One benefit of the Nike KD 11 releasing Stateside a month after the global release is that the team over at FastPass was able to deconstruct the highly-anticipated sneaker before it drops.
Ain’t nothing like the real thing, baby. While Nike did provide a sketch to showcase the tech inside the KD 11, we love the team at FastPass for giving us a look inside the actual shoe, with detail.
The React and Zoom Air cushioning setup used in the KD 11 is probably the highlight of the now two-time NBA Champion’s latest signature, so let’s get right to it. The cut of the left sneaker reveals full-length top-loaded Zoom Air unit over React foam. The Zoom Air unit is about 7mm thick — specifically 6.58-7.16mm from forefoot to heel in this pair.
The React midsole has also been cored out atop the midfoot shank, likely to combat the added weight the rubber cupsole brings to the shoe, which means its a true window. The insole atop the strobel looks pretty thick and is expected to provide comfort upon initial wear.
Further deconstruction shows what appears to be an internal TPU heel-counter along with plenty of padding around the Achilles and ankle. The internal bootie features heavy stitching beneath the Flywire, which should serve as reinforcement for lateral containment. However, the true reinforcement at the toebox is actually around the inside of the Flyknit upper, not the suede overlay at the lateral side of the toe (Nightwing2303 recently addressed some durability issues in this area on Instagram.
Up-close, the groves on the outsole look somewhat shallow and spaced relatively tight. This leads us to believe that the pattern may attract and hold dust but we won’t know for sure until the performance review is complete.
The Nike KD 11 ‘Still KD’ will release Stateside on July 18 for $150 at Eastbay.com. You can check out Nightwing2303’s detailed look and review below.
Did you see anything in this Nike KD 11 deconstruction you believe deserves our attention? Be sure to leave your thoughts in the comments.
Images via FastPass
I was under the impression it was Lunar, and React, so I’m very happy.
Durability and containment issues. Still gonna get these for casual use or just shooting baskets
I try not to get excited over KD shoes anymore. It sounded great at first but as soon as I saw the traction. Nike very very rarely gets it right. Then they usually run long but so narrow that I can not go down half a size either. Maybe I’ll be wrong about these but I don’t anticipate the to be one of the top 5 for this year
Nike made the shoes for KD, do not expect the shoes will fit for everyone. Just choose what is fit for you dude.
I’m not that too excited about this shoes’ cushioning. I even doubt that they would use the best iteration of react which is super soft. It will just counteract with the zoom unit which need a firmer base. In the end, nike will use the hd/superfly cushion setup with the zoom unit. Not that it’s bad but rather a typical cushion setup in the end. I like the aesthetics though, Atleast that is one positive it has.
KD didn’t wear them, so that means they didn’t work for him. They created a whole new sole in order to work with his fragile feet, Jones Fracture, so KD isn’t going to risk injury at this stage of his career in order to sell shoes.