Any Sneakerheads In The House?

[Chris A Hardaway]

Great pickup @Lupetto not sure if they ever retroed these... Not recently. But those are dope bro! Looks great with pb!

 

[Chris A Hardaway]

That Copper is kick ass, @Ventruck. I never cared for the Penny, though lol

Sent from Q's Note5

Never cared for the Penny, but didn't mind the Hardaway

 

[Lupetto]

Great pickup @Lupetto not sure if they ever retroed these... Not recently. But those are dope bro! Looks great with pb!

Never retroed these are Og, a bit of elbow grease to tidy them up. They are widely available still on resell and they stand up the test of time if taken care of it seems to me.

 

[Chris A Hardaway]

Are they the ones I remember with a double stacked Zoom Air heel unit?

 

[Lupetto]

I'm a complete newbie to jordans but these come with two sets of inserts, one is for lighter weight and one for heavier. Some of the resell are missing the extra inserts.

This video has interesting details that I didn't know before buying

 

[YakuzaFloralGangsta]

Got me the new Nike Zoom Fly

 

[Carrera1963]

Latest Timbs, colour is called croissant.

 

[Ventruck]

UA Curry One Icon finally came in.

Icon is UA's custom program that had a Beta launch in June. Lead time was supposed to be like July. I guess there were that many people who placed an order ahead of me that mine shipped end of the month, and just got my pair in today. I recommend checking it out because the options are insane compared to Nike and Adidas. You can literally upload a graphic for the upper— of course barring some explicit and copyrighted stuff. It sucks that the Curry One is the only shoe I like from UA, but nonetheless, I gave this a shot.

$160, which is a $30 premium over the general release. From past examples I remember, Adidas would usually command $20 over general release, and Nike I believe can inflate it up to a $50 charge. So, given the customization options, I think UA is offering the best deal, albeit on limited selection.

I used their standard pattern offerings (which have an incredible degree of customization. Dominantly monochrome with the teal/blue hit at the midsole. No one really knew what prints would look like, so yeah I was playing it safe. Went with that accent color because I was thinking of Nike/Jordan's "Gamma" colorways.

Package is awesome, with the flip-open lid. They double layer the shipping packaging to protect it, and looks like some a-hoe at FedEx tried poking in — so awesome of UA here. Haven't tried Nike iD, but MiAdidas resulted in an average box with a drawstring dust bag. Eh, can only expect so much.

Finish is pretty flawless apart from some black marks on my silver sections (heel counter and shank). Some color bleeds in the more intricate transitions as well. Not a big deal. It's all (in regards to finish/quality) virtually on-par with my custom Rose 7 from Adidas. Bonus is the "Icon" branding on the medial side.

The Curry One in general...feels like an updated Rose 4.I know I used that reference for the Rose 5 and 7, but the Curry One sticks closer to the minimal/lightweight route. Very form-fitting using the Anafoam upper, which to me is like using Adidas' Geo-fit everywhere, along with ankle+heel pods. It's not the most free-feeling basketball shoe because the Anafoam carries a bit of thickness, but there's no real stiff zones. It all bends properly. Venting is there, but to be honest the Anafoam in itself is warm.

The lacing setup is actually very awesome, because every row holds in place as you tighten gradually. Top finishes with reinforced eyelets, which I'm always a fan of. No pinching at all.

I always hear people yearn for MicroG cushioning as the supplied Charged setup is presumably stiffer. Maybe the insole of this pair is MicroG but I can't be sure since I never tried it. Curry himself is said to prefer Charged. which is a loading rate-dependent cushion. Of course I didn't get really any play time yet, but stuff as simple as the weight transfer that comes with ball handling actually feels more stable. Hard to describe, but it's functioning. It doesn't take running, major cutting, or jumping/landing to make out the difference in my opinion.

I surely like it over past Nike Lunarlon and Phylon, as well as Adidas' Adiprene. For a cushion that lacks step-in comfort, it at least seems to do something.

UA doesn't f*** around with their traction. The Curry line as well as other UA basketball shoes stick with herringbone. Add that the grooves are thick and deep, it really clowns on the gimmicky patterns on newer shoes which can suffer in traction and reliability.



Overall a really-likable shoe. Every aspect of it is functional for basketball and straight up wearing. Again, the price went more to the customization. I don't see the Curry One as a lust-worthy shoe to think about, but a great one to wear. The features and geometry were clearly thought-out together to do without excess.

The toe rand in particular is seamlessly integrated. Usually it's an overlay of sorts, but on here it's flush with the rest of the materials. For that year/NBA season I instead bought the LeBron 12. Those things are legit tanks, but the Curry One feels like a much smarter shoe for the average Joe at the playground.

I've generally heard UA has consistently-good quality in functional design, but of course they completely lack aesthetic desirability. The Curry line has dropped in appeal mainly because a lot of bandwagon fans/kids/parents are just new to buying such shoes every year. UA also played things safe and kept the shoes similar per Curry's liking, so there's less appeal on top of some pairs being legit ugly.

 

[Ventruck]

Jordan 11 IE "Obsidian".

This pair was projected to be a semi-limited release in the Quick Strike nature. It really did clear out on SNKRS within minutes. The Jordan 11 IE is supposedly the "International Edition" of the Jordan 11, using the same tooling and very similar features all around — including the overlay arrangement, neoprene-ish collar, and lacing pattern (will get more into that below). As with every retro, this is leaning to being marketed a casual shoe, but Jordan did play with the IE in playoff games.

Compared to other IE releases, this one does away with the "shadow elephant" print on the overlay/paneling and just runs with some ragged suede. Also, the cutout sections which are typically mesh are more of a ribbed corduroy pattern. It is "back to school" season and anyone who had to suffer in private school knows about them blue corduroy pants.

To the point, this may be my new most favoritest shoe in my possession. I mean I have more lustworthy shoes, but all-around I love these as a pair I just have to wear.

I don't think the main upper is real leather, but it feels really nice paired with the craftmanship of the stitching — ridiculous stitching. Everything bends and creases naturally. It seriously feels like a premium shoe with all the raw and classic detailing.

The lacing can be arranged in two ways. On the right is how it was marketed and out the box, the left is the alternate setup with the longitudinal eyelets. Basically I did that so things sit more flush on the tongue, and it is more reminiscent of the regular Jordan 11. That being said, fit is great for me. I don't know how previous releases are, but definitely true to size. A bit of space in the forefoot, and the heel/collar closes in just like the regular 11, meaning this can never be too loose for anyone.

I heard AJ 11's can be ridiculously comfortable depending on release. I'll admit I'm too much of a p***** to let my Space Jams from winter touch the ground, but even then I could tell the patent leather on that edition seemed really stiff and for whatever reason the sole has no give This IE has a pretty plush feel to walk in. I'm thinking it's the midsole material itself as opposed to the Zoom unit inside. The geometry of the upper contains the foot with less lace tension compared to most other shoes in my experience.

Bonus for me is that the sole color already has that "dirty" look. That + the excitement of a new pair sent these straight to feet upon opening. I expect this to be in heavy rotation.

This shoe came out in the 90's, and it feels very, refined as a whole. I know I'm not the point of reference given experience, but I legit I don't know why the Kobe's and LeBron's and KD's I've worn, as well as some Jordan's (12 and 14 that came after), don't feel as proper as these. I mean the only Nike/Jordan shoe I have that comes close is the 30/31 Hybrid because the 31 upper is proper. My Kobe 11's feel cheap and even a bit clunky compared to these.

If I didn't put my Space Jam 11's on several times (albeit never touched the outside ground let alone outside my room) I would consider offloading them. I can't wear them like I wear these. These are less of a statement shoe and feel like they're meant to be used over and over.

 

[Ventruck]

Nike Air Foamposite One "Eggplant"

Bit of a loaded week for me. 3 shoes came in. The Curry was ordered in June so it doesn't totally count as a pick up this month. Last weekend, my plan was to jump on the Jordan 11 IE previously posted, and then maybe just leave it at that, while this was a consolation prize. I jumped on the SNKRS app, my purchase was pending and then just read "sold out". Because I wanted to land something , I jumped for these foams....getting a pending status for a longer-than-usual time. I exit the app and enter back in....oops. Turns out I got both pairs.

Not much to say other than I like the color. I've rambled about Foams before. The 2017 of the Eggplant uses a more "icy" outsole. From what I understand, the 2009 was very limited and had something that'd already look a bit yellow'd, the 2010 was a more open release with a neutral/clear outsole supposedly from the Copper colorway, and now this edition runs with a more visible blue hue like a fair share of retro releases.

For whatever reason, these smell straight up like....car. Being my 5th Foamposite, the regret is settling in on setting financial priorities. Do it all over again I'd pass on the Royals and Maroons (even though I wear them a lot). The Red Pro's are a favorite of mine that I do wear. The white Pro's just seem like quintessential pair (have yet to wear them outside), and seeing how the older editions look with wear, I'm looking forward to seeing the sole color degrade with these Eggplants.

August is kinda doing a number on me. I'm a little pooped that I'll have to pass on the Cement 5's, but I have to prioritize the Bred 13's. I'm counting on the rest of the year to not be les