The Air Jordan 32 ‘Rosso Corsa’ releases later this month and today we’re taking look at what it’s made of.
The Air Jordan 32 is one of the more anticipated models that we at WearTesters can’t wait to play in and that’s because it seems to offer a little bit of everything.
Large Zoom Air units, found beneath the forefoot and heel, measure 11mm thick and 13mm thick, respectively. However, only the forefoot unit has been implemented as Unlocked Zoom Air (where nothing surrounds the unit) so that’ll be the only thing between your forefoot and the hardwood.
The heel unit appears to be bottom loaded so this area should feel similar to the drop-in midsoles that have been featured in the Kobe A.D. NXT and Kobe 11 Elite.
There is a Pebax (TPE) moderator plate running along most of the footbed internally; it should stabilize the ride up front so you don’t sink too far into the Zoom unit and pop it. This type of setup has become somewhat traditional in the annual Air Jordan since the Air Jordan XX8.
The upper is comprised of Flyknit and it’s backed with multiple layers of nylon and padding. Air flow may be significantly reduced with all of these layers and the fabric within will likely soak up a lot of moisture that ends up building up inside the shoe. This became a problem with my Air Jordan XX9s eventually because the shoe (which is built like a sock) ended up smelling like old dirty gym shorts after a couple of months worth of use.
It looks like you’ll be unable to replace/change the laces if they were to break — not something I’m really a fan of. They were hidden for aesthetic purposes, according to Tate Kuerbis, the Air Jordan 32’s designer.
Something FastPass didn’t cover is the collar area, which is supposed to be comprised of luxurious suede according to Jordan Brand. I would have liked to see if this is actually the case or if Jordan opted to take the synthetic route again.
Enjoy the deconstruction of the Air Jordan 32 and feel free to share your thoughts on the model below. Are you excited to play in a pair or do you have your eyes set on something else?
Source: FastPass.cn
That carbon fiber shank looks like it’s just there for looks. Is that the same size they had in the kobe 8 and 9? The kobe carbon fibers, iirc, kind of wrapped up the arch too, but the carbon fiber piece here looks like it’s just there for show. It doesn’t look big enough to offer any kind of torsional support. It looks like much of the torsional support and spring back will be up to that black plastic piece.
No real innovation for $185. Nostalgia only gets you so far. Trying and failing to make something new is better than not trying at all. How many times can Jordan do this before people completely forget about Jordan Brand as a top-level performance brand?
Totally agree, just look at that smoke and mirrors carbon fiber shank, its not just a jordan brand thing, remember the Kobe ad “heel zoom bag”…..shhhh, hey you all gear that? That’s Adidas coming to snatch the crown
Interesting. At least they listened and started adding something to the heel area. Even though it’s not full length this year, it should still provide ample cushioning. For the amount they charge, there should always be everything covered; fit, cushion, AND traction. Hopefully, this one is a performer in all areas.
the laces are not covered by warranty. so if even these turn out to be the perfect shoe and the laces snap, well tough luck.
The CF piece looks like a support for the fulcrum of the moderator plate, which in itself possibly doubles as the torsional support of the shoe.
The shoe looks to ride lower than the 31 if memory serves right, and possibly the 28-30. Unless we’re missing something about how the upper layers itself, that’s pretty disappointing that something as simple as replacing shoe laces may be impossible. Kinda weird to believe they were for it from a production standpoint as well. Theoretically you could use tape and chase, but that’s such a chore.
You could do that only if You noticed the laces being fatigued before they snap. When they do, it’s game over – that’s my reason for getting retro xiii altitude green for my hoops rather than these, eventhough they have nearly double the cushioning in the heel by sheer measurements.
The overall design is easy on the eyes. At least to me. That’s a plus. It’s the one thing they did better than Adidas with their CEs which were ugly last year and which are ugly this year.
Like everybody else i think that the laces and the useless carbon thingy are a downside. In my lifetime i never had any laces snap on me so i don’t worry too much about that but once again if something pretends to be top of the line then i expect only top of the line materials and funcionality. The whole plasic plate should of course be carbon fiber like in the Jordan 11 and nothing else.
Apart from those points i might pick them up when they arrive at the outlets in a year or so because potentially they look like they could feel a little bit like the Jordan 28 which were my favourite Jordans to play in. So i’m a little bit curious how they will play but nowhere near curious enogh that it would warrent a pricetag of 185$, but that’s just me. About the 100$ mark i will buy them to check them out myself.
Actually the ‘plastic’, the Pebax is functional(it has a perfect flex to allow both natural movement, AND spring-back), if it were Carbon Fiber you’d break your feet in ’em, they would be too hard to bend, too aggressive in snapping back right under foot(it’s why the XI, and XII had the Carbon underneath the midsole, you need that big buffer between CF and feet).
I have to agree. I just can’t believe the amount of cluelessness that I’m reading here. having owned certain number of shoes with ample amount of carbon fibre, they are pretty strongly rigid and lack that amount of flex that the Pebax can provide. just imagine how the zoom would feel or react if placed under the carbon fibre. Pebax is great from a performance standpoint. so what some are saying that performance is affected because it’s not carbon fibre is pure hogwash. to begin with, that is exactly the point how carbon fibre in shoes was introduced, it’s for aesthetics. the torsional support is just an added benefit for that. but overall, carbon fibre is not the standard for such use.
on the otherhand, one minor complaint I have with the 32s is with the strings. I didn’t have a good experience with them and they become brittle after some time. I just hope it is not the case on these shoes.
Nene33L Still have to be careful about making an end conclusion about CF. There is actually considerable control that a manufacturer can have over the flexibility of CF via the weave, laminates, and resin — but in the context of shoes I highly doubt Nike would care to spend on that R&D and simply want the shape+aesthetic as you noted. Either that or it was in fact an intentional move to serve as a spring plate. So that being said, CF in shoes is coming stiff by choice, but not because it’s inherit to the composite.
That sentiment can extend to the thermoplastics (which include Pebax) used as alternatives for shanks and heel counters. They can all be produced to be as stiff/flexible to the designer’s liking.
NO, that won’t happen even with R&D. it’s a waste of time and money trying to change the very properties of what makes CF.
Solid insides to the shoe, but not a signature, or progressive, which might be the new perspective, have the numbered-Jordans be a team-shoe, much like the NuRetros, and .5 versions, this is a re-imagination of traditional Jordan features.
Really, REALLY happy the Zoom units don’t protrude from the outsole, I wasn’t a fan of how unstable that setup feels.
The 31 was great except for traction. Justness give me some topnotch traction and keep everything else from the last shoe!
Fastpass is one of the real hero among us hoopers and sneakerheads
Ain’t hatin’ on the choice of materials and I understand there has to be a balance between using the material and implementing it effectively.
Translating Fastpass’ deconstruction article, they noted that Jacques Slade’s coverage of Jordan Brand’s event in Italy showcased the midsole as being hollow in the midfoot section which was supposed to facilitate for a full carbon fibre flight plate.
However, the deconstruction of the Rosso Corsa showed that they have changed the midsole such that the midfoot section is filled and flight plate is now largely a plastic while a small piece of carbon fiber is sticked onto the outsole to somewhat lead people to believe they are using a full carbon fiber flightplate.
I just don’t like Jordan Brand present their their products in a light that made them out as something they aren’t.
Anybody else think that jordans have bcome ‘too comfotable’? Every year i try on the new pair, and i just sink into them, and feel like taking a stroll, not train my a&? off. Playing in soldier 9’s now, wich is really more my thing.
Cushion setup looks amazing – however the traction looks a lot like the XXX1…
I wish I would have read this first. I bought a pair of 32 lows and immediately returned them when I saw the laces were permanent. Exceptionally stupid design, in my opinion.
It almost feels like it’s designed with planned obsolescence in mind. I had a pair of 22’s back a few years, I’m not even sure if they were original tbh (got them off ebay), but they lasted me 5 or 6 seasons of hoops (exclusively indoors, granted I’m not a pro so this was max twice a week), and I still sold them off in decent shape for a few bucks to add to the purchase of retro 12’s “flu game” that came out in May ’16. The 12’s started to unglue themselves after a year and a half of the same usage pattern, but that was covered by nike warranty so all good, getting altitude green xiii now. But here I’m thinking the first thing to turn tits up will be the laces, and someone here posted they’re excluded from warranty. Coincidence? I highly doubt it. It’s a crying shame as I really like these shoes’ design overall.