SOLE COLLECTOR: Sneakers

SPACE

SPACE
Key Tech: Zoom Air (full-length plus a second “double stacked” Zoom Air unit under the heel), Jordan Carbon Comfort Control Plate sockliner, full-length inner-bootie construction, carbon fiber midfoot support shank

Use: Hoops, Indoor

Position: Guard/Forward (and light centers)

Colorway Tested: Black/Sport Royal

Price: $175

Pros: Very comfortable right out of the box; exceptional cushioning with great response and court feel; surprisingly good support at the ankle; insanely good traction

Cons: A bit too wide at the forefoot; whole shoe imparts a somewhat bulky feel; has a tendency to tip over on hard cuts; rear half of sockliner comes unglued from the footbed and can shift around within the shoe, particularly on quick stops and hard cuts; on the heavy side; expensiveS

PACE

PACE

THE LAST HOORAH

THE AIR JORDAN XVIII WAS A FITTING RIDE FOR HIS AIRNESS’ exit from the NBA. It’s not perfect and is perhaps guilty of an excess of fashion-over-function, but it does manage to recapture the “fun-to-wear” feeling that I think the XVII lacked. Traction is insanely good-which explains a lot-as is cushioning, thanks to the combination of double-stacked Zoom Air and the unique Jordan Carbon Comfort Control Plate under the heel. Comfort and ankle support are also top-notch.

The main downsides are that the XVIII allows a bit too much side-to-side movement within the inner at the forefoot-which is doubly bad because its two-layer outsole gives the shoe an alarming, if infrequent, proclivity to tip over on hard cuts-and a hint of overall bulkiness stemming, I believe, from its fully overlasted design (the XVIII is the first and only Air Jordan shoe to be overlasted around the rearfoot). One last tick in the negative column is that the rear half of the XVIII’s sockliner consistently detaches itself from the base of the inner on quick stops and hard cuts. A little glue should resolve this, but stay away from anything too caustic as it could break down the epoxies used to bind the carbon fiber strands in the Carbon Comfort Control Plate. Oh, and there’s the XVIII’s nosebleed inducing $175 price tag, which is a significant drop from the XVII before it, but stratospheric nonetheless.

So, there are issues; issues you might not be willing to accept from a shoe priced for NBA-sized budgets. But if you have the roll (or an uncle by the name of Trump), the XVIII does deliver some unique benefits, chief among them being its ability to deliver guard-shoe-like feel in a package with protection adequate for large forwards or even light centers. It’s also the last shoe worn by Money as a pro player, which, for an unabashed shoehead such as myself, is priceless.

—From Issue 7, article by Professor K