First Impression: Reebok Answer IV (4)

Back in 2001 I remember trying on a pair of the White/ Blue Reebok Answer IV’s – I couldn’t afford them but wanted to know how they felt on foot – and they were ridiculously comfortable. Unfortunately the recent Retro release doesn’t feel like they used to but that won’t stop me from rocking a pair on-court.

Traction – The traction looks pretty solid. Herringbone is laid out in such a way that back in 2001 if you only saw the traction then you would still know what player these shoes belonged to… the King of the crossover – at least one of them… I still love Tim Hardaway’s crossover a tad bit more.

The wavy pattern would usually scare me a bit but after playing in the Air Penny 2 – similar pattern – I’m not worried whatsoever. One thing to note is that the outsole is made of two different materials. At the front of the shoe –Black portion – you have solid rubber & at the heel you have 3D Ultralite which is a foam & rubber mixture similar to Nike’s Phylite. Now if you even played in a pair of Reebok Answer 2’s then you already know that an entire outsole made of 3D Ultralite SUCKS on a dusty floor… its light in weight but offers horrible traction. Good thing it’s only on the heel… it’ll keep me on my toes.

Cushion – Don’t get the DMX labeled outsole confused with the original DMX cushion. Reebok went another route by utilizing DMX foam instead of the original DMX I-Pak which housed an Air bubble at the heel and forefoot that were connected up the center of the shoe by a thin chamber so the air would flow based on impact. The foam is light in weight but feels pretty firm. Maybe once broken in it’ll feel better but just from a try on standpoint I’m going to go out on a limb and say this DMX is severely outdated when compared to competitor brands and their foams. I really wish the DMX I-Pak was still in here… that was such a cool cushion system.

Material – While I’m disappointed at the lack of original cushion used, I’m greatly appreciative of the genuine full grain leather that’s been used. It’s everywhere… literally… inside and out. Along the upper in two grains, smooth and tumbled, wrapped along the front of the midsole and even featured as the inner lining material.
When you open the box the first thing you smell is cow… I mean leather… this is why I love 90’s & early 2000’s sneakers. Real genuine materials and let me remind you… these retailed at $114… food for thought.

Fit – They fit true to size. Once laced up they feel as secure as any other leather based shoe, I do expect the material to loosen up as time goes on but that used to be normal back when I was growing up. Their key feature was the zip-up enclosure. Zippers were pretty popular back in the late 90’s and early 2000’s… they were featured on tons of performance models across numerous brands and even on performance shoes for other sports. The only issue I can foresee happening is one I witnessed while A.I. was wearing these… the zipper eventually stops zipping… I’m pretty sure that’s why the strap is now on the sneaker – that was something that had only been featured on A.I.’s Player Exclusive until now.

Ventilation – Obviously ventilation isn’t a prominent attribute. There a few openings and a mesh tongue but for the most part these will keep your feet pretty insulated… good for winter… bad for ball’n.

Support – The fit will provide most of the support along the upper until the leather gets broken in. Hopefully that takes a while. Other than that you have a TPU support bar at the base of the shoe for torsional rigidity.

I’m pretty excited to take these for a spin… always wanted to rock a pair on-court. I’ll try my best to cross someone over so bad that they fall on their ass and step over them… if I end up missing the shot after they fall I’ll still step over them but my head will be hanging down in shame.