading system although I heard about them from colleagues. so what is B grade synonymous with? is it legit or fake? is it cheaper? so what is A grade? an associate of mine even talked about AAA like being synonymous with a battery.
anyhow, there was a mention that certain legit Nike shoes are cheaper due to them being less than ideal or imperfect and are being sold way cheaper. I must say personally that I’m not completely sold to get something that I can’t try on first or risk buying something online despite being an outlet store. such imperfections can be terrible and some not.
Did you have the spot on the left ankle? Me and boy both purchased XX8 from the outlet (his are the same as yours and mine are the ASW ones) and we had problems on how the show would rub painfully arond thec left ankle.
I solved it by wearing double elite socks or an ankle sleeve.
no such problem
Are the shoes at the outlets B grades?
B grades are usually shoes that have purely cosmetic imperfections (stitching that isn’t straight, visible glue, sloppy paint job, etc…). Not all shoes at Nike Outlets are B grades. In fact almost all of the shoes at official Nike outlets are simply shoes that have been produced in a large amount or shoes that are unpopular and they need to sell the inventory at a lower price to get rid of it.
Whats messed up is that many shoes marked B grades are not B grades at all. If the quality testers find one shoe that doesn’t meet the standards they take a certain amount of shoes in that production run and mark them all B Grades.
I was actually able to pick up these xx8 Oak Hill’s myself. The box simply said “Cosmetic Seconds”. They look totally fine to me and aside from maybe a little glue showing I dont see anything wrong. I bought them and after a price adjustment got them for right around $100. I’m seriously excited to join 24hr fitness so I can play in them (Currently I only play outdoor ball).
B Grades and other shoes at official Nike Outlets are legit. The one place I would be wary about Nike/Jordan shoes would be at Ross department stores. They get Nike/Jordans true crap. Those shoes often times have serious structural flaws (Air bags popped, wrong sizing, seams not stitched correctly, etc…) and sometimes are even preowned and worn.
Thanks. I think I might have seen some of these B grades as well to some of the department stores. they do vary. the funny part is that some of them are new releases or haven’t been released yet although they are butt ugly in terms of C/W. other than that, they were perfectly fine. others are just terribly made and with obvious defects. I think you just need to watch for those carefully.
on the otherhand, buying at official retailers like footlocker or champs isn’t safe as well. my usual concern is that one shoe is smaller than the other despite being labeled as the same size. I sometimes exchange one shoe of another pair just to find the perfect size and fit.
off-topic: tried the Lil’ Penny’s. and they were terrible.
@collins B grades are normally cheaper and are at outlets and have minor imperfections, but they are real. A grades are shoes that has no flaw and should be on point, they are shoes you normally get when you go to footlocker, finishline, champs, ect. When your colleagues are talking about AAA shoes they might be talking about the best possibly made REPLICA shoe.
So prolonged use of the flight plate causes some discomfort? I haven’t experienced it yet but I guess all if the reponsiveness has it’s drawbacks. I guess that means full length zoom is still a viable option and just because unlocked zoom has its benefits and feels more responsive it doesn’t make full length zoom obsolete. There is no doubt that full length zoom provides amazing comfort and impact protection.
It’s really not that bad, and it probably won’t happen to everybody. Once it’s broken in, everything is awesome.
Ohh aight thats cool. I’m still a big fan of top-loaded zoom air! I still want to try of the lunar zoom thats in the Lebron XIs though those must have the best impact protection.
well, it’s pretty similar to the Howard’s 2 midfoot torsion since the mid-area doesn’t have any cushion at all other than the insert. it also depends on your foot structure. you might need a better insert as well. this is probably the reason for the structural change on the XX9’s midfoot area. if you are flatfooted, I think the SuperFly 2’s are better option. I like the PO’s btw.
Idk I don’t think it has anything to do with the arch. Is more the hardness of the flightplate in the ball of the foot that causes the discomfort its not the same as landing on top of foam or directly on the Zoom like other Zoom setups. Then again it does break in and become more flexible but maybe they should experiment with a softer pebax plate or make the pebax articulated in the middle to make the Zoom placement like in the Superfly 2 and upcoming Jordan 29s. I think if they articulated the flightplate to match the articulation of the Zoom units then break in time would decrease and they would be more flex ready.
Actually the Jordan 29s have a smaller flightplate so the plated is separated from the heel so that might help with flex. But I think they should of make the plate just in the forefoot where the most flex is needed and then there would be no need to articulate the plate.
They could just articulate flightplate from the Jordan 29s by seperating arch and forefoot to allow more flex.
ok, I got what you meant. so it might be a variance issue. the XX8’s that I tried, Melo’s and Fly 2 PO’s I have felt fine at the ball area when standing on them or flexing them. it could be how hard or how much force and weight you put into your ball region since you are practically in contact with the ground due to the zoom being unlocked. I don’t think the discomfort has to do with the flightplate because if it were, you would felt it immediately and not take 2 hours before feeling the pressure. besides, you would have felt discomfort on the heel region as well.
Best 70 bucks I spent, went back for the green ones too.
Represent u of P!
ya, I’m transferring to OSU because I changed to Exercise and Sport Science.
Random question: What leg sleeves are you rockin in the pics? I’m still in the hunt for a good pair of leg sleeves. Thanks man.
they’re nike pro combat hyperwarm tights. I have the adidas GFX knee pads. I would get those. Currently I just use 3/4 length Nike pro combat tights.
I have no idea why JB did the Oak Hill xx8 like this. There are tons of these that made the outlets and are possibly the best colorway that released for the xx8. I bought mine at retail the minute I saw them at Champs back in April ’13. I was at my local Nike outlet back in January ’14 and there were so many of just these that were “B-rated.”
I had B-grade n7 Kd 5s I got from the Nike outlet in Orlando, and the only asthetic flaw with them was the foam heel counter wasn’t perfectly rounded on the points like my other kd 5s and it isn’t even noticeable unless you look for flaws on the shoe, but when they had no problems with their performance, they played exactly like my other pairs of kd 5s.