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- Dec 3, 2007
My first review hope this is a help.
My background: 6'1 former college ball player. Play a lot of open gym and league play. I've played every sig shoe since '02 and many other performance model Nike's. I play guard/forward. More of a three shooter/slasher. Enough about me, onto the review.
Looks: I bought the white/black colorway. In person it is actually more eye catching than the creamsicles. Just my opinion. The white leather is a nice quality, had a few guys step on my feet and I was able to just wipe off the dirt. One nick in the leather, but very small. The patent leather didn't catch any streaks and really bring out the orange on the back of the shoe.
Traction: I am a fiend for traction. This is usually my most important issue with shoes. I strained my groin pretty bad in college and it was due to the Jordan xvi's having no grip whatsoever. Since then I have stayed away from clear/ice soles. Out of the box the traction is good. At this gym my Kobe IV's were one of the few shoes that gave me great traction. The KD2 will get dusty and still give you good traction on the court. The outsides will slip a bit, but solid steps will garner traction. Not as much grip as the Kobe IV, but good and close.
Cushioning: The details page of the shoe say cushion foam and a zoom unit. This shoe sits low. Not as low as a hyperflight and not as high or soft as the Kobe IV or other Jordans. The feel of the cushioning is similar to the zoom tennis trainer that has been recently retro'ed. It sits low and the cushion is softer than the stiff zoom found in that shoe.
Fit: I also pull up the pic of this shoe because the fit is similar. The thin upper will not feel like its on your foot around the ankle area. The midfoot strap works well with one caveat. If your foot is narrow and you are hoping for this to lock you down the amount of velcro does not allow the strap to move that far over. It does do a good job of holding your laces underneath so you won't be fooling around with your shoelaces all day. The shoe has a slightly stiffer side that is hard to get to fit onto your foot. No matter how tight you tie your shoe you will only feel the top of the laces high around your upper ankle. My major complaint with the KD1 was its heel cup. It tore skin from the back of my heel and I am not a fan of double socking. I feel a shoe should fit without double socks and the extra layer only heats my foot up and makes me feel clunky.
Final Verdict: A good ball shoe for the money. I really recommend a try on period to make sure the shoe feels secure to you. It runs true to size, maybe a hair large. I really like that Nike is offering a solid shoe like this at the price. I can't knock it that much for what it did to my feet, because my feet may not the same size as yours. Even past those issues, I really enjoyed playing in these shoes.
Score: 8.5 out of 10
My background: 6'1 former college ball player. Play a lot of open gym and league play. I've played every sig shoe since '02 and many other performance model Nike's. I play guard/forward. More of a three shooter/slasher. Enough about me, onto the review.
Looks: I bought the white/black colorway. In person it is actually more eye catching than the creamsicles. Just my opinion. The white leather is a nice quality, had a few guys step on my feet and I was able to just wipe off the dirt. One nick in the leather, but very small. The patent leather didn't catch any streaks and really bring out the orange on the back of the shoe.
Traction: I am a fiend for traction. This is usually my most important issue with shoes. I strained my groin pretty bad in college and it was due to the Jordan xvi's having no grip whatsoever. Since then I have stayed away from clear/ice soles. Out of the box the traction is good. At this gym my Kobe IV's were one of the few shoes that gave me great traction. The KD2 will get dusty and still give you good traction on the court. The outsides will slip a bit, but solid steps will garner traction. Not as much grip as the Kobe IV, but good and close.
Cushioning: The details page of the shoe say cushion foam and a zoom unit. This shoe sits low. Not as low as a hyperflight and not as high or soft as the Kobe IV or other Jordans. The feel of the cushioning is similar to the zoom tennis trainer that has been recently retro'ed. It sits low and the cushion is softer than the stiff zoom found in that shoe.
Fit: I also pull up the pic of this shoe because the fit is similar. The thin upper will not feel like its on your foot around the ankle area. The midfoot strap works well with one caveat. If your foot is narrow and you are hoping for this to lock you down the amount of velcro does not allow the strap to move that far over. It does do a good job of holding your laces underneath so you won't be fooling around with your shoelaces all day. The shoe has a slightly stiffer side that is hard to get to fit onto your foot. No matter how tight you tie your shoe you will only feel the top of the laces high around your upper ankle. My major complaint with the KD1 was its heel cup. It tore skin from the back of my heel and I am not a fan of double socking. I feel a shoe should fit without double socks and the extra layer only heats my foot up and makes me feel clunky.
Final Verdict: A good ball shoe for the money. I really recommend a try on period to make sure the shoe feels secure to you. It runs true to size, maybe a hair large. I really like that Nike is offering a solid shoe like this at the price. I can't knock it that much for what it did to my feet, because my feet may not the same size as yours. Even past those issues, I really enjoyed playing in these shoes.
Score: 8.5 out of 10
