It’s not often a that small shoe company makes a splash with big time performance at a reasonable price so after reading raving reviews I decided to see for myself how these performed.
Here is my Aj XX9 Review for reference
UNBOXING
I usually don’t write about unboxing a pair of shoes but damn, BB knows its target customer.
Sneakerheads love a nice box and BB doesn’t disappoint. The box really makes you feel like you’re getting something special just like those little blue Tiffany’s boxes.
One other note, I wonder if BB can bottle they new shoe smell? I put the shoes in my shoe closet and it gave my whole closet that new shoe smell. Thanks BB!
TRACTION
BB uses a unique pattern that they call traction blades which works very well when there isn’t dust clinging to them. The rubber compound is very soft and pliable so it picks up everything.
I shot around for three minutes and picked up so much dust I was ice skating but after a spit and wipe they resumed their grippy ways. They required constant wiping at first but got better as they broke in during the game (or they just picked up all the dust on the court and there was no more to slip on 🙂
However, I thought I was being paranoid but after multiple runs traction isn’t as good moving side to side as it is front to back due to the blade set up. Since the blades run mostly left to right rather than a zig zag pattern like herringbone set ups, the dirt can’t be pushed away as effectively on side to side movements; the inside forefoot is slightly angled which helps on push of for cuts but the outside forefoot needs that same pattern for stopping and change of direction. Maybe the next model will feature multi directional blades to fix this small problem.
COMPARED TO AJ XX9
Traction performance is excellent especially moving forward and backward but I feel the AJ XX9 works better overall especially in regard to stopping power during side to side movement.
CUSHIONING
Jetlon, BB’s proprietary cushioning, runs the full length of the shoe and feels great heel to toe. I tried on my Clutchfits, Rose 5, and Lillards to try to find a close match to what Jetlon feels like and I came to this conclusion: thick Adiprene with more bounce. It has a more muted feel than Boost and Micro G but does have some bounce back. Although the overall set up feels good, I still like Boost and Micro G a lot more. Here is how I’d rank Jetlon compared to other foam setups:
Jetlon is low profile so the shoe sits low to the ground, very similar ride as the Lillard 1 height. I did not list Zoom Air bc it varies shoe to shoe unfortunately but when it is done correctly, it’s awesome.
Compared to the XX9
Although I enjoyed the great transition of full length Jetlon, it’s tough to beat unlocked Zoom even if I preferred the XX8 setup more. Unlocked Zoom is just plain fun.
FIT
I went true to size and these fit perfectly. Fit is fantastic thanks to the woven upper and this
The synthetic leather straps wrap around the ankle and totally locked my foot into place at the heel. No side to side movement in the toe box or mid foot either since you can really tighten the laces as much as you want without feeling lace pressure.
Above: i thought the JC would’ve been a nice place to put the laces through. Would help hold the tongue in place and let the JC show a little better.
The upper is made almost entirely of a woven upper like the AJ XX9 and required zero break in time. It is is a little thicker than the XX9 upper thanks to glue but it remains perfectly flexible with no stiffness, hotspots or weird flex points.
Here are some shots of the upper
Mid foot w nice perforations for ventilation
Not often you see quality double stitching like this on a mid priced shoe.
Here is a pic of the synthetic leather that wraps the heel.
Inside collar . Looks Lebron Elite /pro combat esque.
Compared to the XX9
This is really a tough call because we are talking sock like fit with both. I’m going to puss out and say it’s a tie.
SUPPORT AND STABILITY
I personally think this is the shoe’s strongest attribute. The shoe’s super stability virtually eliminates the need for any extra support because it is just plain difficult to make the shoe tip over. I did my heel test and it always wanted to stay flat and refused to turn over. It’s like that from heel to toe thanks to an outrigger at the forefoot as well. Throw in the excellent fit, low to the ground cushioning and you have an extremely stable shoe that still feels natural underfoot.
Below: forefoot outrigger
Lateral stability “Vector wings” at the heel (also a smallish internal heel counter) give the shoe excellent stability and support.
COMPARED TO THE XX9
The J Crossover 2 crushes the XX9 in this department. The XX9 only support came from a small internal heel counter and its fit but was very tipsy at the heel in my opinion. The J Crossover provides stability and support everywhere without being clunky.
CONTAINMENT
As expected containment was the shoe’s weakest aspect due to the woven upper. I could feel my foot slide out of the footbed on hard cuts since there wasn’t any extra layering or a footstay at the forefoot.
See how how foot is coming out from a static position (just pushing with my right foot).
Here is my foot trying to come out of a shoe with excellent containment, the D Rose 5 (I’m pushing with my other foot as well) and it doesn’t budge
The forefoot “wall or bucket” is the same height as the insole so nothing is there to stop my foot from sliding out.
Despite how good the upper feels and fits and how stable the shoe plays, I do not enjoy feeling of my foot sliding out of the footbed. Synthetic, leather, and fuse uppers all have pushback whenever it’s deformed but with a woven cloth upper, you don’t get that since it is meant to be pliable and comfortable. A little footstay or higher wall would easily remedy the containment issues I had.
COMPARED TO THE XX9
I could feel the XX9 plastic footstay flex on hard cuts but at least it had one. A more rigid material like carbon fiber (ala XX8) would have helped a lot more . The XX9 takes this category even though containment is not really a strength of the XX9 either.
PRICE
Although pricing isn’t a factor in performance it is a factor we all face when we go out to purchase shoes.
AJ XX9: retails for $225 on sale for $125 to $179
J Crossover 2: retails for $140 on sale for $98 to $120
Now that’s a huge $85, 60% gap in the retail price between the two shoes and it boils down to Brand Equity. Jordan Brand has the strongest BE while Brandblack, being an upstart, has almost none. It doesn’t cost JB any more to produce a woven upper (probably a lot less due to economies of scale ie making a lot more shoes costs less per shoe) but their BE is so strong they can charge a lot more for a similar product. This is why consumers have to pay more for the big brands versus generics (think Coke vs Sams choice) even if there isn’t a concrete difference.
Anyway, off my soap box.
CONCLUSION
Brandblack created a fantastic shoe at a great price point and depending on your wants and needs, could easily supplant the AJ XX9 as the best woven upper hoops shoe. Superb quality and details, great traction, good cushioning, excellent fit, support and stability for under $150 ? If these had better containment these would easily make my rotation but I’m so anal about what I’m looking for that I wont compromise. Regardless of the price, I’d pick the J Crossover over the XX9 even though the XX9 eeked out more categories because it’s so much more stable and supportive than the XX9. I never felt safe wearing the XX9 so that’s why I got rid of them. We all love big brands but it is fun watching new companies show that they can hang with the Swoosh with a budget a fraction of a fraction the size of the big boys. Can’t wait to see what Brandblack does next.
Great review
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Thanks !
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Hey man. One of the best reviewers out there imo.
I need your help though. What would you personally prefer between the 29’s, rose 5’s, soldier 6’s, kobe 10 elite and the hyperrev 2015. I have tried on all of these and all of them feel nice. Have read your reviews on all of them except the soldier 6. How would you rank these 5 shoes based on your personal preference. Because we both got the same wide feet. Thanks for the help.
PS. Keep up the great work bro every review is better than the previous one.
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Soldier vi still in my top 3 depends on the day lol. I’ll have to write a review as to why .
My preference
1) rose 5 1a) soldier vi 2) Kobe x elite
These two are way behind the first three 3) hyper rev (not enough containment for me) 4)Jordan xx9 (never felt safe in xx9 and no containment) .
Thanks for the kind words !
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You deserve the words bud! Out of traction though which one has the best out of those 5?
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Rose 5, xx9 , soldier vi, Kobe x, hyperrev . All have exceptional traction so hard to differentiate. Traction is one of my top priorities so if they aren’t awesome, I don’t even bother . Lol
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Ps. Bought the clutchfits based on your review great shoe everything you said was spot on!
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Which is more durable, micro g or jetlon? Also, between jc2 and clutchfit drive low, which do you prefer?
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Not sure about durability of the cushioning. I prefer the Clutchfit drive low. Containment not very good on the jc2 (foot slides out on hard cuts bc of upper material). Clutchfit drive low is my favorite low
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Beautiful performance poetry.
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i just got the j.crossover 2 in the lows! the setup is the same as these bur its not a a woven upper. i think you’d like these upper, but from your review, it looks like you have mixed feelings about these..cheers!
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Yea I felt the jc2 was overhyped. No mention of the poor containment in any reviews. Cushioning and traction were pretty good but nothing I haven’t seen before. Very stable though.
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ahaha..overhyped?by whom?marketing machine?or by bias little pricks?sorry for the language….lol..i wanted to give them a try since my wife really like the design and the colorway, its not everyday i hear that from her, she always complains “that’s ugly”, “that’s hideous”, “who the hell designed that?(Jordan 13’s), so i just copped the JC2 low. plus they were on sale so it was a plus. i haven’t worn my JC2 lows to play yet, but i like the low profile feel. not as low as the Kove 5s, but it still feels all right. the cushion fells like they have some bounce to it..i gather adidas ‘bounce’ cushion feels like this?or more responsive?anyways, i hope the containment is better since the upper looks like its textiled but backed up with some synthetic ‘fuse-like’ material…i wish they made the lows with achilles cushion, it would help with the support but containment feels ok..not Kobe 5 great but decent. can’t wait to give them a try! cheers
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Haha in sure they will
Play much better than the regular 2
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hey, am thinking of getting either jc2 or jordan 31 lows… hows the weight of each and what feels lighter? im looking for a very light shoe (think kobe’s but mids and well cushioned…) thx!
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AJ xxxi low is great my full review will be up next week. Weighs 14.5 oz in an 11.5 . I don’t know the weight of the jc2 since I forgot to weigh them and I have since sold them but it probably weighs the same. Aj has the jc2 beat in every facet except stability but it’s more than adequate. Hope that helps !
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