All hail the Godfather
Before the Kobe IV, lows were afterthoughts for shoe companies as they would produce them after the mid releases and watch them hit the clearance bins. Now everyone clamors for the lows thanks to the innovation Nike, Kobe, and Eric Avar created in the kitchen. Although it has its flaws, the Kobe IV still outperforms most of the newer shoes despite being seven years old. Hell, it’s still in my top five rotation today.
TRACTION
Full length multi directional herringbone gives the Kobe IV ridiculous traction. I wish they kept this pattern on the V and VI. Worked amazing back then and still sticks like glue. I’d take this traction over almost every shoe out there. No floor was too dirty for the Kobe IV.
CUSHIONING
Zoom in the heel and Lunarfoam in the forefoot. Sound familiar ? The Kobe X basically has the same set up with caged Zoom in the heel and Lunarlon in the forefoot. Zoom in the heel is perfect, stable yet bouncy. Lunarfoam, the first iteration of Lunarlon, worked ok for me but lost its bounce and bottomed outextremely quickly. However, after all these years I have gotten used to the feel and don’t really mind it anymore since the shoe excels at so many other things.
FIT
The Kobe IV was the first Kobe that I went up to an 11 in. Prior to that all my Kobes were a 10.5. These ran shorter and much narrower than the previous Kobes and really set to Nike’s new sizing since nearly every shoe I’ve bought since the IV has been an 11.
Flywire was in its infancy and wasn’t even detached from the shoe and shows up as raised lines on the upper. I mean, it really did nothing but Nike needed some kind of tech to hype right ? The upper where the Flywire was really had a plasticky feel. No additional support was provided by the raised lines known as Flywire.
Thankfully the shoe still fits like a glove thanks to a plush heel collar that all shoe companies should copy. Almost the exact same heel collar as the Kobe X. Zero heel slip, no side to side movement even on the hardest cuts.
SUPPORT and STABILITY
Support comes from a perfect fit and the Y bar to help keep the ankle from leaning on hard movements. It works wonderfully as I can honestly say I have never turned my ankle in these in 7 years.
The Kobe IV also has an outrigger at the forefoot that really kept the forefoot stable and safe
CONTAINMENT
Woven uppers and the minimalist movement hadn’t started yet so the upper features a mix of Flywire/fuse and synthetic leather that helped provide excellent containment. None of this mesh stuff that my foot could bust through.
I know I used this pic already 
Containment is further enhanced since the footbed is sits below that line you see along the forefoot.
Conclusion
Aside from the crappy short lived Lunarfoam, the Kobe IV really was and still is a perfect shoe . Excellent traction, fit, support and stability as well as containment all in a low top form factor. It really is no wonder everyone else followed suit after the success of the IV. It took a lot of balls on Nike’s behalf to put a low top on Kobe but thanks to some serious innovation, they set a whole new precedent.
schwollo.com 
The first thing I did after reading the review was to look for shoes at online shopping sites lol… We have brand new pairs here in ebay ph but limited cw’s. Nice review sir all my recent and future pick ups are based on your reviews. I’m waiting now for a better cw of the adidas crazylight boost as well as the soldier 9 (black colorways). Also waiting for your superfly 4 review. And thank you for the Kobe X id…
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The ivs are still in ph? What colorways ? I don’t know if id recommend the CLBoost for your ankles as fun as they are. I prefer the soldier vi over IX as well. And no problem in the Kobe x id. Will keep you updated !
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Yup available in three cw’s. Here is the link http://www.ebay.ph/itm/NEW-Zoom-Kobe-IV-4-Four-Finals-sz10-Air-Michael-Jordan-/181815931327?hash=item2a5512f1bf#shpCntId
But it says the listing has ended. If you are interested I can purchase them for you.
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Hi there, I am seriously considering getting one pair now haha read all the reviews about it and it is one of the best if not the best kobe shoes of all time… Here is the link from ebay.ph http://www.ebay.ph/itm/NEW-Zoom-Kobe-IV-4-Four-Draft-Day-s10-Air-Michael-Jordan-/181823291062?hash=item2a55833eb6
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200 usd isn’t bad but find a better colorway lol
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Hey man!
Could you do a review on the Venomenon 5, maybe a comparison to the Kobe 10?
I’m curious to see how those perform.
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Man I would but not really feeling that shoe . Maybe when sale time comes
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Thanks! Yeah I agree haha. Seems like the tech is pretty solid for the price, but maybe at around $50-60 range, if that. Thanks for talking me out of an impulse buy.
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Ha they still sell for 100 ish range used and upwards of 200 new depending on colorway. I love mine but i didn’t pay over retail either
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Definitely my favorite low top shoe of all time. Found some FTB 4s for retail online. I’m scared to ball in em cause they’re beautiful. Your review was on point about these. The herringbone pattern they put on this sneaker is one of my favorite parts along with the containment system. I’d buy multiple pairs of these over spending a lot of the newer models. Bought an ASG pair a while back and they ripped after 4 wears. Only thing I’m scared of when I ball in older models. Overall, keep up the good work.
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Really after four wears ? Still my favorite low despite the lunar foam. Just works for me (and you )
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Yeah, insane man. I had to reglue em again. I balled in em again and they ripped again so I gave up. This is one of my favorite shoes of all time. The 4 will always be my top choice cause it looks good and it performs well no doubt. I just wish the newer releases like preludes and FTB aren’t so hefty. They should re retro older models lol
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Did you use superglue or shoe goo? I’ve always had good success with shoe goo
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I had someone do it for me the first time. They said they used gorilla glue. But I have had success with regluing 2000 space jam 11s which I did back in high school with gorilla glue haha
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Try shoe goo. Super glue kind of works sometimes but shoe goo is way better. Send them to me and I’ll fix them if you want for free.
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I don’t have them anymore, I sold it. Wish I knew earlier. Gonna ball in my FTB 4s now. For future reference. Could you email me @ calvinkao3500@gmail.com? I’d like to keep in touch
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Just message me here or on twitter IG fb @schwollo I’ll be around .
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Nice. Thanks. Could I get a follow back. I’m the person that commented about the ASG 4
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what does lunarlon feel like after it bottoms out
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It just has no spring. Doesn’t feel terrible but you can feel a diff from a fresh pair
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ohh; so it’d feel like the forefoot cushion in the kyrie 2s and 3s?
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No not that hard still soft but not as springy as to start. I still wear my Kobe ivs after all these years and they play fine even though bottomed out
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I wear the kyrie 1s in a size 8.5 and they fit me perfect width wise albeit a bit too long length wise. Do you think i can fit a pair of size 8 kobe iv’s?
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Depends how long the Kyrie is on you. You can fit the iv but it will be tight most likely
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the kobe iv’s arent as narrow at the midfoot as the Kyrie 1’s, right?
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Correct not as narrow as the Kyrie 1
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Nice review as always. Cant wait for the kobe 4 protro schwollo. How heavy is the kobe 4?
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12.5 ounces in a size 11
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