I had purchased the new LeBron’s to ball in because they look like an awesome basketball shoe. I mean the Flywire technology on the side, along with the air max bottom, and the other things they added to the shoe, it looked like a guaranteed great basketball shoe. Boy was I wrong. I wore them for the first time and really didn’t have anything good to say about them. The air max sole was stiff, traction wasn’t there, didn’t fit my foot right, and the list goes on. I was very disappointed in them with the hype around them before and during the release. On a brighter note though, I wore them for a second time today and felt noticeable differences. The sole softened up a tad where it didn’t feel like I was landing on concrete. And the traction got better with play, I believe these shoes have better traction the more play they get on the hardwood. I was somewhat satisfied the second time around compared to the first. Hopefully they get better and better the more I play in them. There is no denying that they are a pleasure to look at! If anything you can rock these as a casual shoe.
Comments?
Thread: http://www.solecollector.com/forums/nike-air-max-lebron-vii-7-update-10-31-09-t906526.html
Pictures By: London
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Sorry to hear that Bridges! A shoe is supposed to feel good from the jump for me. If it’s hard and stiff but stable that’s ok. The foamposite is the only shoe that I will ever wear that is uncomfortable to hoop in (now that they are $400. I doubt it) cause it was sloppy but supportive at the same time. I need grip, that’s my hole game. The moves I make, stopping on a dime to pull or hard cuts to the hoop, even when the floor is dusty from all the street shoes. I will say that you are asking alot from a patent shoe, they look cool but… they dont last… Lastly Bron Bron is my dude so I will be rocking some when the joys of home ownership slows down. AAAAAAHHHHH! Damn money pit!
London aka “Bridges”. The contact us is down on your forum! I have a cure all for Eli Manning and his plantar fasciitis. Not that he reads sneaker blogs, but you guys have the means to get info to people that can help! Please fix! Thanks.
It’s all about loosening up the Air bubble, both cushioning and traction, will be good, as long as you can get the bubble to move, you’ll get the performance you’re supposed to.
If you can’t get it to give, the bubble will work as a splint, messing up the dynamics of the shoe.
Interesting thought Nene33. Makes me think that the weight of the wearer would have a considerable affect on the physics of how the shoe was designed to perform. After all, it was designed for LBJ’s size and style of play so a cat like me, 167 with my kicks on, may have a much harder time getting the proper performance out of the shoe!?!? Anyway, the full bag AM tech on the 2009 running shoe gives a radically different feel at first wear. I was shocked at just how stiff the AML7 was in comparison prior to your thought.
I think you’re right, and body-weight makes a huge difference in these, especially since the upper is very minimal with the FlyWire(so it can’t create extra leverage for the lighter guys), and the sole is really fortified(80% extra gas, in a smaller Air bag), which if you’re light, could work like having tractor tires on a bike.
Commercially, they probably should’ve softened up the Air bag a little, especially in the smaller sizes, to make breaking them in a little easier.
Iam rocking these right now and they are comfortable. I think they are a light shoe overall. But ya i think the air bag bag could be a little softer.
I’ve balled in these three times now for a total of around 9 hours or so.
I believe I’ve loosen up the air max unit, but its still stiffer than it needs to be from a consumer stand point.
The third time I wore them, it felt like the first… horrible.
I don’t know… I just don’t see these as a good basketball shoe for anyone but LeBron.
dauniqueone, I’ll try and get that link fixed for you!
I hope you don’t mind me asking, but what’s your weight?
Because a lot of guys forgot, how to identify a shoe that’s suitable for them, and that’s partially because Nike’s bigs shoes the last couple of years have been really soft, and really were guard shoes, that looked like bigs shoes.
Basically, the traditional rule of thumb is 100kg+(=220lbs+) means you can look at bigs shoes, below 100kg/220lbs, it’s guard shoes.
And sorry for the double, did you rest ‘em long between the 2nd and 3rd wearing, or was there a big change in temperature?
^I’m around the 180 area… I can understand if they were meant for someone like LeBron, but they can’t manufacture a shoe meant for one person when 90%+ of the people wearing them aren’t gonna be his size/figure.
I rested them for about 2-3 days after each wear before wearing them again. The temperature change wasn’t a difference, I didn’t have too much trouble with that to begin with so it wasn’t really a factor.
Thanks for the info bro, and I think you’re right that they need to find a way to make ‘em easier going for lighter players.
I’m 245lbs, so I’m near LeBron weight, and I gotta say for me, the AM bubble actually reacts a lot more than I expected, it’s very soft, so much so, that I can feel the last 2 columns(in the bubble) poking through a little, maybe if they tune them a little, lighter players will also get a lot less discomfort.
i love these shoe