SOLE COLLECTOR: Sneakers

SPACE

SPACE
Key Tech: Zoom Air (forefoot and heel), dual-density sockliner (EVA base augmented with high-density shock pads under the forefoot and heel), full-length Dynamic-Fit inner bootie construction, Pebax reinforced externalized heel counter, internalized composite midfoot support shank

Use: Hoops, Indoor

Position: Guard/Forward

Colorway Tested: Flint Grey/White

Price: $150

Pros: Very light and comfortable; highly responsive, low-profile cushioning; excellent traction

Cons: Support under the midfoot is sorely lacking; allows too much flex under the midfoot (these first two problems account for the low cushioning score); allows far too much movement within the inner at the rearfoot; lacing system is too narrowly set, compromising fit; middling support around the ankle; spotty manufacturing quality; fails to live up to the Jordan mystique, let alone its $150 price tag

SPACE

PACE

FALL FROM GRACE

After a string of enormous successes, starting with the industry rocking Air Jordan XI and culminating in the near perfect Air Jordan XIV, you just knew that the team at Jordan was in for a letdown. I mean, even Steven Spielberg puts out the occasional clunker (think Always and Hook), and Tinker Hatfield and company were well past time for one of their own. Fold MJ’s second retirement in January of 1999 into that mix, and you had the recipe for a big ol’ ennui sandwich.

If viewed from this glass half-empty perspective, I guess you could say the Air Jordan XV wasn’t all that big of a disappointment. But that would be like saying a nasty case of Montezuma’s Revenge is not really a disappointment after a jaunt down to Mexico, because you’d assumed you’d get it before you even stepped out the door. The fact of the matter is, whether you were expecting it or not, having an orifice (or two) glued to a toilet upon your return home is a bummer, and that’s as good a way as any to describe my feelings about the Air Jordan XV.

What makes it such a stinker? The two biggest culprits are fit at the rearfoot and support under the midfoot. Starting with the latter, it would be more appropriate to say the near complete lack of support under the midfoot. There is a composite shank built into the XV’s lightweight Phylon midsole, but it’s not nearly as robust as it needs to be. Torsional flex is kept pretty well in check, but even while simply walking around I could feel the middle part of the shoe’s midsole bowing out under my weight-and I’m on the light side for my height.

This lack of rigidity also made the XV far too willing to flex under the midfoot (vs. under the ball of the foot, where it’s supposed to flex), which is a big time no-no, as midfoot flex is a known cause of a painful condition called plantar fasciitis. On the basis of this issue alone I would strongly advise against buying the Air Jordan XV for on-court action. If, for some bizarre reason, you insist on playing in it, do yourself a big favor and pick up a pair of insole inserts that provide added support and rigidity under the middle part of your foot. Your dogs will thank me.

Jumping back to the first culprit noted above, the poor rearfoot fit is not a showstopper on the scale of the midfoot issue, but that’s not saying much. Basically, whenever I cut, I could feel my heel shifting from side to side within the inner. Thanks to the XV’s very solid externalized heel counter and the large outriggers protruding from the lateral side of the outsole at both the forefoot and heel, this movement within the inner never cascaded into a rolled ankle, but neither did it inspire much confidence in the shoe.

There’s more on the downside, but I don’t want to seem like I’m piling on (consult the “Cons” list in the “Vitals” section for the gory details). Suffice it to say that the shoe has “issues.”

Still, the XV is not completely without its upsides. The two most noteworthy are its weight (at 15.3 ounces in a U.S. men’s size 11, it holds the crown as the lightest Air Jordan mid released to date) and highly responsive, yet low-to-the-court cushioning feel. But these pluses don’t come anywhere close to canceling out its many minuses.

So, the bottom line is, unless you’re a collector who needs every Air Jordan ever made, the XV is a shoe to avoid. Unlike a trip south of the border, which is certain to provide a wealth of memories that will long outlive your case of the Aztec two-step, the Air Jordan XV is a disappointment that’s better left forgotten.

—From Issue 7, article by Professor K