Under Armour Curry One Performance Review | TheWongKicks

Hello Weartesters.com readers and supporters! TheWongKicks is coming to you today with a performance review today, but in the form of a write-up. Little information about myself for those who might be curious: My name is Jordan and I’m a new member to the WearTesters staff. I’ll try to cover as many performance reviews as I can, but bear with me as every shoe is not possible for me to review due to multiple circumstances. I will have a YouTube channel coming up soon, probably in time for a review of the Brand Black J Crossover 2 (stay tuned for that). But enough with the introductions, let’s get into the review!

Traction: The traction pattern is completely identical to the Clutchfit Drive, and if you’ve played in the Clutchfit Drive, you already know that this traction is awesome. Full length herringbone is always pretty good, and I had no problems except on a dusty courts where dust was almost an inevitable problem. Wiping will give you a clean, fresh start but the grooves in the pattern are tight enough for dust to get clogged. The rubber is also thick enough for outdoor usage, but don’t think that they’ll be indestructible either.

Cushion: Under Armour has implemeted a new cushion setup into the Curry One, called Charged foam. Charged foam is being labeled as an “adaptive foam” as it’s supposed to be soft and plush under lighter conditions (such as standing around, walking, or even lightly jogging) and becomes stiff and firm when putting more force and pressure (such as in game situations and full speed running). Underneath the Charged layer is a Micro G layer to keep the “old” tech from the Clutchfit Drive. The Charged foam is definitely present as you can feel the differences between the softer feeling and more firm feelings of Charged foam. The Micro G is also present in the shoe and can definitely be felt upon heel strikes, and is closer to the amount of bounce in the Anatomix Spawn. Personally, I enjoyed the cushion in the Clutchfit Drive a little bit more, as I personally enjoy the bouncy feeling in Micro G. The Charged foam was a little too firm and unresponsive for myself, but provided more stability compared to the pure Micro G set up in the Clutchfit Drive.

Materials: Another new feature for the Under Armour Curry One is the materials along the upper. The new materials on the upper is called AnaFoam, a composition of foam pieces and fuse/mesh material. This is the main difference that I would say is present in the Curry One (compared to the Clutchfit Drive). AnaFoam is a lightweight and supportive upper, like any other type of fuse, while the Clutchfit is supposed to act like another layer that acts with your foot as it moves within the shoe. AnaFoam is definitely on point with what it’s initial purpose was supposed to be for, supportive and lightweight, but durability is an issue with the shoe in general. Toe drags are protected by a fuse layer, but the upper itself is thin enough that it’s potentially susceptible to tears or rips along the medial/lateral sides. Some other complaints that I personally had were that the heel cup was painted over and the paint would rub off after sliding on the court (if diving for a loose ball or something), and the midsole paint would come off when dragged against another surface.

Fit: The fit on the Clutchfit Drive is pretty standard sizing. Fits true to size in length and width, although if you have a wide foot, you may need to go up half a size. The dead space that Nightwing noticed in his review of the Curry One wasn’t really noticeable to me when I first tried the shoe on, nor when I first played in these for the first time. I do feel that if you wear a brace, this is one of the few shoes that you can stay true to size in and still wear your brace, but of course try the shoes on in store (if you can) with the brace on. The fit of the shoe overall is solid and gives near perfect lock down. I say only “near perfect” because in my first two initial wears of the Curry Ones, I experienced some heel slippage upon certain movements, but after that, the lock down was absolutely 100% secure.

Support: Support on the Curry One is on point, typical of a lot of shoes nowadays where the lock down and support keeps your foot on the foot bed with the overall fit of the shoe. There is an external heel counter present for keeping your heel locked into place and from shifting side to side, as well as a TPU arch plate for torsional and rigidity. If you have problems with support, I honestly would say that the fit of the shoe is not right for yourself, but that is just from my personal experiences of course.

Overall: The Curry One was a really good shoe, especially for those who liked to play in the ClutchFit Drive. The cushion and uppers are the only two things that differentiate the two shoes from each other really, and both are very well rounded shoes, and definitely a more “bang for your buck” model in terms of technology that is implemented into the shoes. The Curry One however feels a little more catered towards someone who is a low key or on their toes persons, as the shoe itself is implemented into the fashion and playing style of Stephen Curry himself.

You can grab the Under Armour Curry One here in three colorways for $120 on UnderArmour.com, as well as select other retailers such as Footlocker (link here) and Finishline (link here).