After making an impressive return to performance basketball with the AND1 Attack, the legendary street ball brand improves upon the original with the AND1 Attack 2.0 (in 2023 AND1 launched the Attack 3.0)
The traction hasn’t changed at all between the original Attack and the Attack 2.0. Sometimes no change is a good thing as the traction was the Attack’s strongest suit.
As the wavy tread covers and chevron pattern makes its second appearance, the performance is still just as good. Even with this colorway offering a translucent outsole. Toe-offs feel strong and secure while quick stops and direction changes (toe drag) feel secure. This is a setup that doesn’t requite much wiping at all, but it also didn’t offer any of that squeak that a lot of players tend to gravitate towards. Sound never equals traction, so I wouldn’t let that bother you.
Outdoors isn’t an issue. AND1 started as a streetball brand and they continue to build upon that heritage with footwear that can handle the blacktop and the hardwood.
Much like the traction, the cushion/midsole tooling hasn’t changed between the original model and the 2.0.
Harmonix RX makes a return, but the RX seems to have been dropped from the name. The material is still ETPU (Boost-like) and sits under the strobel and insole. You will need to break in the tooling a bit, but it’s pretty quick and painless. The thickness isn’t anything crazy so don’t expect a ton of bounce or energy return under-foot.
However, you’ll receive a nice balanced ride offering adequate impact protection along with plenty of court feel. Losing neither of the two.
I’ve been playing in the AND1 Attack 2.0 on and off for about half a year, both indoors and outdoors, and the shoe just feels comfortable no matter which type of court I choose to play on that particular day.
Materials are where we see the most change between the original Attack and the 2.0.
The dated Fuse is gone and replaced with modern textiles, neoprene and some synthetics. This kept the shoe lighter feeling when on-foot without sacrificing much in terms of durability. Its synthetic layers are at the heel and forefoot — typical high-wear areas — so you should be good. However, there are different materials in those sections depending on the colorway. I don’t anticipate much difference in performance overall, but you could end up having some more apparent visible wear and tear with the colorways offering a softer material.
They fit is true to size, but you will need to adjust your laces until you find the perfect fit/tightness for your foot shape.
With one piece builds like the one featured on the Attack 2.0, I tend to want to yank my laces as tight as possible to ensure I get the snug fit I prefer. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the way to go with these as the knit doesn’t work too well with lace pressure. Some adjusting here and there and I can say that I’ve found what works best for me without any foot fatigue or numbness.
Lockdown at the midfoot is solid, along with the rear (very solid in the rear) but I did have a bit of volume in the toe. The shoe feels like it’s build around a slightly different last than the previous model (which was pretty damn tight for most people) which offered me a bit of space between my foot and the material. Given that this shoe (in this colorway) has a synthetic toe panel, there was some bubbling in the area that I didn’t love. I do have a second pair with a textile toe and those feel a bit better as the material flexes and moves better with my foot. I still would have liked something a bit more in between the fit of the Attack and the Attack 2.0, but for those that like to have a little bit of space then you should prefer this version over the last.
The support is solid and has everything that almost any other basketball shoe has.
There is an internal heel counter in place while the midfoot offers a TPU shank for torsional support. The midsole doesn’t cup you foot in the forefoot, but the heel portion does which is a feature I always love. I do wish there was a bit more of an outrigger, but the base is a bit wider than the upper so that helps offset the lack of outrigger.
Overall, the AND1 Attack 2.0 does everything the original did, but the materials are a lot nicer. I may lean towards the overall fit/shape of the previous model a bit more, but that may depend on the day. If my feet are a little swollen the original model were a bit too suffocating while the 2.0 version never gave me that suffocating feeling. Traction is still a beast while the cushion is a nice balanced ride that you may not expect from AND1 given its past.
If you have a chance to try the AND1 Attack 2.0 out then I’d say go for it. They’ll be available at AND1 and Footlocker in February 2020. They don’t feature a mainstream brand logo, but they offer a pretty powerful punch on-court in terms of performance.
