SOLE COLLECTOR: Sneakers

SPACE

SPACE
Key Tech: Zoom Air (forefoot and heel), carbon fiber midfoot support shank

Use: Hoops, Indoor and Outdoor

Position: Guard/Forward (and light Centers)

Colorway Tested: Black/True Red

Price: $150

Pros: Generally good comfort; excellent fit, particularly around the rearfoot; excellent support around the foot and ankle; excellent impact protection with very good cushioning response and court feel; feels very stable; very light

Cons: Experienced some chafing along the lateral side of my heel during my first wearing; unique outsole design can feel a bit clunky; traction should be better; expensive

SPACE

PACE

LUCKY THIRTEEN

FOR THE SUPERSTITIOUS AMONG US, THE AIR JORDAN XIII had a couple of big strikes going against it before even making it off of Tinker Hatfield’s drawing board.

First, to the horror of the triskaidekaphobic Jordan lovers of the world, it marked the 13th shoe in the Air Jordan line (for those in need of a brush up on phobias, triskaidekaphobia is the fear of the number 13). Second, a major source of inspiration for the shoe’s design came from the Black Panther, which actually isn’t a Panther at all, but a common misnomer applied to both Jaguars and Leopards with Melanistic, or unusually dark, coloration, but I digress. As it relates to the shoe, the Black Panther is essentially a giant, black cat-another sign of doom and gloom to a certain segment of the population.

Well, luckily enough for the shoeheads of the world, it appears that neither His Airness nor Hatfield are superstitious types, because the black cat motivated, baker’s dozen denominated charm of a shoe they cooked up turned out to be the best J yet (as of its release in late 1997) and is, to this day, one of the most memorable hoops shoes ever released by any manufacturer, period.

What makes the Air Jordan XIII so special? Well, there is, of course, its appearance, which really does manage to evince an impression of feline power and grace-particularly in the black/varsity red colorway tested for this review. Then there’s the fact that many thought the XIII would be the last shoe worn by MJ as a professional basketball player. You may remember that Jordan retired for the second, and most assumed final, time following the conclusion of the 1997 - 1998 NBA season. Though he would provide fans with a very early preview of his next namesake shoe by rocking the Air Jordan XIV through the ‘98 Finals, the XIII was the shoe MJ wore for the bulk of what was widely expected to be his ultimate season.

But looks and sentimentality aside, the Air Jordan XIII stands out to me because it delivers the on-court performance goods like nothing that had come before it. Its Phylon midsole, which is beautifully sculpted to wrap up and around the base of the foot, is augmented with Zoom Air units under both the forefoot and heel, delivering excellent impact protection along with ridiculously good cushioning response and a speedy, low-to-the-court feel. The combination is still impressive today, but was downright mind blowing back in 1997. The XIII actually wasn’t the first Jordan to employ Nike’s hyper-responsive, low-profile Zoom Air (that distinction belongs to the Air Jordan XII), but it was the first to really highlight its benefits.

The XIII’s organically shaped, multi-segment outsole also contributes to its unique feel underfoot by working with the sculpted midsole to cradle and support the foot. Where you can really feel this is at the rear, where your heel is nestled between two large outsole pods that combine to stabilize it and, by way of the composite midfoot shank that links the rear and foreparts of the shoe, your entire foot on impact. Stability is further bolstered by the XIII’s excellent fit; I felt absolutely no movement of my foot, either side-to-side or front-to-back, within the shoe. Support around the entirety of the foot was also superb.

But the XIII was not without its flaws-through my two weeks with the shoe I experienced two persistent problems. First, though, as mentioned above, the design of its outsole contributed greatly to overall stability, it also imparted a somewhat clunky feel. There were more than a handful of occasions when I felt that its funky shape and hard-edged perimeter got in the way of what I wanted my feet to do-sort of like an overly protective electronic stability program in a modern-day luxury car acting too much the nanny when you just wanna cut loose around some twisties. It’s probably for the better, but a less intrusive form of assistance is always more satisfying, whether you’re on the road or on the hardwood.

The second problem, also outsole related, was that traction proved to be a consistent disappointment. Even on clean courts I found it to be only a shade better than mediocre-on less well-maintained courts it was a lost cause. This was doubly disappointing given that the XIII’s upper is more than capable of keeping the foot locked down through the razor sharp cuts and dime-and-change stops that a top-notch outsole would enable. To pull out another automotive metaphor, the XIII is like a sports car with loads of power and a perfectly tuned suspension that’s sitting on family car tires. It’s still a great car, but the rubber it’s rolling on won’t allow you to make the most of its copious potential.

So, the Air Jordan XIII is not perfect - not by today’s standards nor by those of late ‘97/early ‘98. But it was then and is still now a simply audacious shoe that fulfills every facet of what an Air Jordan should be. Would it be as special without the connection to MJ’s purported farewell season? As an emotional being it’s impossible to say with complete objectivity, but to me, that’s precisely what makes the best of the Air Jordan line so special in the first place. Shoes like the III, V, XI and XIII provide us with an indelible link to a particular point and place in both Michael Jordan’s career and our own lives-they are, in a sense, pieces of living history. But don’t get me wrong, the XIII is no relic to be squirreled away into an attic and periodically caressed: it’s a hard-core performance product. And in that dichotomy lies its genius: the Air Jordan XIII serves both of its masters-time and your ugly dogs-with grace and an unflagging tenacity. $150 is a lot to drop on any shoe, no doubt, but the Air Jordan XIII is most certainly not just any shoe. It’s one that shoeheads 10 years from now will seek out with as much fervor as those of today and if you see value in that, you’ll see value in the lucky XIII.

—From Issue 7, article by Professor K