Under Armour Torch 4 Performance Review
Written by schwollo
Under Armour is on fire, can this shoe bear “the torch” ?
As we all know UA basketball has been on fire thanks to Steph Curry but does anything without SC on it sell? I’ve only seen UA’s non Curry models at local sporting stores and Dick’s . And I’ve only seen them on court when I’m wearing them or some old guy that picked them up from Marshall’s on the cheap. If UA really wants to grow into a serious basketball brand, they need to be more than Steph’s shoe company, they need to be Under Armour the basketball shoe company.
I’ve been on the UA train since inception and the Juke was one of the predecessor to the first Torch which I never bought because I thought it was too bland although I’ve read it’s a performer. The Torch 2 and 3 looked totally generic as well so I passed on those too. These caught my eye though …
Pros: price, full length Micro G, traction, fit front to back
Cons: deadspace on sides of toe box, containment
Best for: ballers looking for best bang for the buck. Any guard or lighter bigs.
Weight
For reference, all weighed on my baby scale:
Curry One: 15 oz
Clutchfit Drive 1: 14 oz
Clutchfit Drive 2: 15.5 oz
Clutchfit Lightning: 13.5 oz
Prodigy: 15 oz
Traction
Full length multidirectional herringbone that feature the same rubber as the Clutchfits and Curry One. The grooves on the lateral side are the same width as the Clutchfits while about half grooves on the medial side are sharper and smaller. I couldn’t really tell a difference but it didn’t matter to me because I’ve always loved the traction on the Clutchfit/Curry One.
If you didn’t see that big flex groove …
There is actually a groove in the heel just like the Super.fly 4’s idea
Cushioning
Full length Micro G for $94.99? For $99 Nike gave us the Hyperchase with a full length foam. Not Lunarlon mind you, just some non descript, no name foam.
The insole is EVA which is a departure from the Ortholite (Curry One Low, CFD2) and Micro G (CFD 1 and Curry One Mid) and feels denser and less responsive than the other two insoles.
However, the end result is fantastic cushioning as always. UA didn’t give us a watered down version of Micro G just because this is a budget model. Feels just as good as the Clutchfit Drive 1 set up.
Fit
I bought my normal sz 11 and had my preferred one finger width space at the toe box. I noticed the toe box looked wider than the Clutchfit Drive before I put them on.
The wider toe box resulted in some deadspace on the sides of my foot. The midfoot fit is good enough that there isn’t much sliding due to the wide toe box but there is some, especially on hard cuts.
Not sure why UA made the toe box so wide because the previous version had a normal sized toe box.
The materials of the upper are mostly a synthetic leather which I actually like a lot. UA states it’s leather but it’s definitely synthetic.
It doesn’t have a fancy name but it works great. Very little break in time is needed and it holds its shape very well since it is thick and flexible. I also love the little details that make a plain black up interesting.
The ankle collar has just the right amount of padding. I felt zero slippage from the get go.
Overall the fit was great front to back but less than perfect side to side with that deadspace on the sides of the forefoot.
Support and stability
Nothing fancy just an internal heel counter, a thicker material upper, and a forefoot outrigger. A nice flat outsole allowed these to pass my heel test. These play as low to the ground as the Clutchfit Drive which makes sense given that the cushioning set up is the same.
Although it has no bearing on performance, I really like the big logo on the heel.
Heel counter goes follows the line up to middle of the logo
Containment
As stated earlier there is some deadspace at the forefoot and containment is only ok overall. UA implemented something like Adidas’s Fit Frame. The foot sits a few millimeters below the top of the extended midsole to keep the foot secure. It runs all the way from heel to forefoot although the higher coverage is at the heel and forefoot. I’d like to see it extended even higher around the forefoot because I could feel it push out of the shoe on hard cuts.
Additionally I could feel my forefoot slide inside the shoe on hard cuts thanks to that extra wide toebox. I don’t enjoy the feeling because it feels like it is coming out of the shoe even though it isn’t. It isn’t a huge amount but it’s there.
Conclusion
At $94.99 this is a great price for this shoe but for $76 after Eastbay’s 20% off it is a real steal. If you’re patient, these will go on sale in a few months probably around $79.99 minus coupon codes. Full length Micro G and excellent traction alone is enough to justify the price. I even like the overall color blocking and silouette of the Torch 4 more than the more expensive Clutchfit Drive 2. Of course it isn’t flawless as I found the toe box too wide even for my fat feet. If you don’t cut much or don’t have issues with containment, the Torch 4 will work just as well as the higher priced shoes that UA has to offer.
schwollo.com 
Would going down half a size improve containment?
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It might help but then the length would be too short for me so I didn’t try a smaller size
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How is the transition in these? Also, is the amount or thickness of micro g the same as in clutchfit?
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Transition is excellent due to full length micro g. It is same thickness as Clutchfit
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Another question regarding the fit, i assume it is better to just double sock than going down half size for fit improvement?
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Double sock it. Half size down would squish toes
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Thanks Schwollo! Looking forward to the Curry 2 review
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It will be up in a few hours !
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Schwollo, what is the material at the heel made of? Is it some type of mesh?
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It’s just meshlike material overlay. It’s still firm due to the heel counter
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Oh ok. So its like same mesh material as those on top of clutchfit in the CFD2?
Thanks Schwollo! Big fan here in the Ph! Btw, do you have plans of doing video reviews in the future?
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No it’s a tighter mesh. It’s really just for looks. Thanks for reading !
No video reviews in the plans. Too hard to allocate a block of time to do that right now.
May post snippets on Instagram of things that are hard to show via pics though (same username )
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Thanks for the review!
I hope they release some of their team colorways here in the philippinws. Shoe looks dope imo.
The juke is also a shoe ive been trying to get for a long time now. If i can get my hands on the juke 2’s even better. They used the anatomix spawn tooling with a retooled upper and improved compfit.
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Yea it looks great. The juke 2 looks interesting but cheaply made IMO so I never went for it.
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Hi Schwollo,
Great to read your reviews, I am kinda torn between Torch 4 and torch 3?
I read the torch 3 is equiped with a little bit of clutch fit and as you mentionned the insole of the torch 4 is EVA and not Micro G.
Do you think TORCH 3 has the edge although torch 4 is new ? Have you tried the torch 3?
My budget is quite limited so I cannot get the CFD1 that you spread so much love about 🙂
Thanks in advance or your reply and advices, greeting from France
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I have not played in the torch 3 only tried them on in the store. They have the same cushioning set up and traction pattern as my Jukes which is excellent. I think the torch 3 will play better because i did but feel any deadspace in the toe box. The torch 4 does look better though. Do you cut a lot or cut hard ? That’s the only time I feel you’d notice the space.
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I think i am gonna go with the “no dead space in the shoe”.I want to experience the perfect fit and try the little bit of clutchfit on the torch 3. We do not have much choice for the moment in France (ordering from the US is costly because of import taxes) so with your comments and the caracteristics of the shoes I really think I will get somenthing very nice from the torch 3.
Thank you so much for replying.
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Awesome let me know how it goes . merci for reading my blog and reviews! Only been to France once and it was wonderful. I think I went to one shoe store and a few in Italy haha
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Happy you had a good time there! The Filipino Basket ball team came to my city in summer 2014 to compete in a 4 team tournament against France and other nations prior to world cup in Spain and they did great with local support from basketball fans and French Filipinos people living there.
Cheers!
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I’ve been comparing shoes since yesterday like I’m writing my masterthesis on this subject. Could you please help me out? I’m choosing between the Nike Hyperrevs 2015 and the Under Armour Torch 4. I’ve never had under armour before but the price seems very good and I like the looks better than those of Nike. I’m hesitant to buy the Torch 4 since you mentioned containment is just ok and that there is some movement in the front. On the other hand you seemed to be very happy with traction, fit and cushioning. (I play pointguard). Which shoe would you advise for competitive play?
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I like the hyper rev 2015 a lot esp since the prices are low. The only problem I have with it is that the foam that is in the midsole firms up over time so cushioning as a whole doesn’t feel very good. Everything about the Torch 4 is good except the containment which I found average. I’m a bigger denser guy 180/5’10 so when I change directions that’s where containment issues come up. Do you have a budget in mind ?
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Thanks for your help. Yes, my budget would be below 100 Euros, which is aproximately 110 US dollars.
I’m 170m and 75kg, which is aproximately 165/5’6. I play agressive; lots of cutting, change of direction/ speed etc.
So would I be correct to assume the Hyper rev 2015 is better in your opinion? Or do you have other suggestions maybe?
Cool and helpfull site! Greetings.
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Trying to work within budget.. What are you fav shoes to play in ? Are shoes pricier over there ?!
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I can’t really say anything about favourite shoes. The last shoes I had were the nike lebron 20-5-5 which I had for years and years. I would like shoes that are of such a decent quality that they last long.
I guess they are a bit pricier over here. I can get the torch 2015 for 80 euros (88 US dollar), and the hyperrev 2015 for 95 euros (105 US dollar).
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Do you want something lighter? If not Have you considered the Lebron soldier ix? Very durable and great performer . I have a review on here. Hyperrev is mostly mesh so it will wear and tear . Torch will be more durable .
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Okay so Hyperrev is definately out of the question for me. I have no respect for shoes that can’t take a couple of seasons.
Great suggestion on the soldier ix! Now these cost €50 more than the torch4 in my case, but from what I can find on the internet they seem to be worth it.
And yes I would like something lighter. Thats why the torch 4 seemed attractive as well, being a guard type of shoe. But these soldier ix’s aren’t much heavier either. So even though they are deemed shoes for the powerfull, would you agree they are just as good for a (quick) point guard?
Especially the great fit and support in comparison to the torch 4’s seems to me to be worth the extra money. Since thats the biggest downside on the torch 4. Would you agree?
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Yes I agree . They aren’t heavy by any means either. Just an excellent all around shoe . I didn’t pick up any more bc I have the soldier vi which I love.
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Haha, yeah I saw your collection of soldier vi’s. If that isn’t proof you like the shoe, I don’t know what is.
Thanks for helping out!
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Schwollo, so you are basically saying, that this is a good shoe for someone with fairly wide feet and forefoot? Most shoes cramp my toes at the front, so Im thinking is this the shoe for me…
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Someone with very wide feet because there is deadspace on the sides at the forefoot and I’m a wide foot . I think it’s a great shoe other than that space. Very nice Micro G
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Yeah, it looks like it would perform well. There is a new one, called under armour Rocket, looks very similiar. Maybe you have tried it?
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I’ve seen it. Pretty much the same as the torch 4.. Almost exactly. Get the torch 4 for less since its older
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