Nike LeBron 15 Performance Review | AnotherPair
I’ve heard people say that the Nike LeBron 15 ‘Ashes’ looks like something straight out of Game of Thrones. I’ve never seen GOT, but to me the sneaker looks more like something from How to Train Your Dragon. Better yet, it looks like a baby Godzilla with Max Zoom Air units.
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The LeBron 15 features a spiked triangle pattern that made the traction dope. The way the spiked outsole grips the hardwood reminded me of a cleat! Whether it was a football cleat or soccer cleat, it didn’t matter — all I know is that it was biting the floor hard.
There will be times when you go to cut or push off and your foot will slide a bit. Not an “OMG this traction is whack sauce” kind of slide, more like an “oops we should have made some of these triangles multi-directional” kind of slide. Your foot will slide just a tad before the initial bite. It wasn’t a deal breaker for me because the traction is still bomb.
Outdoors? Nah, ain’t happening. Imagine taking a freshly sharpened pencil and writing your name on the concrete. By the time you have finished with the first letter, there isn’t anymore lead. Same thing goes for the LeBron 15’s outsole — it just isn’t built for that type of terrain.
The Max Zoom Air units used here were extraordinaire — A1 day one. Hands down the LeBron 15 is best feeling cushion setup I have ever experienced on any LeBron shoe in my 27 years of existence.
Bouncy? Yes. Responsive? Yes. It was just incredible, and not just any incredible. Dash Incredible, shout-out to all my Disney lovers out there. Nike did a great job with the cushioning on this year’s LeBron shoe.
The LeBron 15 utilizes Nike’s “new” Battleknit upper, which isn’t anything but some heaven duty Flyknit with a fancy name. To my surprise, the thick Flyknit felt good. It’s flexible enough to move with my foot and durable enough to withstand some severe hoop.
I went true to size, and it fit me great, but the fit is long, and not a bad long. If you like a little wiggle room for your toes, then I say go true to size. Wide footers, you all will also be ok going true to size. (I am not a shoe guru nor am I shoe god — I am just a little old shoe reviewer. If you’re able to try these on in store before you purchase, I advise you to do that.)
Lockdown is the bomb.com so I have no complaints here. From the sock-like upper to the Flywire, the LeBron 15 did one hell of a job. Oh, and I can’t forget about that Battleknit wrapping around the foot to help the Flywire keep my foot in check and on the footbed. Lovely.
The support in the LeBron 15 was pretty good as well. Materials, fit, and lockdown worked well together and contained the foot to the footbed. The external heel counter was like Pelican Bay State Prison, and my heel was an inmate in solitary confinement. Translation: the heel counter did a fantastic job cradling my heel and keeping it in place. There was no movement of my heel whatsoever.
During my wear test, I did come down on someone’s foot and tweak my ankle a bit. It didn’t hinder my playing abilities so that there alone should tell you something about the support. Although, tweaking my ankle and being able to keep playing could just mean I’m one lucky son of biscuit eating bulldog.
Overall, the LeBron 15 is a fun shoe to play in. The cushion is fabulous and is probably the best feeling cushion setup a LeBron shoe has ever had. I now have two favorite LeBron shoes to play in, and that is the LeBron Soldier 11 and the LeBron 15. Both have made me excited to see what the LeBron 16 will offer.
