All brands reuse their technologies across multiple platforms. When a brand puts in millions of dollars for R&D, they expect to get their money’s worth. The Under Armour Curry 1.5…er, I mean the UA Lightning 3, is now available and it shares its tooling with the Curry 1, which shared its traction pattern with the ClutchFit Drive…
The same Charged cushioning and multi-directional herringbone traction tooling underfoot that we know works well is featured on the Lightning 3. From the midsole up is where one sees some differences: the camo Fuse upper features ockdown straps in the forefoot and midfoot and there are mesh windows at the medial and lateral sides for breathability. The tongue is completely mesh and, of course, there’s an external heel counter to keep you locked in.
If you didn’t like the anaFoam upper of the Curry One, whether it gets a little too sweaty or it isn’t supportive enough, the UA Lightning 3 may be a better option for you. At $100, this is a shoe with tooling that we know works.
The UA Lightning 3 is available in four camo colorways now. To purchase, click here.
Photos via
WTF UA..
lame. they fucked up.
adidas won
Would buy, Wasnt able to buy the curry 1.
same here !
Under Armour is loosing their touch,
It starts with the Curry 3, it’s not the most impressive looking shoe, just hope it performs on court,
Then a redo of an old shoe with a little change here and there…..,
UA needs a better shoe lineup than this…..
I think it’s a bit premature to say UA is losing its touch
I guess your right,
Was really hoping something new or innovative from UA,
Right now not much.
This is a budget model everyone…
Go look at adidas’ website. They’ve been doing the same thing for years creating budget models that are replicas of sig shoes.
Nike and JB have been doing the same thing for years
Heading in the wrong direction. The 1 is arguably the best so far out of the bunch (1, 2 and 2.5). The 2 and 2.5 weren’t home runs, but they weren’t bad either. Same for the 3’s. Fire shots seem to be a flop. UA doing yet another thing that Nike/JB does, just like crazy limited releases, sportswear editions and packs. They built up a lot of credibility with the Spawns and CF Drives, and they were primed to jump to another level. CF Drives and Spawns are still the best of the bunch to me and I got rid of my Curry 1’s and 2’s.
UA does a lot of the same shit nike/jb does
The Curry 2 was the highest selling shoe of 2015/2016….
I’m disapointed they don’t have a green camo colorway.
Was also surprised at that haha
The tooling they should be reusing is the full length micro g from the likes of the ClutchFit Drive and Anatomix Spawn. Those had some of the best cushion I’ve ever played in if you ask me.
I agree completely. I’m not sure what the obsession is with Charged but I have seen more positive statements about Micro G than I have about Charged despite the fact that Charged is found on the Curry sigs.
Hey Trezz, isn’t Charged different on different shoes? For example, on the Gemini runners I’ve read it’s a really nice cushioning system, but on their Basketball shoes, quite a few people don’t seem to find it that impressive. Maybe it’s like Boost that has different densities and softness (pure boost – ultra boost). Maybe UA can tweak Charged a bit more on their Basketball shoes?
Also, didn’t you say that the UA Fortis has some of the best cushioning you’ve used? Doesn’t that have Charged cushioning? or has your opinion changed as you’ve probably tried other shoes out since then?
What’s up Ice? I think what made the Gemini so much more comfortable to me initially was the fact that it had the 4D footbed which was more plush and conformed to the foot. After a while though, it bottoms out and then you get the “truth” so to speak and if you are prone to shin splints or knee pain then it can be a little more harsh especially when compared to something like the Ultra Boost or even the Rocket Boost which I’ve been wearing more lately. Hope that helps.
Hey Trezz, I’ve been busy and haven’t come on here much lately, so I’ve got some catching up to do on all these new releases. Seems like Adidas are kicking ass lately and are looking to take that second place spot back from UA.
I definitely need to try some more Boost equipped shoes as I’ve only got the D-Rose 5s. I’m not sure if that is the best representation of Boost as I’ve heard the D-Rose 6s are much better and also the Ultra Boosts are great too. I’ll have to look into the Rocket Boosts that you mentioned.
As for Charged, when you said Gemini, did you mean the Fortis’? Doesn’t look like many people are that impressed with Charged at all, yet UA seems to claim that it’s as good or better than competitors foam cushioning. One thing I’ve never asked is Charged normally something that lasts like Boost and Micro G?
If it’s not that great, I’m hoping UA isn’t pushing it like Nike does with Lunarlon.
Sorry bro. I did mean the Fortis. My bad. As for a better representation of Boost, I would definitely give the Rose 6 a try. They are really comfortable…one of the best I’ve played in. I went to the mall the other day to try on the new Crazylight 2016 and was lucky to find that all of the major stores in the mall had them except for Champs Sports. They felt good under foot but definitely more “firm” than the Rose 6 so I’m not sure how they feel in extended wear or game play.
I also see the trend with the Charged cushion and it does almost seem to be the major push from UA now. They still have other models that I’ve seen with Micro G but the more popular models from UA appear to have Charged. As for how long they last, I don’t believe that they bottom out in the traditional sense or maybe I just haven’t worn mine enough to find out. They are just more dense so it’s kind of hard to tell. The way that they were explained is “soft when standing still and more firm for responsiveness while moving” which I can honestly say is probably true but it’s not the feel that I like. The Rocket Boost that I mentioned can be found in running sections of the shoe store and are very plush, great for casual use and runs/walks.
Sorry for the long reply.
Charged contains Micro G but it isn’t the same at all. Micro G was excellent.
What do you mean by that, Noah? Don’t some shoes have a layer of Micro G, then Charged, or is Charged always encased in another foam? I wouldn’t mind knowing a bit more about Charged.
Those of you that have tried it, where do you rank it compared to other foam cushions? And does your ranking differ for Charged cushioned non-Basketball shoes? I’ve only got the Curry 1 lows which use the same tooling as these shoes in this post and I think it’s OK, but I’m not that impressed with it.
Definitely a nice silhouette for a basketball sneaker.
Surprised UA didn’t do more to make this shoe look less like a Curry 1 because I feel a shoe like this it takes away from the mystique of the Curry line.
On one hand , reusing the same tooling seems cheap and lazy. On the other hand, this traction does work great. While reused tooling, which almost every company does, doesn’t really get people excited to try it, it does make sense from a practical standpoint, and saves them some production costs. I wish they would reuse the Superfly 2 tooling, for instance.
Its definitely a double edged sword to go with that, though. Like others said, maybe they should’ve went with the Micro G setup, and then it would be more intriguing.
I could have sworn the the first two Lightnings were called “Clutchfit Lightning”. No Clutchfit I see, just lightning. Lol. I used to love UA’s basketball performers with my favorites being the bionic spine, spawn and CF. All of the shoes had Micro G including the first two Clutchfit models. Now UA looks confused with all their efforts put into the Curry line. BTW, the Curry 3 looks unappealing to even try on IMO.
What happened to UA?
I thought the second Clutchfit Drive used Charged?
No, the second CFL2 used micro G. I bought my son a pair of the Clutchfit Lightning 2. They felt similar to the Clutchfit Drive 1 but not the same. The insole was not micro g though. I have stopped buying their shoes because they have gotten away from a great cushion set-up like micro g.
My son has been wearing the D Rose 6 and loves them. Looking for that 7 to drop on August 13!
Micro G is really overrated. I liked the charged on my Curry 2’s way more than the Micro G on my Clutchfit Drive’s.
The blue ones are nice hope they make green ones for my school colors. But in terms of concept, ever since the first CFD and the first use of charge under armour has been slowly getting overtaken by adidas and brandblack. Just my 2 cents..
When you make your shoes primarily for guards you limit your consumers. UA make shoes guards love. They used to make shoes basketball players liked who play from the 3-5 positions.