We all know Lebron didn’t wear the XI very much at all but I wonder if he has an aversion to drop in insoles like I do? Makes some sense since the only drop in insole shoe in the Lebron line are the IV and XI. Just a thought…
I really thought I’d love the XI since the ride was lowered from the X and the shoe as a whole looked sleeker. I found the King’s Pride colorway amazing since I always loved the first gold Flightposite. But then I wore them and they’ve been sent to the abyss known as my closet.
Pros: Support and stability, cushioning, fit
Cons: mediocre traction, containment, drop in insole pinching
Best for: bigger guards and bigs. Non cutting players
Weight
Pretty light for how big the shoe looks. Weighs the same as the Clutchfit Drive 2
Traction
Just not good on anything other than perfect courts.
My YMCA is pretty dusty but many of my shoes stick just fine. I was constantly wiping and still sliding around moments later.
I can’t really think of many shoes worse then the XI. I feel it’s a little worse than the Run the One which I consider a very average shoe in the traction department. And yes I played in the non translucent King’s Pride as well. Same problems.
Cushioning
One of bright spot of the XI
A drop in Lunarlon insole with full length Zoom. I thought this sounded way too squishy and soft on paper but it turned pretty good especially after break in. The Lunarlon Zoom combo felt great underfoot although the Zoom’s responsiveness gets muted by all the Lunarlon and because the Zoom is bottom loaded 
Although the full length 360 Zoom of the X felt heavenly I prefer the playability of the XI because the height and softness of the X around the heel just didn’t work for me especially as a guy who cuts a lot.
I hate drop in insoles as you well know because I can feel my foot get pinched between the upper and the insole since there is nothing firm between my foot and the insole.
If a 178 lbs amateur can feel this I can only imagine what a 260 lbs freak of nature thinks of it . Of course LBJ can’t say that since Nike has tons of shoes with drop ins. All speculation of course but it isn’t surprising to me that the XII went back to a standard set up.
Fit
I went with my normal sz 11 and these fit perfectly from heel to toe and side to side. I recommend true to size. I’ve read numerous reviews about pinky toe pain including LBJ himself but I never had any. Some people will have toe pain since there is a Hyperposite all over the shoe and on the lateral side of the toe box but I just got lucky. Same can’t be said for Lebron
No wonder his pinky toe was rubbing. It’s sitting on top of his other toes.
I have never had a good experience with Posite materials but the XI looked promising since it was a mix of fuse and Hyperposite.
I will say the shoe’s fit was great but still wasn’t feeling the way the Hyperposite felt on foot. Some people say it conforms to your foot but I have never gotten that feeling on any Posite shoe; it just feels like deadweight to me.
In addition, Hyperposite isn’t some super lightweight and strong material that Nike claims it to be. If it was, then why was it replaced by TPU in the Lebron XII Elite?
Just food for thought.
Support and Stability
As with all Lebrons, the support and stability is excellent. Great fit, a lower cushioning set up from the X and a nice flat outsole all help to make this shoe as supportive as my mom. I had no complaints here.
Forefoot outrigger is really long and probably unnecessary
Plastic shank
Containment
I guess I was contained ? Hard to tell when my foot kept getting pinched between the insole and the upper on cuts. I really can’t stand that feeling. If the upper didn’t flex and the side walls of the insole were higher I don’t think I’d have an issue but unfortunately the XI doesn’t do either. It looks like it would be great but it just isn’t
The insole is right where my finger is so there is some coverage but the Hyperposite flexes too much.
Conclusion
Decent on paper but poor on the court is how I’d sum up the XI. One of my least favorite Lebrons to play in and I’ve played in 1-12 plus the Soldiers. I’d place it in the bottom third of all Lebrons. It does have a few redeeming qualities but the negatives don’t outweigh the positives. I never got that one to one feeling with the XI as I found it clunky to wear despite a good fit and all the technology it touted. It took me a long time to figure out why and I believe the issue is the that the soft, flexible drop in insole is fighting against the much more rigid Hyperposite/ Fuse upper. In other words they just aren’t moving together in unison. The Kobe 8 didn’t have this issue because the entire shoe was made to be flexible and move together since it is made of Engineered Mesh while the XI was made to be much more protective. In addition to the shoe fighting itself, the traction didn’t do well at all for me whenever any dust was present so this really put the shoe in the doghouse.
If you play on clean courts and don’t cut much then maybe these will work for you but these are going back to the closet again after this review.
schwollo.com 
Great review bro. I just guess we have different experiences with the 11’s. I personally love the 11’s don’t have a pair but i borrow his pair from time to time. Probably one of the best shoes ive worn personally. Only downside was the traction but everything else felt great for me personally.
Quick question. Are you gonna review the brandblack jc3 if/when they drop?
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Why don’t you pick up some XI? They are cheap now in the U.S. Bad traction ruins pretty
Much any shoe.
If the jc3 is reasonable I probably will. Looks well made
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No cw’s i want personally only reason why ive held out on getting 11’s. I am personally waiting for the season to start since that will be the release date of a lot of my anticipated kicks.
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i borrow my friend’s pair*
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Saved me there haha almost got a pair of the 11’s on ebay luckily i browsed your site first before checking out. Just like you, I cut most of the time. Been to lebron shoes lately and I must say the 2’s and the 5’s are the best of the his line. Hope you can put up a review on the V’s… Thanks for all the reviews, keep them coming.
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Haha I’m trying to go in some semblance of order working down to the middle . Lebron traction is pretty sorry for the most part across the entire line
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How would you rank the lebron series?
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Going to have to think about that bc I don’t really like many of them
II , V only ones that stand out to me . X is fun but too unstable for me
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Hi mister schwollo, I enjoy reading your reviews and I like how you try to be accurate as possible. I just wanna ask you, have you seen the new jordan rising high model? And what do you think about them? Lastly do you have plans to review them?
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Haha mister schwollo. I have seen the rising high. It looks it will play like the super fly 4. I do not have any plans to review it though since I have the super fly. I’d wait a while for prices to drop if you’re interested in either
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thanks for replying and the tip! Also which do you prefer cushioning wise, the ua torch 4 or the clutchfit drive?
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I still like micro G over charged so Torch 4.
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*cluthfit drive 2
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Hey schwollo, how is the cushioning alone on the lebron 11 compared to the kd9?
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Impact protection wise both very good. The Lebron XI is a lot more muted than the Kd9 since it’s encased in lunarlon. Not as springy feeling as the KD 9 and much thicker feeling.
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I bought a pair of lebron 11 to swap the midsole into the kobe 9 em. Do u think kobe 9 em and lebron 11 midsole would be good to wear for work?
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This seems like such a love it or hate it shoe. It seems like it got some great reviews and some poor reviews, but very few in between. I just picked up a pair for $80 at Marshalls as I love the look of the shoe and was intrigued by it. The fit was initially uncomfortable, but now they feel great. I’ve shot around in them and worn them around the house a lot. Love the cushion. Looking forward to playing in them.
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How recent was this when u copped for 80$ at marshalls?
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I saw them a few weeks ago for $80 as well as the xii
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I bought a pair also but does the zoom on the midsole protrude to the point wear it is poking around the ball of ur foot? Its no pain its just that ive never felt a zoom protruding from the bottom to where i feel it on both feet around the ball area. Does it feel like this for u also?
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No it doesn’t. That’s weird
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So it should be flat under the foot without feeling anything protruding? Im thinking about returning them
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Yea nothing protruding. It’s one full length zoom unit
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Probably 2 weeks ago. I went to Marshalls again the other day and saw a pair still there and discounted to $70. They’re out there. South Beach teal colorway at my local Marshalls.
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Cushioning is nice but the traction was terrible for me and it just didn’t feel like part of my foot. I saw those at Marshall’s a few weeks ago too lol
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Yeah, the traction didn’t seem great when I shot around in them. I know what you mean as far as not feeling like part of your foot, though i grew up playing in shoes that felt like tanks so that doesn’t bother me as much. The cushioning I could see being too soft for some, but I like it. If worst comes to worst and the traction isn’t good enough for me to play in, I’ll just wear them casually. It’s probably a controversial shoe in the looks department too, but I like them and they’re one of the few modern bball shoes that I’d want to wear casually.(Kobe 11’s probably the other, and maybe the original Lillard 2 colorway)
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I’m planning to get a pair of these mainly for the insole to put into my Kobe 9’s lol. As for the actual shoe, gonna use them for outdoors/casual wear with the kobe 9 Lunarlon insole inside. I have a normal width foot, so hope they won’t be too loose.
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