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First night playing in my AD iDs. Here are some brief thoughts.
Traction: Even with a clear outsole, traction was great on a mildly dusty court. You can definitely notice the different grip strengths of the front section vs the heel area due to the two different traction patterns. The front is definitely a lot better than the rear, so I wish they used the front "nub" pattern throughout the entire out sole. I am on my toes mostly so despite the differences, I didn't have any issues with traction. Wiped maybe every 10 plays on a mildly dusty court.
Cushion: Was great for me. No real complaints. No pain in my knees, back, or balls of my feet. No arch soreness either. I found the lunarlon to be soft. Didn't feel the zoom unit as much though. I can definitely notice the zoom unit on the kobe 11 elite, but not on this model. Despite that, was still very satisfied with the cushioning.
Materials: I hated this shoe on my first try on and was hesitant to even play in these. The top tongue portion is made of a very hard material with fake leather paint over it. It does not bend easily and so it keeps digging into your shins. Very painful to just walk in. I don't recommend playing in these without crew socks or you'll get chafed. Once I started playing though, it broke in after the first game and I didn't notice it anymore. I found the mesh to be soft and didn't require a lot of break in time. A lot of youtube reviewers said the materials were hard and stiff and hurting their feet from everywhere (Nightwing), but I only had the small issue with the tongue, which went away.
Fit: Go TTS. It is a little long, but not enough to go down half a size. I had about 4/5ths of a thumbs width of space between my toes and the end of the shoe. Width wise, these were very slightly narrow. I have wide feet and got pins and needles in my right shoe because I laced the fore foot too tight. It went away after relacing. Compared to the kobe 11 flyknit, I would say these are a smidge wider. Just barely. On the kobe 11 elite, I always get a pinky blister, but did not have any issues with these tonight. Wore the same socks in both too. Heel lock down was great as expected in a kobe signature. No heel slip whatsoever. Containment was also adequate. No dead space above my toes, which I like.
Overall: Loved playing in these tonight. Definitely more than the 11s. Love the aesthetics too. Only had one issue that may be a deal breaker for me and that is the tiny out rigger. It definitely rolls under the shoe a bit on hard cuts. I've seen Schwollo complain about this too and it is definitely noticeable. Wish they made the out rigger beefier to avoid this problem. I was initially concerned about heel strike and transition because of the heel counter being on the bottom of the shoe. Was pleasantly surprised with the transition and did not find the shoe to be clunky.
Anyways, hope this first impression helped any of you on the fence. I know this shoe got a lot of bad reviews and some really good reviews. This was just my experience with them. Will not be playing in my 11s anymore.
