I finally had a chance to try out my IXs last night so here is my quick review:
1. First impression is not like what you expect in terms of what you see in pictures with hints of green here and there but look predominantly black and yellow. That is definitely not the case in person and in sunlight. I think it looks amazing and I love the contrast in the same way I loved the variability and contrast on the Masterpieces themselves. From my pair and pics online seems the pattern is consistent across the board.
2. I put them on with a pair of Nike Dri Fit socks, first thing that came to mind was should I have sized down .5 from 12 to 11.5 as all the comments about dead space seemed true. Reading from all your guys help that 2 things will make a big difference: double layer of socks, and tighten laces a little more than what I am used to (esp from the 8s). This did the trick and felt super comfortable walking around on carpet, hardwood and concrete.
*back funny story, around same time Kobe went down I went down with a broken ankle (my dumbarss was wearing Jordan Alpha 1s, never again) so I was out 6 months on crutches and healing. I came back and have been wearing an ankle brace ever since. I was looking forward to ditching that and that these IX's will be that support I need.
To confirm, for me at least, the answer is YES. I was very happy with the support and ditched the brace all together.
I played OUTDOORS and then moved INDOORS
Outdoors: Traction was very good, the dirt (esp from all the rain Cali had) did not affect me in how I played. They felt light, sturdy, and I did not think about my ankle very much (I do every time I don't wear my brace). No arch pain, no heel pain and no forefoot pain, all issues I had with the 7s that were fixed by the 8s. These seemed to have the same feel as 8s with more confidence of knowing there is adequate support and flexibility.
Indoors: This is where it got special, @nightwing2303 mentioned that the traction gets better and better even with more dust accumulating, and he was right. They feel phenomenal on hard wood, and had that same giddy feeling when I first tried on my pair of 8s. I thought those were the best BBall shoe I ever wore, until these.
Notes:
-My laces did not rip, however it does feel if I pull real hard that it could over time.
-My shozoku (sheath) on the tongue did not scratch off or show signs of wear, however its constantly on my mind (but something I got to get over eventually that nike will not fix lol)
-My ankle felt great after, usually there is stiffness in my achillis or ball joint, but post and this morning I feel like I can go again
-*I swapped out the standard insert for my ELITE 8 insert with heel zoom so I am not sure how it would have felt without it, so I may run again tonight putting original inserts back in.
Hope this is helpful for anyone, now I have friends who say "its a hard transition from 8s" and "I don't like how they feel on court yet", everyone will have different experiences, just wanted to share mine. Overall happiness 9.5/10!
