KB8's 1st Signature Shoe
Written: Feb 11 '08
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Great cushioning, lush feel on the inside, very durable, lightweight
Cons: Heel fit could be a problem
The Bottom Line: If you want a great, all-around shoe, this is the one for you.
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| nikefreak's Full Review: Nike Zoom Kobe I Basketball for Men |
Some of y'all must be wondering why I said KB8, considering Mr. Bryant is now #24; when this shoe was released, he was still #8, thus the title. I figured I better get this and his second version reviewed since I am really anxious to try out his new shoe, the Zoom Kobe III on-court when I get a chance. If you can recall, the great Zoom Huarache 2K4 was supposed to be his first sig shoe, but the legal battle came up and it was just a "regular" shoe released to the public, as well as the follow-up, the Zoom Huarache 2K5. This shoe was his first signature shoe and it it quite a doozy.
Start with the very rich synthetic upper which gives a good measure of support and lushness to the foot. On the colorway that I have, the All-Star one, the medial (inside) side is split into a wavy, black side, while the lateral (outside) side is white; this gives a nice little contrast when looking at the shoe from the top. The lacing system is your standard speed one, with very thick laces tipped with metal eyelets, a very nice touch that gives another measure of durability to them. They wrap up to plastic chromed eyelets on the top of the shoe if you want to stick your laces through the top eyelet. The heel is where it sticks to the Huarache heritage and has a perfed ankle collar with a cut-out at the back of the heel to promote breathability and a lightweightness to the shoe and for your foot. Huarache is a Mexican word for "sandal" and Nike has brought this concept to basketball shoes through cutting out material near the heel to have this freeness you get in a sandal to a performance basketball shoe. Inside the shoe, right on your malelloli, are two pads that cushion this bone and feels real good. There is also a seamless Dynamic-Fit sleeve that wraps to the tongue, so that my foot was swaddled in great comfort. The only thing that is potentially bad about this set-up if you are a bigger guy and this will not give you the necessary ankle support because of the cutouts and how the upper is constructed. That is the one caveat for me in this shoe and how the ankle area didn't really give me that locked-down fit. I would definitely try these on first before buying because you might want to go a half-size down. To stabilize the heel, a Phylon foot bucket wraps around the back of my foot to provide a very stable heel counter; this material is very rigid and the platform is ridiculously light considering the support it gives to my foot.
The meat of the shoe goes to the lightweight Phylon midsole that houses the regional (which is just a way of saying the unit is tuned to a specific area of the foot) Zoom Air units in the heel and forefoot. As always, the Zoom Air provides excellent responsiveness, great protection, and that great feel for the court. I can actively feel the cushioning moving with my foot on the court and that is such a great thing to have during a game. To provide torsional rigidity and multi-directional propulsion for jumping and cutting, there is a full-length exposed carbon fiber spring plate that gives my foot a good measure of support. It is very lightweight and is better than your standard TPU shanks regarding support. You can see it on the medial side of the shoe as well as on the outsole, where the cutout Swoosh is; it's peeking through there.
The outsole has four flex grooves cut into it for supreme flexibility in the midfoot while it's maximum traction herringbone pattern provides excellent on any court. Another nice feature is that the heel is radiused and has an isolated heel cut-out to promote a smooth heel-to-toe transition, something that is found on a lot of running shoes.
Overall, the shoe is a great choice for guards and forwards who want a lightweight, responsive shoe. It comes in multiple colorways, the All-Star colorway shown above, all-black, black/white, a Laker-inspired black-purple/gold, a kinda weird light blue/white to match the old Minneapolis Lakers jerseys, and some other assorted colorways that are hard to find. The design touches on each one of the different colorways are unique, as the tongue has a different logo or design inside of it, such as mine just saying "All-Star 2006" on it. The outside of the tongue has the Kobe logo and a star embedded on it. Let it be known that he was balling out in this shoe when he scored 81 points against the Raptors!
Recommended:
Yes
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