The first general release colorway of the Nike LeBron 16 has a strange nickname, ‘Fresh Bred’. Clever or corny?
Despite having a weird name attached to it, the Nike LeBron 16 in black/red feels like a beast in-hand.
While I was very excited, then slightly disappointed, with the LeBron 15, my excitement for the LeBron 16 has only grown. It feels like Nike has addressed every issue I had with the LBJ15 — the outsole is now comprised of a better overall pattern, outriggers are used along each Zoom pod, the upper does away with unnecessary materials, and the Battleknit 2.0 feels like an actual knit without rigid glue. The shoe also fits much better than the LBJ15 which will help with overall support and stability.
Of course, all of my excitement could fly out the window once I start testing the shoe, but for the time being I’m really pumped to lace this shoe up.
Share your thoughts on the Nike LeBron 16 below and feel free to share your feedback on the shoe if you’ve already started to play in it.
From the initial try-on,what do you think about the cushion? How does it feels? Compared tothe 15s,how do you grade this?
I think the traction visually looks better than the 15s. Hope it works better too!
Aesthetically, I think these are gorgeous. Reminds me of Shin Godzilla, where the ol’ lizard had these cracks in his skin with some red glowing stuff underneath. The only part I don’t like is the corny lion, but the rest makes up for it.
Good to know the fit is better. I thought the 15s had a weird fit as well. The outrigger, traction pattern, and traction durability seems to all be improved. Hopefully it all comes together as a great performer.
Injured? Did the Jordan 33’s cut up your feet or something?
Been weirded out by some people saying go half down. Maybe it was just the “What The” colorway, but half down gives me length issues. Re-lacing and breaking in the tongue keep me in, but there is that slight play at the heel for me, just like the 15 — but it’s nothing worrisome.
Current thing I don’t like is that the laces don’t hold their place as you tug each row. Maybe rope laces from the 15 would do better in that case, but threading them in is another story. Socks actually make a considerable difference in fit for me. Otherwise, the build is nice and the tooling platform is bananas.
Nightwing said it’s dope so I’m getting them as soon as available ?
I had the same initial impressions, that they improved traction, stability and containment to make the perfect shoe
But it is not, unfortunately. Stability is better, traction is a bit better and containment is a little better. But there is not the same bounce or plush feel to the cushion, not even close. The 15 was a level of cushion I have seldom felt while these, even using a very very similar Zoom setup, feel like plenty of other shoes I have worn. I also don’t like the fit all that much, sure you can adjust the laces somewhat but it doesn’t stretch over your foot or feel as soft around it as the 15. Lastly the ankle support in these is weak–not KD10 weak but weak enough to negate some of the improvements in containment and stability–and there is no padding in the Achilles area.
Overall I think the outsole, outrigger and lacing system are better, but these were ultimately penny thrifty, pound foolish changes. The 15 was an ambitious shoe with acceptable flaws to me, the 16 is a shoe that tried to make minor tweaks but ended up sacrificing the identity of the shoe somewhat in the process