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Nike Kobe a.d Mid Performance Review

After Kobe retired, Mamba Day became a grand festival for the fans which a commemorate for Kobe. And on the occasion of Mamba Day in this year, the new Kobe series of signature shoes was released – Nike Kobe NXT 360 .

Kobe’s signature shoes began to lighten from the 8th version . Following Kobe’s own “lighter, faster” philosophy, Kobe’s shoes will do their best for the supporting and wrapping of each version . At the same time, the configuration of the full length Lunarlon midsole with the heel zoom has been also become the “special configuration” of  Kobe shoes. Although the more similar shoe type and configuration is  make people felt  “aesthetic fatigue”, but I have to say Kobe’s signature shoes are still Nike’s “strongest guard shoes.”

 

Featuring an Obsidian-based upper with a gradient white  midsole and matching translucent outsole. Its highlight feature is the shoe’s stitched Nike Swoosh logo on the sides.

The setting of Nike Kobe a.d Mid has been further changed. The upper is made of suede with artificial leather which  between the midsole and the upper . The heel also has additional modules. At the same time, the Flywire support on the inside of the shoes to ensure the stability of the shoes. Although we are still worried that the large area of suede uppers will not be extremely fragile due to external forces (such as trampling etc.), we must say that the hardness of the uppers of shoes is quite good.

The midsoles of the shoes used a series of  full length Lunarlon cushioning configurations .However, the addition of a carbon plate between the midsole and the outsole to ensure torsionally resistant of shoes ,which is an improvement over Kobe a.d.

 

For the traction : The traction on the Nike Kobe AD Mid offers multi-directional coverage that didn’t disappoint. Despite being translucent rubber, it worked really well. But it is not easy to keep clean , it collect the dust of  this type of rubber.

Compare to the engineering meshes and woven meshes that are used nowadays , the suede uppers already quite stiff  for the Kobe shoes. with the Flywire  and  suede upper ,the supporting of shoes have been improved .Although  the shoes more wight than others , but the stability of the shoes will be  attract some fans . In the actual combat process, we can feel that the shoe upper and the forefoot boot work well. Compared to the Kobe 11 Elite’s knitted uppers, the sense of security is much stronger.

At the same time, in order to ensure the durability of the shoes, Kobe a.d’s midsole and the body of the shoe also added a leather connection area .

The midsoles of Lunarlon  with the heel zoom help a lot in the court.Impact protection and energy return are the heel’s main focus. The forefoot is all about offering a balanced ride that allows you to be quick on your feet while still maintaining a level of comfort.

 

For the fans of KOBE A.D , the best disadvantage is without of the resistance.  Kobe a.d mid added a quarter-finger carbon plate in the arch of the foot (the area of the carbon plate almost fills the entire arch).

For the supporting : The internal heel counter does a good job keeping your foot on the footbed. However, the lateral outrigger is much better than the one featured on the original Kobe A.D. and the supporting is not good compare with Jordans , if you need more supporting  when you playing , it is not the best  choice for   you .

we can see the gif picture as below :

I just play it within  a week, the wear of shoes is obviously .That is the annoying for us .

The lacing enclosure worked well along the midfoot while the slightly raised collar allowed for optimal heel lockdown.

Overall, the Nike Kobe a.d Mid is more then a sprit, the  traction was awesome and the cushion was solid, then the material is quit great. though the ventilation is  just so so. 
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Nike Kobe AD Mid EP Performance Review

I remember watching Kobe as a rookie thinking “This is one cocky mf, he better be good” .Kobe Bryant‘s Mamba Mentality has been well-documented throughout his 12 years with Nike Basketball. His alter ego has served as fuel for other athletes such as Kyrie Irving, all who have taken direct cues from Bryant’s hall of fame career.So many fans will like the AD MID sneakers .

So what is the performance ? We will check it today .

As we know ,these sneakers monochromatic colorways ranging from teal (honesty), red (passion), grey (detachment), purple (fearlessness), and yellow (optimism). but for me , I like the grey one . it is seems a  little unobtrusive  ,but this one match any color way if  you don’t know the color principle .

For this shoes , it is seems  very different than any other Kobe shoe I ever played in. It provides less responsiveness and court feel than other Kobes. It seems like after his retirement, Kobe wants a little more cushioning and a more “old school” vibe from his shoes.For the design ,the unique features on the Swoosh branding  is  attractive  .

 

For the material : Kobe AD Mid material is more a little  stiff, maybe  the reason why of this kind of material,  it is  the suede material with the leather ,though it is kind of thin.then we can see the  Flywire which more the wrapping .

The materials do take a few hours of break in to warm up and soften but there aren’t hot spots that pinch or flex painfully so just play on and you’ll be fine. You do have a little dead space in the toe box when you lace them tightly but it doesn’t affect anything.

For the ventilation ,the materials are not breathable at all  .Moisture buildup becomes an issue within the shoe rather quickly because of the lack of ventilation, especial for the summer , if you can not bear it , maybe it is not a good choice for you .When you have moisture buildup within a shoe, and you have friction involved, blistering is inevitable.

The advantage of this kind of suede material is that it have  enough support and stability . When carrying out some high-intensity reversal, the uppers can work, but this type of upper has the disadvantage of being extended.

Followed by a surrounded TPU,  Kobe Bryant ad mid ‘s stability is great , the stability of this pair of shoes is really good.

For the lace system , it is nothing special , but  it is easy to adjustment  ,but seem the second row of shoelaces will have a little footing in the beginning

For the cushioning : For the Kobe series’s cushioning configuration, I guess  a lot of people familiar with this kind of design.  it is  the  Lunarlon midsole followed by Zoom. for this price with this setting , it is nice . But it  seems to be worse than the previous Lunarlon of Kobe 11 EM.

However, this version of Kobe AD Mid is greatly improved. The full length  of Lunarlon is relatively flexible, the forefoot is slightly harder, but it is suitable for the design of guard quick start. The Zoom’s soft bullet is moderate and the feedback is obvious. I think it is a very practical and effective cushioning configuration in actual combat.

The forefoot is all about offering a balanced ride that allows you to be quick on your feet while still maintaining a level of comfort.  and the Kobe AD Mid is more comparable to the Kobe 10 and Kobe A.D. NXT rather than the previous Kobe A.D.

For the traction :  Translucent rubber, it worked really well.  But the dust is attracted to this type of rubber, so you will need to wipe here and there, but it was nothing that would hinder the traction’s performance if you were too busy playing to wipe.

 

The outsole there is a very small outwardly extending corner which the role is to prevent rollover, there can be a clear visible carbon plate on the heel, then with the carbon plate supporting, this pair of shoes is still very good resistance to distortion

Overall, Ventilation and material quality are where the Kobe AD Mid’s could improve. However, the cushioning is nice and the rest of the shoe plays and performs really well. traction also great, it is worth the price .

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Nike Kobe A.D. “University Red” Performance reviews

2016.4.14, with a sound MAMBA OUT, Kobe  retired NBA which  20-years  .

We can not help ask myself : NIKE will continue to release  Kobe Bryant series  sneakers?

The answer is YES , NIKE launched a new Kobe Bryant boots KOBE A.D.The Nike Kobe AD burst onto the scene late last year with a brand new naming system to differentiate Kobe Bryant’s playing days

from his new retirement phase of his career.

The Nike Kobe A.D.continues to champion the sleek simplicity that the Black Mamba’s signature silhouettes have been known for ever since teaming up with designer extraordinaire Eric Avar.

There are three colorway as below :

It is a refined upper utilizing engineered mesh, Dynamic Flywire, and a unique heel construction all resting on a sleek Zoom Air tooled midsole unit with natural motion in the forefoot.

NIKE KOBE AD “MIDNIGHT NAVY”GLOBAL RELEASE DATE: FEBRUARY 1, 2017$160Color: Midnight Navy/Pure Platinum-WhiteStyle Code: 852425-406

 

But today we are talking about the University Red . The goal with the model was to bring the ‘Mamba Mentality’ to us, and by combining a lightweight engineered mesh upper.This is the first Kobe AD colorway that we’ve really seen break up the team-centric monochromatic option.Every fans will memory  Kobe amazing basketball skills in the NBA games  . as University Red combines with a Black lining to allow for the Total Crimson Swoosh to truly stand out. the colorway like fire . Kobe’s signature is stitched onto one heel while the freshly designed ‘Mamba DNA’ logo consisting of 2 snakes forming a DNA helix is on the other. That is him.

For cushioning ,It utilized  Flywire lacing system, exposed the Lunarlon midsole which showcases that they put more effort into faking the Zoom Air on the TPU wrap than they did putting it into the actual shoe, along with giving us a look at the actual Zoom Air cushion used in the heel. Also visible is the true shape of the shiny heel counter featuring the ‘Sheath’ logo. They also used the breathable mesh to improve the breathability.

The tongue is fill with form that improve  protection .

overall , The shoe features a mix of Flywire, mesh, Lunarlon, and Zoom Air. It is worth to buy .

How do you thinking ?