Less is more, at least in the case of the Under Armour Curry 3 Low. The Curry line has been focused on responsive cushioning and great fit, but the ankle collar gave some people a less-than-locked-in fit. Can a shoe with a lower collar actually fit better? Well, you know what comes next…
One big change from the mid that was tested is the translucent outsole. The pattern is exactly the same as what was on the mid, but traction on dusty courts definitely suffered because of the rubber. On clean courts, grip was no issue, the bite and hold was there, but companies continue to use translucent when, for the most part, it grabs every dust particle in the gym and holds it for safekeeping.
The rubber here is softer and more pliable, so durability will suffer as well. Again, on a clean court, no worries — you won’t be stutter-stepping and hitting 35 foot 3s like Curry (or maybe you will, who knows), but you won’t be sliding across the court either. A note: the picture above is not yellowing, the outsole is actually that color. No, it doesn’t glow in the dark. If you need that Curry 3 mid super-traction, but want the low, go for the ‘122’ Davidson colorway.
The cushioning is, again, the same set-up as the mid. You get a Charged foam midsole, and well, that’s it. Again, Curry likes it low, quick, responsive, and tight. If that isn’t you, then you won’t like the Curry series. Not much else to cover because we did it here but here is the short version: quick, responsive, low, and little to no impact issues.
Hey, guess what? Same as the mids, almost. With the lower cut and burrito-wrap tongue, the Threadborne lateral side is given more room to move. The material feels softer from the box and takes no break-in time at all. Not sure if the composition was changed or of it is just the different structure, but the shoe feels, fits, and flexes better because of it.
We still see Anafoam on the medial side and instead of being stiff like the mid felt, the wrap tongue allows the foam to more completely wrap the foot, much like the Curry 1 did after a couple of wears. The wings and the shank are still real carbon fiber and it just looks niiiiice. It does its job too, but we will cover that in a couple of paragraphs.
Last bit of materials: the diamond-shaped/square laces. I didn’t notice them on the mids until I sat down to write the review, and it may not have added much, but they add a cool factor to shoe geeks like us. Same laces here.
Here is the new: fit on the Curry 3 Low is spot-on. The mid had such thick padding, coupled with the stiff Anafoam medial, that the shoe just never completely wrapped the ankle joint like the 1 and 2, although it worked for me. Understandable, because Steph wears the biggest ankle braces since Forrest Gump. However, the Curry 3 Low takes that ankle collar away and rolls the inside to the outside, wrapping over the foot and pulling the foot completely into the midsole. This drops the distance to the floor inside the shoe as well as giving a great 1:1 fit along the middle and heel of the shoe. There was absolutely no movement at all in the Curry 3 Low; heel slip is gone, sliding inside the shoe is gone, lateral movements are locked in and quick — all from a lowtop shoe. This is the new standard.
Lowtops can’t be supportive, right? They don’t even come up to your ankle, how can they support you?
Are we still having this argument? The Curry 3 Low has everything you could need for support and stability, including the carbon fiber wings at the heel that run into the midfoot carbon fiber shank. That all ties in together to keep the heel and ankle solid and standing up. The huge but — sorry, foam heel counter — is just a little more stability in a shoe that really doesn’t need it (also an excuse to add the SC logo one more time). The rounded heel is still here and provides a natural motion while running and cutting. It would normally feel unstable, but the improved fit from the tongue structure and the wings take that away.
Speaking of the tongue, again, the stiffer Anafoam on the overlay works with the lacing to pull your foot lower into the shoe, making the ride lower, meaning more stability. Overall, vast improvement over an already very stable shoe.
The Curry 3 Mid performed well — not great, not “blown away, top all-time,” but “not scared to play in them” nice. The Curry 3 Low takes everything that worked in the mid (except the outsole so get a colorway with a solid outsole) and improved mobility by dropping the top. The burrito wrap tongue locks the foot down so the “lowtop” stigma shouldn’t be a factor unless you’re just that guy.
If you liked the Curry 3 but want a free, running-shoe-on-court feel, check out the Curry 3 Low. The cushioning is sharp and quick, materials should last for a while, and overall, the shoe just feels like a faster cousin of the Curry 3 Mid. The only thing missing is Curry throwing them on-court in a game. C’mon Steph, the support and stability is good, let’s see it!!
Under Armour Curry 3 Low – $120
I respect your opinion duke about support and stability, but let’s say people agree to disagree.
And honestly, I understand a difference in stability and support, and I guess I should have worded it that way. Low tops are as stable as high tops, but if you need that extra collar wrap around your ankle because of previous injury or weak ankles, then of course a mid or high top will be better.
much better worded duke. also, depends on the shoe as well. some shoes whether low, mid or high are unstable and less supportive as hell. I really like the carbon fiber aesthetics on these though. too bad they don’t have these on the ZEROS ! otherwise, they would have been really perfect looking.
i don’t know, the three worst ankle injuries i’ve ever had in my life were in the lebron x, the jordan xx9 and the j crossover 3, none of those are low tops (and to be fair the shoes themselves didn’t have a whole lot to do with the injuries, save for the lebron x, maybe, i’ve always thought that was a terrible basketball shoe for guards who play on their toes) to be honest i always feel more at risk in mids or highs because they don’t feel natural to me, if you have a wide base, supportive materials and a big outrigger you should have no problems at all….case in point, i was playing defense last night and planted my foot wrong while trying to cut off a driving lane to the baseline, the shoe saved my life and stopped my ankle from rolling all the way in, which would have been a pretty serious sprain…it’s time like these that you really see how shoes function
oops, i forgot to mention which shoe i was playing in, it was the harden vol 1, which in my opinion is the best low top in the world right now
like I said, there are also other factors in the shoe that makes it less effective. soft and unsupported upper for mids and high make them useless. I hated the sock thing or soft bootie that is impractical. my typical mids and high are heavily constructed like tanks or classic/retro shoe design. not all these BS that they are coming out recently. I agree with you on the 29s which I really hate and my biggest complaint about them is the narrow base on the heel. and the confusing low/mid whatever zoom all out that is unstable as fuck due to it unstable cushion and higher off the ground setup.
as for my game, I jump a lot and quite off the floor more often, prone to tweaking my ankles whether due to bad landing, fatigue or getting off-balanced due to contacts, so atleast the additional restriction on my ankle area would prevent any injuries from happening. the downside is that you have less movement due to the restriction but does give you that certain added safety measure of not getting yourself injured seriously. if I were younger and not working, I wouldn’t mind the risk. but now, safety is more of a priority. unless I change my play style, that’s the only time I would feel secure wearing lows.
I love the HV1s for casual use only. they are pretty sick to play in but would rather play with the CE High and DR6.
Absolutely.
Curry 3 for $120 or Adidas Crazy Explosive low for $120.
I think the Explosives win hands down this one, no matter how you compare them.
Depends on what you want – stiff response or soft plushness.
Currys have also been good performance shoes. I think though most people would prefer micro g. I love the carbon fiber and the burrito upper. Good performance review by Duke.
Ever since the Jordan 5, translucent rubber has been popular, despite yellowing. Back in the day JB did it right, with solid rubber in the important places, the 11’s being a prime example.
These last few years, companies have gone to full translucent rubber, Wich will never work as well as solid. There is a small percentage of shoes where the this worked, CP3 VII for example.
I have to say these look a lot better than the mid, less bulky. At my size and age, these aren’t something I’d buy, but for young guards, it’ll be good with solid rubber.
As much as players such as Steph And Kyrie want that low, firm feel, I can’t imagine such shoes being good for them in the long run. Basketball is already hard on the joints, and someone like Steph who already has ankle issues, you’d think he sacrifice some court feel for more impact protection. It’s not like a good, responsive cushion like micro g is going to slow you down.
Then again, I’m an inch taller, 15lbs heavier, and 9 years older. When I played in high school, people wore air more uptempos, Jordan 11, cb34, cons aero jam, etc. My knees still hate me.
C’est la vie. It be cool if UA made two versions of these, one charged, one micro g. Call them the Curry 3 cushion and Curry 3 concrete slab.
it wouldn’t impact them as much for their age right now and weight. the stress on the knees come as they get injured. from what I’m seeing right now, the causes of injuries is not much due to the cushion but rather the stress put by players on their bodies, conditioning and proper placements. it is quite embarrassing considering old school players have more longevity than this generation of players. I think the only old school players that were unfortunate enough not to enjoy such longevity are Sampson and Bowie.
Derek Rose is the perfect case in point. His playing style writes checks his body can’t cash.
All things being equal, I’d rather land on someone’s foot with micro g vs charged. I’ll probably be injured either way, but less so with micro g.
Hey. Is the traction on the 112 that much better than the ones you have up there? The purple color is just really nice and I prefer that but if the traction is a difference maker then I may go with the 112.