First Impression: APL Concept 3

Finally getting around to reviewing one of APL’s products… hope they don’t disappoint.

Traction – Herringbone is in place and its full length but that doesn’t mean that it’ll guarantee great traction. The pattern is flat and set into the shoe, not aggressive and all over the sneaker like newer shoes such as the Jordan CP3.VI or adidas Crazyquick. I predict that a clean floor will do well for these as will a rough surfaced outdoor court but throw in some dust or debris on a flat smooth surface and the traction may end up becoming obsolete.

Cushion – There isn’t any real cushion in the shoe other that a lightweight compression molded foam midsole. They’ve designed the midsole with compression grooves and that will provide some nice shock absorption. An Ortholite insole is in place for a plush step-in feel and overall… they feel pretty darn comfortable on-foot. I’m actually surprised. We’ll see how things go once you begin to play in them though… the spring loaded Load ‘N Launch technology might not offer much cushion at all but I’ll be sure to go over that when the time comes.

Material – Synthetics make up the entire upper and it’s pretty much what you would see on every other performance shoe on the shelf nowadays… just plastic. It is nice and soft so it won’t require break-in time nor does it feel as if it’ll create any hot spots so I really can’t complain.

Fit – They run small. I probably should have gone ½ size up as they run a little short. Lockdown felt perfect though.

Ventilation – Well… you can see that these are very well ventilated. These seem like they’d make a decent outdoor shoe.

Support – The support is the only thing that worries me from a performance standpoint. The materials are very pliable and there isn’t that much to the upper. If the lockdown remains perfect when in-game then they should be perfectly fine but just from holding them in hand, this was my initial reaction. There is also a support shank in place within the shoe for torsional support and that feels like it’ll work just fine since I couldn’t bend or flex the shoe in ways that you wouldn’t want it to move.

This will be an interesting shoe to review. Not only am I looking at their performance but also if they can do what they claim… boost my performance with an “instant increase in vertical leap”.