Hey guys, Professional basketball player here Randy Booker. Today I’m coming at you guys with my very first On-court Performance Review and it will be on the Nike Zoom Soldier 8. Make sure to watch the entire video because of 2 things: The CRAZY Dunk Session and the surprise request that I have for all of you. To all of the serious ballers who want to get better; this will benefit you!
You are right with the different perspectives about the shoe of other reviews of other people, not everyone is like LeBron, so only big guys can feel the Zoom, good review; anyways I want to ask you, how do you control your vertical jump when you are making a shot? I heard some people actually go above the rim when shooting a mid or 3p and that may be weird to shot.
Hey there bro! Yeah man, I promise I could REALLY feel the Zoom! 🙂 Also, can you explain in alittle more detail what you mean by controlling your vertical?
True words about the different people’s body types and sizes when it comes to feeling certain aspects of the shoe. Some people who are lighter might not have the same experience as someone who is heavier. Good review.
Thank you! I truly do appreciate it! 🙂
Great review! I love your perspective and explanation of every category. Finally, somenone who covets ventilation and breathability!
Thank you so much, I really does mean alot! Yeah, for how much I sweat I HAVE to think about breathability! 🙂
I agree, a well rounded shoe has to breathe decently to stay up front in my rotation. Sweat boxes are just waiting to leave your feet blistered up. The review on the Clutchfit Drive made me swerve clear of those despite the other great attributes.
Are you really going to skip them because of that? The Clutchfit Drives are near the top of my list for shoes I want to get at soon. Fair enough if that is important to you.
Did you ever used to wear any 90s hoop shoes? If so, how did you go with the lack of breathability on those?
Yeah that and the fact that I already have to ridiculous rotation right now, so cops start getting slim on my end.
I know what you’re getting at about the 90s shoes and I’m thankful that I’m much older and know better now. You just kept it moving back then when you had blisters without understanding why they were coming.
Great review, I love how you kept things clear, how it’s about YOU, AND THE SHOE, not just a 1-shoe fits all type deal.
Thank you! I really try to kept it 100 With all of you so that you can make the best decision with your money. I SINCERELY appreciate you watching my video and assessment! 🙂
I wonder why there is not many comments. Great review Randy, and you bought up a great point in regards to cushioning that I’ve been thinking about for quite a while myself.
I’m a pretty light guy (about 150lbs), and I always thought that I couldn’t feel some cushioning in shoes I’ve had because of my weight. I really do think that if you don’t weight much, sometimes you’re not going to feel the cushion as much as someone that is a bigger player who might weight quite a bit more than you. It doesn’t mean the cushioning or impact protection isn’t there. And when I say this, I’m talking about shoes that other people have said the cushioning feels good/great in them, but I just couldn’t feel it as much myself.
I think I also read that Asics use a softer foam for their women’s version of their running shoes because women, on average, weigh less. Not sure if all brands do that with their women’s running or other sports shoes?
Great point Ice. I always enjoy reading your comments along with a few other because you make great points and add to the dialog of the site. I am about 5’7″ and a solid 185 lbs although no one who looks at me can EVER guess that I weight that much. The only place where u could see a little extra weight would be my stomach and even then, it really isn’t horrible.
To get to the point, I’ve jus recently (within the last 2 years) gotten this weight due to a bunch of changes that I wont get into including health issues. I’ve noticed now that even when wearing some of my older shoes, I can feel the difference significantly from when I was 140 lbs two or so years ago. Some of them feel night and day different. Some are saying that they can’t feel the zoom the same in the newer Super Fly 3 and Jordan models but I have tried on the XX9 and the Zoom felt Amazing. I actually own the Super Fly 3 and the Zoom is just ridiculous.
But then again, that’s me at my current weight. Before, I may not have had the same appreciation for it. It really is a matter of the person which leads me to my next point.
When some of these younger kids ask about shoes because of their position, I honestly can’t see why there’s a big difference for them or why they ask the questions that way. (IE. “I am a point guard. Which shoe should I wear. I am 5’6″ and weigh 135 lbs”) Really? Or worse, “I am a Center who is 5’10” on my middle school team and I weigh 140 lbs. What shoe should I get?” Ummm….Any d*mn thing you want. You weigh less than the average guard at any higher level therefore I really can’t see how it makes that big a difference. That’s my two cents and rant for the day. Time to get some sleep for work tonight. LOL!
Weigh*
Hey man, didn’t see these comments until now. Didn’t even know Randy Booker replied until today ;). It sucks that great posts like these can be missed as they get lost in the shuffle a lot of the time if the topic still isn’t on the front page. With a message board type of format they would have been pushed back to the top and that would make it easier to reply to them.
I like readying your posts too. I feel like listing all my favorite posters – there’s a handful of them, but I might miss someone out if I do that.
This is exactly why I always ask NW for the recent comments section to be put back when the site goes under maintenance. It used to have the title of the post before the comment, but at least it’s better than nothing to keep the conversation going.
NIGHTWING: Any chance of putting the title of the post alongside the recent comments section like old times?
Yeah, that would be a good thing Dime. At least having the title of the post there would let me know what thread it is and I can go back in there if it’s a shoe/topic I’m interested in. Maybe even 15-20 recent comments would be good too.
I completely agree bro. The recent comments definitely adds to the site in a great way. I like to know what people have to say about various topics. That’s always been one of the best aspects of the site because it gives me the different perspectives that I need if I can’t get a hold of a shoe locally. At least that way, I can have some discussion or read posts that might help with decision making.
Hahaahaha! I Like everything you just said, I really do feel the same way! And the Jordan Superfly 3, Even though I don’t have it I remember what Kickgenius said and I’m like “You guys are WAAAAAYYYY Smaller than Blake Griffin and you don’t think it has enough for him? Nah, you just don’t weigh enough to activate the cushion” You know? How do you like those so far? Is the upper stiff to you?
It’s honestly perfect to me. It took no time for me to break them in and I love wearing them now. Maybe once the price goes down on the XX9 since there seem to be quite a bit just sitting there on store sites and even shelves by me, I’ll pick up a pair.
Hey! Bro, I think you are SPOT ON when it comes to that! It’s something that I though about for a long time, ever since shoe reviews started coming out on shoes. I realized that most people aren’t built like I am and that I have to take that HEAVILY into account when even TRULY trying to consider a shoe based of off another opinion ya know? And About the women’s shoes, I’m not particularly sure, but as far as what you said, that does make perfect sense! That’s how it should be atleast!
Hey Randy, wasn’t sure if you’d reply due to a lack of time. I didn’t even know you replied to any of the other posts here until coming back into this topic today. Thanks for replying, and I really did like your review. If you have the chance/time to do more, please keep doing them.
Yeah, for the women’s shoes, I think I read that about Asics’ women’s running shoes a few months ago when I was looking at getting a pair of runners for myself. I thought women’s shoes just have different sizing and use a different (narrower) foot last. Didn’t think they’d have different density foam. Not sure if other brands do it. I don’t know much about women’s running/sports shoes, so someone please correct me if I am wrong on that.
As for the feel of the cushioning in the last couple of Zoom Soldiers, I sort of figured that when Lebron wore the 7s last season that the cushioning/impact protection must been decent enough, otherwise, he probably wouldn’t use them. There was also some other big men that I saw wearing them, so I guess even though Nightwing said you can’t feel it as much as the 6s, maybe those guys that weigh a lot more could feel it and find/found it more responsive.
It also brings me back to that other question/point that keeps coming up. Are Nike skimping on the Zoom in a lot of their retro models and/or second tier models to promote their other top cushioning techs, or do a lot of us not weigh enough for us to activate it?
Thanks for the review. Its always cool to hear other peoples experience/opinion. I’ve been really tempted to buy these. I just have a feeling I that since they made so many they will eventually hit the outlets and go on crazy sales. Its nice to hear about the sizing. I was totally planning to go true to size if I ordered them online.
Hey there! I’m DEFINITELY happy I could help you out with your potential purchase!
Thx for the great review! This is definitely gonna be my next shoe and the sizing tip was great! Looking forward to more reviews…