While I thought I wouldn’t begin playing in the Air Jordan II Retro for a week or so, I’ve recently increased my on-court time in order to get everything completed as quickly as humanly possible.
How have these treated me thus far? Find out after the jump…
Traction looked lackluster but again, I was wrong. I started out the night in the Zoom Hyperenforcers and played in them for a couple of hours. I ended up switching to the AJ2 to end the night just because I had stayed longer than I had anticipated.
Going from a full length herringbone surface to these would make one assume a sure fire way to be utterly disappointed right out the gate. This was far from what happened and I ended up receiving better traction in the AJ2 than with the more recently produced Hyperenforcer… strange, right?
The same dusty court conditions yet these were able to push the dust and debris away as if it were nothing. Cutting, rolling off of screens and crossovers felt effortless as the grip was somehow able to keep the foot planted without hesitation. To say I’m surprised would be an understatement…
One thing that I was bothered by – slightly – was the forefoot’s fit. While I was able to lace my shoes up as tightly as I wanted – thanks to the tongues awesome padding – the forefoot had a noticeable amount of dead space that I could have done without. It’s not too bad at first but once moisture begins to build up your foot will slide inside the front of the shoe a bit.
While the forefoot wasn’t too spectacular, the midfoot and heel were fantastic. The small section of faux reptile skin that I noted on the First Impression actually did draw the heel into the rubber cup and to top it off that thin rubber heel cup was actually a functional piece… even by today’s standards.
So far so good and I can’t wait to get back on the court with these!
Wow that is really amazing how almost 25 year old tech can outperform some of today’s newer models in certain aspects.
Astonishing isnt it! I know i was impressed.
maybe it really was the shoes haha
Lol!
Nightwing i got two questions.
i need basketball shoes for tryouts and i wanna play in the wade 2s but the playoffs or po versions come out next month. is the po versions a must wait? also i found hyperfuse lows for a great price on ebay should i buy?
I personally dont see how the playoff wade 2 is a true enhancement from the original but thats just me. As for the lows, if you like them then by all means.
At this point, Fly Wade 2 should be a little bit lower than full price and you should able to get them.
If not, the playoffs are expected to be same full retail price as normal editons.
how’s the cushioning?
Next teaser lol
i wish i got these when i got a chance a year or 2 years ago when i saw them on sale for around $70.
Ebay has deals all the time. The AJ 2 never really gets too high in price.
Why do you swap out insoles on some performance models but leave others in even if the insoles are bad
I try to use what comes in the shoe so i can evaluate it. Sometimes i need to swap for comfort, fit or other reasons and sometimes i dont have to.
These versions have way more padding than the 2010 versions have
I cant remember but i wouldnt doubt it.
i’m wearing retro’s too, i’m trying the air max2 uptempo’s, chuck taylor’s, and the air max tempo’s, i love em all.
i appreciate this because i love wearing retro’s on the court.
oh yeah and the faux reptile skin part reminds me of the lebron 9 flywire wings.
It does a little