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First Impression: Jordan Fly Wade 2

First-Impression-Jordan-Fly-Wade-2-1 This year saw the release of Dwayne Wade’s 1st signature sneaker with Jordan Brand and surprisingly the all new Fly Wade 2 has released prior to year’s end. Even more surprising, based off of just a try on and quick walk around the house… my first impression is quite positive…

Hit the jump for more…

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Traction – Honestly, it looks weird and random. However, seeing as how the adiZero Rose has provided ample traction with its unconventional ‘Splatter’ design, these should work just fine. The entire lateral side of the traction features the same pattern yet it is smaller and has much more flexibility within the rubber due to the size of the design. I will assume that if they were to have gone with this design and implemented it full length using the smaller design the traction would’ve been perfect.

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Cushion – Full length Lunarlon foam… this is my very first experience with it. Just trying them on and walking around in them for a minute left me puzzled with the feeling it gave. Nothing like Zoom Air, Max Air, Lunar Foam… or anything else I’ve ever felt before. The only word I was able to come up with to describe the feeling was ‘bouncy’… not very descriptive at all really but that’s literally all that came to mind. I have no idea how it will hold up with numerous wears, if it will bottom out or anything like that. All I can say is that it’s very comfortable… to a point to where I was nearly left speechless… now that’s crazy.

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Ortholite insoles are used once again. What I liked is that this time they went with a different type of Ortholite. This time around they used a lower profile unit that is closer to the basic insoles we are all used to; this allows you to really feel the cushion system. Its properties are said to be ‘form fitting’ so they may mold to your foot better with its higher level of density.  

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Support – There is typically some sort of midfoot shank placed in performance sneakers. This TPU plate reminds me a lot of adidas’ SprintFrame just shaped differently. Medial side is basic with its arch support and allowed the foot to move freely without restriction which is great for fast moving players. The lateral side has this little wing pointing toward the heel which restricts movement in that direction; should provide enough support on the outside of the shoe the prevent rolling your ankles & other potential injuries.

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Material – A full on Fuse base upper is on the Fly Wade 2. As we all know, Fuse is very durable and holds its shape better than almost any other material found other than Foamposite… that’s just my opinion by the way.

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Fit – It’s tight… I had to try on a sz 9.5 in addition to my usual sz 9 just to be sure I had the fit right. The ½ up felt a bit better as far as not being too tight on the foot but the shank plate was in the wrong spot on my foot so when I switched back to the sz 9 everything was perfectly aligned. When I got home I put them on once more and walked around the house a bit… fit was perfect.

 There are no hot spots inside the shoe whatsoever. Liner is plush even though they lack padding. The heel utilizes the little heel notches again and this helps keep the heel in place without slipping.

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Laces are placed perfectly, just above the point where your forefoot will flex. No bunching or ‘bubbling’ at all. From what I heard, they used a fairly narrow last (mold) to create the shape of the shoe itself. This was perfect for my foot shape so that helped with the bunching experience that I tend to have with some shoes, even had it a bit in the original Fly Wade.

They’ve used the little flex points just below the laces once again. I loved it on the Fly Wade and the Fly Wade 2’s are even better. Placing the flex point further out and having the shape turn downward instead of straight across… because of this, the forefoot material flexes with your foot naturally.

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Ventilation – Huge improvement from the last model! Side panels are perfectly breathable.

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The inner does have a one piece sleeve which tends to hold in heat and moisture with most shoes.

First-Impression-Jordan-Fly-Wade-2-8 However, this time around the mesh used is thin and ‘airy’… if that’s even a word…

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I put a flashlight inside the shoe to show just how breathable they are. While there isn’t any padding between your foot and the laces, I’m pretty sure we are all starting to get used to that since most of Nike’s shoes have been doing that more often than not. Bottom line… if light can escape, so can heat and moisture…

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That’s it for now; hopefully this has been somewhat helpful until I can take these out for a test run. I do update everyone on how these shoes feel on-court in between games via Twitter so if that’s something you’re interested in feel free to follow me @Nightwing2303.

Rose 2, LeBron 9, Crazy 8 & Zoom Rookie Full Performance Reviews will be dropping all month long as well so stay tuned!

2 comments
  1. Lunarlon and what appears to be hyperfuse upper. At $130.00 footlocker champs don’t by fakes unless your Henry sanchez

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