Shake N Bakin’
Traction – These feature a herringbone pattern which is very deep and durable. On clean courts, the traction is adequate but nothing spectacular. Occasionally you may have to wipe but on a dusty or dirty floor wipes are a necessity. I slipped on a few different occasions, especially in the heel area where the traction is minimal on quick stops during pull up jumpers and hop-steps. I would have liked to have seen the traction go up and around the midsole a bit in the medial forefoot area to help with those side to side movements a little. Outdoors, however, this traction should be great as the herringbone pattern is very deep and not very pliable.
Cushioning – This shoe features heel and forefoot Air Max and it works as advertised. The Air Max feels really good and will provide optimum impact protection. One thing Air Max does not give you is flexibility so if you are looking for more range of motion then this may not be for you. The shoe flexes in a weird place so if you primarily use your forefoot this shoe might move a bit awkwardly but at the same time the forefoot has decent court feel which is pretty responsive. But, like I said, forefoot players will feel some discomfort so while the forefoot cushion feels great the fit and materials caused some discomfort.
Materials – The Nike Air Bakin’ uses a synthetic nubuck overlay and a mesh underlay. It’s very comfortable but over time the wear and tear allowed the materials to stretch, especially in the toe area. The ankle area is padded well for added comfort and around the shoe you have a very durable rubberized rand/ mudguard that’s ideal for outdoor use. This material should prevent the upper from separating from the midsole while you play outdoors.
Fit – They fit true to size & the ankle area features are nice, thick padding that reminds me a lot of adidas’ GEOFIT system. The overall lockdown is great from the mid-foot back but the forefoot area is lacking. The shoe flexes in a weird place, in-between your toenail and beginning of the toe, this also is where the material had stretched at the toe which allowed for an uncomfortable fit at times leaving me with more dead space than I would have liked. Because of this, when I made quick stops, my toes slammed against the front of the shoe and at the end of the night my toes were sore.
Ventilation – So the Air Bakin’ may look well ventilated from the mesh underlay but it is not. Underneath the mesh inside the shoe is more material blocking heat from escaping. This is also present in the tongue and there is virtually no way for heat to escape. The mesh design seems as if it was used to cut down weight but not ventilation.
Support – A shoes main goal is to protect and assist your foot and the lack of an outrigger on the forefoot means you really have to have plant your feet or at least have really good footwork. If you are a slasher and use quick lateral movements the Nike Air Bakin’ leaves something to be desired there. Lockdown was great from the midfoot back but the stretching of the materials over time allowed for the lockdown in the forefoot to lack. The molded midsole for arch support worked well and I didn’t experience any arch discomfort or strain
Overall – The Nike air Bakin’ provides good lockdown from the mid-foot back and had great cushion with the Air Max unit. These features should be great for bigger players or players who are heavy footed. For those of us that are quick then I would not recommend these as they lack an outrigger and the overall shape of the sole doesn’t assist with lateral movements. Also, those who use their forefoot and make quick stops on pull ups and hop steps the lack of flexibility and bowing of the materials causes discomfort with those movements due to the materials & construction. In a nutshell quick guards and slashers who use quick stops and speed to get by defenders may not enjoy it as well as bigger players or for those who plant their feet and use upper body movements to throw of their defenders.
Makes you wonder how Tim Hardaway played in these! Though it was after his Golden State days.
He used his upper body to sell the cross. He never moved his feet until he went to sprint. Probably the best to do that one two crossover.
Air max…not my favorite but still thumb up for your work!
Thank you for taking the time to check out the review.
Amazing review!
Thank You! Your support is always appreciated.
I was originally skeptical of getting new reviewers when the wear testers rebranding happened. Now having seen this review I’m excited, great review!
Gotta stay open minded. I only choose the best of the best. Jarron and I hoop together so I can say from experience that he knows what he’s doing.
Love the honest info and review. Ive had a hard time taking the other guys seriously since they came back from that summer is serious game and started calling the Lebron 11 shoe of the year. I still after years enjoy kicksologys reviews. I really don’t mind people being a little harsh in their reviews because none of this stuff is getting any cheaper. That air raid commercial on KG made me smh. Beyond durability raids just can’t be recommended at any level. The bad weight, price, fit, cushion and zero breathability made these a poor choice for anything besides street hockey when they originally dropped.
Yea kickgenius are ridiculously biased in their reviews. The apl concept 3, anatomix spawn and d rose 4 were great shoes but they spent the entire video going over the flaws instead of the good things. And they do the exact opposite with nike/jordan shoes.
I beg to differ. They are guys just like everyone else that have opinions. I don’t want to get in a long drawn out conversation about KG since they are doing their own thing now, but check their Adidas Springblade and Kobe 9 Elite review. They will call out gimmicks.
These guys(shoe reviewers) do this not only for the love of kicks, but for the hustle as well. If they are being endorsed by Finishline, so be it….they earned it.
Guess it’s sunday, because DS just took us to CHURCH!!!!
Far as the other shoe reviews, my problem is when they do a full on rip off of say NW, just clones…..those that try to add their own flare tend to do better.
I still catch a KG review here an there, but I won’t lie not as much as when they were on here, because honestly this is my one stop shop for basketball kicks, I try to keep a open mind and watch new comers, but when the audio is trash, the presentation is trash, then the only thing that will save the review is if Morgan Freeman narrates the damn thing.
One thing that does hurt KG is the heavy use of the Ninja word, you can’t go cooperate and do that, it’s not….professional.
Great Review Jarron!! Im not a big fan of air max cushioning since I’m a guard I prefer more flexibility but I like when the outsole is rounded since if gives you more natural stability and range of movement to actually prevent a harsh ankle sprain, and if you have good balance and footwork you won’t have a problem when a shoe with a rounded edged sole. Having a rounded edge is one of the key features of Adidas FYW and Puremotion, it makes ankle sprains less severe when they do happen.
thats the beauty of life, everyone is different.
We are all just snow flakes baby!!!!! SNOW FLAKESSSSSSSSS.
Lol yeah every has different needs and I totally respect that. I still think that if the shoe had a better forefoot fit and flexibility that you wouldn’t experience that instability and you would actually notice the benefits of a rounded edge sole.
TONY PARKER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! DAME WHO?
I’m not sure where’s the proper place to post this but I remember there was a frequent reader here who has experience with taobao… so if you’re reading this, I need help!
Wuke is the guy that has experience with TAOBAO. I think he was one of the first people to mention it here.
Not a fan of change so when I come here for reviews I expect one from Nightwing. With that said you offered a wonderfully done comprehensive review that I truly enjoyed. I wasn’t interested in this shoe to begin with (I think its ridiculously ugly now and back in the day when they first came out.) but its always interesting to have more information. As for shoes with Air max…. I really hope they retro the Air More Uptempo in the classic black/white colorway sometime soon. Now that was a sick shoe from the 90’s. It would be even cooler if they somehow could redesign the cushion setup (but keep the aesthetics) and have the air max plus zoom like the Lebron X.
Thank you for feedback i always appreciate it. As far as the Air More Uptempo i really hope they give it a proper retro, we saw the olympics which were nice but then they got lazy with the dusk to dawn pack or whatever. Just give us the OG colors and we will be alright.