I was shocked that Jordan Brand lowered the price from $160 to $135 but now I know why…
I am not a Carmelo Anthony fan. When I watch him play I see a player that can score and that’s about it. Given his size and speed he should be getting at least two to three more boards per game but the effort isn’t there. He’s a star that can score but not a superstar that makes his teammates any better.
* I stand corrected by Jon, Melo leads SF in rebounds and is 4th on assists Haven’t watched the Knicks this year. Good to see he is getting better*
Regardless of his play, I am a fan of his shoes and who wouldn’t be ? Can’t afford the latest Air Jordan XXXXX? Get the Melo version for 2/3 the price or wait until they hit the clearance sales for $60 ( I did that with the M11 and M9 both great on court). Given the enthusiastic reviews I’ve seen about the M12, I was curious if it was an upgrade.
Pros: traction, fit
Cons: cushioning is mediocre, poor containment, cheap materials explain the price drop, does nothing better than the M11
Best for: Jordan brand fan boys.. Even then stick to the M11
Sizing: true to size
Price: $135 ( wait for clearance, trust me)
Weight:
Same weight as last year so the material change was presumably for financial reasons. Leather costs a lot more then mesh.
Traction
Jordan Brand has done a great job with traction the past few years and these are no different.
Nice pliable rubber and a simple wave traction pattern provide great traction. Worked great on all surfaces although some wiping is necessary on very dusty floors. I found it to perform the same as the M11 on all surfaces.
Cushioning
Only Jordan Brand could create a great cushioning set up ( AJ XX8) and make it worse year over year. Rather then give us two Zoom units, JB decided it wasn’t necessary anymore after decades of giving us two or full length. At least the XX9/Superfly 3/M11 felt decent in the forefoot.
The M12 just feels like a thin layer of full length foam with a teeny tiny touch of Zoom.
It shares the same Flightspeed set up as the Super Fly 4 but feels dead from heel to toe. I loved the set up on the Super Fly 4 but this is just blah. The foam heel feels better to me then the forefoot.
Marketing states two Zoom units but I can’t feel one let alone two. Maybe it’s just hidden by the Flightspeed plate ?
The Zoom in the forefoot is recessed even more than the previous year. Recessed so much I think they took it out altogether. 
Shot of the Flightspeed plate. 
Fit
I went true to size with my normal sz 11 like I did with the M11 and these fit almost exactly the same despite the much bulkier overall look. The mesh conformed well to my foot so it will accommodate more foot shapes than the M11. I had no movement side to side and had my normal finger width at the toe.
JB added extra ankle pads in the M12 snd they feel great but probably aren’t all necessary. No heel slip at all. Pretty sad when these are a highlight of the shoe.
Mesh replaces the leather upper of the M11 and it works great in terms of conforming to the foot ( containment is another story) I’m surprised it took shoe manufacturers so long to design shoes with mesh especially considering how much less expensive it is versus leather. The problem with mesh is containment because it stretches and flexes so much with no resiliency ( see containment).
Ballistic mesh is used in the lateral side and a thinner micro mesh is on the medial side . 
Web straps are found on the M12 just like on the Superfly 4. Straps do a much better job holding the foot in place versus Flywire due to the increased thickness. They are free floating, meaning they aren’t tied into the upper. 
The fit is great but not any better then the M11
Support and stability
Support comes mostly from the fit and the heel counter. The heel counter is higher then normal but it is just a very thin sheet of plastic with very little rigidity.
There is a little hardness on the lateral side of the heel counter but it isn’t much. It gets the job done I guess but I expect more when a Jumpman is on the box. The Phylon midsole triangle with the Jumpman you see at the heel is where the most of the support comes from.
**edit per Jb marketing, the heel counter is leather . If you say so ?
Here you can see the M11 thick and sturdy heel counter
Thankfully stability is good a with a split heel. There is no forefoot outrigger but the forefoot outsole is wider overall so it’s still stable.
The forefoot is articulated too but I couldn’t tell at all.
Containment
Containment is terrible due to the mesh upper. It has a raised midsole but it is too low and flexible to keep the foot contained.
You can see how easy it is to bend with my fingers 
On cuts and stops I felt my foot come out of the footbed ( midfoot to forefoot) and get pinched between the upper and the insole …mind you the insole is fixed, not removable so this is very disappointing to feel. I haven’t felt this poor of containment since the Hyperrev 2014.
Here you can see my foot come out coming from a running stop of only five feet. You can see it makes my foot tip as well
Having a full head of steam from one end of the court to the other really exacerbated the problem. The M11 had above average containment but is worlds better than the M12.
Conclusion
Jordan Brand is a premium brand so I expect premium products. If you bought a cheaper prices Louis Vuitton for your wife, you’d still expect LV quality and feel right? You wouldn’t want LV making H&M quality bags would you ? That’s what I feel like is going on with the M12.
Cheaper price, cheaper materials . The shoe itself looks like it came out of a Fisher Price factory with all the cheap materials. I’d take the M11 over it any day; better materials, far better cushioning, more support etc.. And not to mention on clearance everywhere at half the price. There are so many shoes below $135 that perform light years better . I suggest you do what Melo doesn’t do, and pass on these.
schwollo.com 
Great read, containment is a serious flaw especially for players who likes to cut and run all the time (that is me basically). Sad to see that JB needs to pay fanboys just for their shoes to sell. I pity us the public because most of the time we fall into these marketing BS! I hope your page grow a million times and let all people be informed of this piece of sh#t!
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Way to go schwollo! This should be read by more people. Couldnt believe how these got a stamp of approval by other reviewers
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Ha ha to each their own
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Haha thanks Jeff ! How the kd 8 working ?
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Thank you for taking the time and really wear test and sharing your results without bias.
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Thanks for reading !
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Loving it and sorry didn’t wait for your Kobe 11 review, went ahead and copped the achilles colorway haha can’t really help it especially that Kobe is retiring soon. Did finish line deliver your JC3’s? lol…
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Lol yep they got here on time
Kobe xi feels like the IX imo
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Great review and presentation of evidence on the containment issue. I agree that your blog should be followed by more people.Keep up the great job and your non-partisan views.
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Thanks 40plus!
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Thanks for letting us know and run away from the M12 lol Also, great, detailed review. Keep um the good work!
Btw, any plans on review the Hyper Rev 2016 ?
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I do plan on it. I got mine last week haven’t played in them but Zoom and fit feel great. I really think these will perform well
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Awesome. This is all I am reading on these: nice zoom and great fit. Leaning towards grabbing one of these (found one for 97 on Ebay)
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Yep that’s pretty accurate . Need to play to see how traction is .
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Thanks for the great review Schwollo. Was thinking of trying these out after a good experience with the M11s. So glad I waited because I’m now going to pass on these. Can’t wait to see your HyperRev 2016 review since that is the next shoe I’m looking at.
Hope you like the JC3s. I really like my pair after 2 wks of playing.
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Yea it’s an easy pass on the m12. I haven’t had a chance to play in the jc3 yet but the feel great much better cushioning that the jc2. Thanks for reading !
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Great review!!!its a shame really ,melo used to be a comfort or bigman option for jordan brand sig,the highlight of melo shoe usually lies in material,comfort and cushioning and support now they take them out …..i think if only they put superfly 2 tooling and leather on top they will be much better…but they dont
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Yep 100% agree!
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Great review, thanks Schwollo. A very detailed and unbiased review as always! I think Jordan Brand is interested more in their retro shoes rather than their flagship models (CP3, Melo and newest AJ’s).
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Thanks Greeksneak! I think retros are what makes them money . I don’t blame them for that though lol
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Melo is leading all SF’s in rebounding this year, so your comment that “with his size and speed he should be getting a few more boards per game” doesn’t make much sense. He’s also 4th among SF’s in assists, so your “he doesn’t pass” comment is pretty dated. It’s actually been a pretty big story this season, at how well he is passing the ball this year. Try watching more basketball and becoming more informed.
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I stand corrected . Thank you !
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Ok, Melo for the first time in his career has almost 4 assists per game so? In his 13 seasons averages 3.1 assist per game. Does this thing mean that he passes a lot?
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Passes more or porzingis just getting those passes be making them ? Don’t know haven’t watched Knicks this season
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3.1 is pretty average for a SF. It’s not great, not terrible. There’s only one Lebron, nobody else ever approaches those assist numbers from the SF position. I just found the “he doesn’t pass” thing to be dated because Melo is having his best passing season ever, and really his overall play has been very good this year and that team is overachieving.
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Yeah for this season, let’s see if he can keep it up though. The way his career is going, I don’t think he will ever win a championship. That’s just me 🙂
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I remember when people said the same thing about Dirk. You never know, but you’ve got to have the team around you and Carmelo has never had that.
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I agree with you Jon 100%! No matter how good you are, you always need a great cast of players around you in order to built a championship contender team or even more win a championship ring.
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agreed.
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Now that I’ve finally played in these a few times I have to say that I haven’t had the containment issues that you experienced. Mine fit me like a glove and are very comfortable. Perhaps it has to do with foot width? My only issue with this shoe is I wish it had air units in the heels too. But everything else I like….it’s very comfortable, light, fits great, good traction.
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Nice glad they worked out for you . Fit isn’t the problem mind fit well. I rarely get along with any uppers that are woven or mesh ( AJ xx9, jc2, Crazylight boost 2015). It’s really because of how I cut, start and stop plus I’m not a flyweight at 180 lbs 5’10.
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Makes sense. I’ve played in these enough to where I have experienced the containment issues that you described….but only a couple of times. Not a good feeling at all, but again it’s been pretty rare for me. I’m taller and lankier though – 6’2 175. These were actually my favorite to play in of last year’s shoes that I tried(Rose 6, Curry 2, Torch 4). Though I have the translucent bottom all star Curry 2’s and the traction is really bad and ruins them, otherwise I’d probably prefer those.
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I feel it on almost every cut but yea center of gravity and weight definitely plays a role. I haven’t taken my all star curry 2 out of the box so can’t comment on that aspect.
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Hey scwhollo,i want to ask a question about melo m11,how do those cushioning in melo m11 feel?recently i found some m11 quite cheap on ebay,since my local retailer did not have my size,i cant tell how they feel
Is there any shoe that you think similiar in term of the feel of cushioning??
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Jordan xx9 and super fly 3 feel very similar . I think Melo m11 is the most muted of the three though
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thanks for reply,also how thick is sole of melo??im prefer a thicker sole for basketball,compared to sf3(thats the only shoe i currently have to make a judgement on em)
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It’s about the same. Not really a big enough difference to measure
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Hi Schwollo. I am intersted in Jordan Melo 12. How wide they actually are in cm? My feet’s width is 11.5cm, I wear 12US / 11 UK size. Will they fit well? What do you reckon?
And I also thought about Curry One. The same questions as above for Cutry One. Thanks for all comments in advance 🙂
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I sold the m12 so I can’t measure it. No really useful anyways since a lot of the fit involves the interior of the shoe. What shoe or shoes do you wear now in a US 12?
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Thanks for a quick reply. Yes. It is US12. My feet are 284mm long and width as above.
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What shoes do you currently wear ?
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Thank you for this. Was debating between m11 and m12. Currently in m11 so will stick to them. Great review and saved me money!!!
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No problem ! I’ve read or seen other reviews calling the m12 an AJ xx9 alternative but it’s not even close . M11 is a much better shoe
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