First Look: Adidas Harden Volume 1
Written by schwollo
I’m almost done with my BB Rare Metal review but just wanted to share what I got today.
I actually didn’t even bother to wake up or set the alarm for these and casually checked out on Adidas.com during breakfast. Suffice to say, I was shocked they sold out. Maybe Adidas decided to play the low supply fake sellout game? At $160 these are at the higher end of the price spectrum and even though this pair features Primeknit, I don’t see a real upgrade unless the mesh version is pure garabage.
Traction
Interesting pattern that should work just fine…I hope. Very squeaky and sticky just walking around the house.
Cushioning
Boost is caged along the entire lateral side and partially on the medial side
It feels firm like the Crazylight Boost 2016 but a little lower to the ground just walking around the house.
Fit
I went with my true size 11 and could have sized down half a size just like the CLB. I have a thumbs width a the end of the toe box. It feels perfect width wise for my wide feet. I may try 10.5 in the upcoming colorway to see if it fits better. There is a bit of bunching on the side when laced up since there isn’t a traditional tongue but it isnt bad.
Heel slip seems non existent. As I stated in my CLB review, the heel collar should have been higher and oh look it is now 
And look at all the eyelets
Materials
I wouldn’t call this suede super high quality but it isn’t bad. You wouldn’t find this suede on a pair of Cole Haans but it’s good enough for a bball shoe. The suede seems to be just a free floating layer that covers the toe box since the Primeknit upper runs all the way to the end of the shoe. It appears to be more for aesthetics than anything else and possibly helps with containment ever so slightly.
The Solider III executed this idea much better as it’s just one layer as it transitioned from midfoot to the patent toe box as one layer. Hard to see in this pic but trust me. Patent leather is much harder than Primeknit so the independent toe helped on the Soldier III. We will see once these hit the court though.
The Primeknit is not soft and pliable like the Crazy Explosive but instead has structure and some stiffness due to its backing.
I’ve never viewed Harden as a player who needs/wants/cares about soft materials unless it’s for a robe and cigar party so these are right up his alley.
Support and Stability
Feels low and stable just walking around the house. You can see the infinity shank that was found in the Crazy Explosive if you look closely.
Containment
Should be fine. I mean this is Harden’s shoe who Euros like nobody’s business. Add in the extra layer of suede and these should work great.
Overall I think these will play great although they are pricey in this Primeknit version. Is it worth double what the CLB16 has been trending at lately ? Probably not but if Adidas addressed the CLB’s issues it might be for some.
schwollo.com 
It looks way better than the crazy light and has a cool signature athlete – if the performance is there than this could be one of the great ones…
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Could be we will see . I actually like the CLB looks more but that’s personal tastes
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If the suede layer is mainly for aesthetics do you think it could be cut off without hindering the performance of the shoe/would the plastic footstopper(footstay?) still be attached to the upper?
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I wouldn’t cut it off since it protects the Primeknit . It might add some lateral containment as well but not a whole lot . But yes if you wanted to you could cut it off (footstay would stay attached to the sole)
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I had wondered about that too but thought it could leave your toe(s) pretty vulnerable. But then again, the Crazy Explosives (and D Roses) are just PK at the toe, right? Do they have any fuse backing at the very end (like, say, the JC2)? Does the Harden?
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No fuse backing at the end (no hard piece) no point taking it off though if it’s already there
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Gotcha. Main reason I wanna cut it off is cause that primeknit with the gold flecks is fantastic and if the suede cap is mostly aesthetic I’d like to see the primeknit all the way down the upper instead
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That would look pretty good .. very lifestyle shoe looking lol
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I appreciate Ben’s aesthetic idea. I was coming at it (they hypothetical removal of suede toe cap) from a different angle, thinking more in terms of psychological performance boost. If one were confident enough that, as you suspect, the toe cap is almost purely aesthetic (i.e., offers no performance benefits) and one didn’t care about the difference in appearance (or, like Ben, preferred the presumed post-mod appearance), one might remove it to reduce weight.
Of course, the difference in weight would probably be functionally insignificant. However, it might be worthwhile if it gave you a psychological edge. I don’t know much about how that stuff actually affects performance, but athletes do all kinds of superstitious stuff like that to try and improve performance. This line of thought reminds me of (and was probably partially inspired by) a few paragraphs from an SI article I read a long time ago about then-Broncos WR Ed McCaffrey (Wow! It’s great that you can access all this stuff online):
But what truly sets McCaffrey apart is what he wears–or doesn’t wear–once he takes the field. To rid himself of unnecessary weight, he defaces his uniform. He cuts out the lining, belt buckle and pockets of his pants, punches holes in his jersey,even slices off all but a half inch of the band above his athletic supporter, creating what amounts to a G-string jockstrap.
The only padding McCaffrey wears is a discontinued model of shoulder pads (Wilson’s 77-I Aggressor) that, according toBroncos equipment manager Doug West, “you wouldn’t even put on a junior high kid. I’ve tried to take his pads from him, because they’re right on the borderline of safety, but he won’t let me.”
This decrease in padding leads to an increase in pain, but McCaffrey says it’s tolerable. “Getting lighter probably gives me more of a psychological edge than a physical one,” he says,”but I guess I had a complex about being slow, because so many things have been written.”
For reference, I accessed the whole article (published almost exactly 18 years ago) here:
http://www.si.com/vault/1998/11/30/252636/white-lightning-with-no-pomp-and-precious-little-padding-the-broncos-deceptively-fast-ed-mccaffrey-has-become-the-nfls-unlikeliest-star-wide-receiver
I’m not trying to convince anybody to do this mod but I think the idea of trimming off anything considered superfluous for psychological benefits is interesting food for thought. Cheers.
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… Of course, if you don’t believe an ounce (or fraction of an ounce) is going to make a difference in your performance, that could negate any psychological boost you might’ve hoped to get. Haha!
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Hahaha all that article tells me is that the mental side especially confidence is important l. I’m superstitious too won’t change socks during tourneys if we’re winning or playing well. Good to see the pros are like us .
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I think having it as 2 layers is smart. It gives extra durability with harder material as independent toe cap (leather or suede) and containment, but you have the feel of prime knit on your toes, which is soft and comfortable.
If it were leather or suede and just one piece like Soldier III you have a harder more uncomfortable toe box. Best of both worlds the way Harden Vol 1 worked it, IMO.
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We will see on court!
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Not sure what you meant by the Soldier 3 executed the idea better? What is the use of the patent leather on the Soldier 3’s and the suede on the Hardens other than aesthetics (and possibly containment) if there’s another layer of material underneath it?
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There isn’t another layer underneath on the soldier iii is what I meant. It goes from midfoot upper into the patent leather toe box. Harden goes Primeknit all the way to the end of the shoe and then has that layer of suede just sitting over it. In the end it won’t matter much at all but just something I noticed. Plus pK is so much softer than patent leather it doesn’t need to be “independent”. The stiffness of the outsole and cushioning is really the limiting factor on both shoes anyways. Hope that makes sense!
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Yeah, it cleared up the description in your article! But what do you mean by the PK being much softer that it doesn’t need to be “independent”? Did you mean that there wasn’t a need for PK underneath the suede since it’s so soft it’s like it’s not even there?
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Patent leather is much harder than PK so making that independent kept the patent from creasing and needing break in time. In reality it won’t make a difference on court either way but shoe heads are anal
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Hey Schwollo, great site – just wondering:
1. In your experience does Boost cushioning on basketball shoes typically bottom out like Lunarlon cushioning (ie. Kobe 8 & 9?)
2. Whats the likelihood of the Harden 1s outperforming Curry 2s overall (in your opinion)?
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Usually it doesn’t bottom out but it is also usually thicker then Lunarlon. I did bottom out in the forefoot of the Crazy Explosive though .
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As for the harden vs curry 2. It will come down to traction and fit most likely which is a tall order. Won’t know until I play in them though
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I heard Harden complains his toes get stepped on a lot which is why they added that leather toe cap. I guess the suede in this colorway doesn’t help with that as much but I suppose the ones he uses on court have a stiffer material there to help with that problem.
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Well that would make sense in that regard lol
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Hi. I had them for 1 week now and played on it 3x for almost 6hrs total. The only thing I don’t like are the lacing system, the laces are quite short and the materials used tends to easily loose. But everything else are spot on. Boost is more felt than my D Rose 6, I like how they feel even when I walk around in the gym. Tnx.
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Nice sounds like a keeper for you !
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Whenever i play against someone wearing harden pe’s, i instantly become aggressive in attacking his defense. Obviously, results vary. All those vine videos of harden really caught up on me.
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Lol he’s a little better this year thanks to a great defensive coach that came from the Grizzlies and dantoni unlocked his passing prowess so gotta take the good with the bad
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hey schwollo,
i am a bit disappointed with the starting price point for an introductory signature line..though i understand for the version that uses the leather in the toe area..you don’t sound too happy with your first hands on impression..care to explain a bit?just curious why you didn’t get the ‘home’ colorway..its seems to be a real winner with ‘you know who’…then again, i am not really surprised when you are on their payroll..i was really looking forward to these as i love low tops and wanted to try boost but didn’t want to bother the sizing and heel slip issue (can’t find a retail store in town that carry these)..anyways, can’t wait for your performance review. cheers.
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The pioneeer colorway doesn’t come out until this weekend which I do plan on getting to see the difference. I didn’t mean to come off as unimpressed just trying to note my observations. It feels like a good shoe overall but for $160 it’s on the high end now that Nike changed its pricing. $40 more than retail for the CLB is a lot and now the CLB is down to the $90-80 price range it makes it harder to justify spending double . It should be a good shoe though
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hey schwollo,
you not being impressed give me hope for the world 🙂 i am not a fan of asymmetrical lacing systems, though like i said before they look interesting due to the materials and low profile cut..i want to try boost, but with this price point i’ll wait until they hit clearance or just go for the CLB16..one foot, are the Hardens comparable to any other shoes of the past?i’m just curious…cheers.
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I can’t really think of one off the top of my head but it sits pretty low which is nice. It feels stable too. If I think of a comparable shoe I’ll let you know lol
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Schwollo, adidas has tennis shoes with full length boost. Will you do a review for outdoor ball players? Here it is: http://www.adidas.com/us/tennis-energy-boost-shoes/AQ2293.html
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I actually bought them for tennis when they came out and they were ok not great. Very thin Boost from heel to toe. Forefoot is almost nonexistent and I bottomed out in them. I never bothered to write a review on them. Boost doesn’t feel quite right on a tennis shoe yet. It was a nice try by adidas though. I’m waiting for the ball 365 to get here.
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Is the barricade boost 2016 better? If for outdoor ball, whats the most cushioned tennis shoes? Yep the 365 traction looks beastly. Will wait for your review on the cushion. Price of those here is more expensive than SRP of CLB2016 there
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There is a barricade Bounce model that is very evenly cushioned. The heel is good in the barricade Boost but I don’t like the big difference in feel between the forefoot and heel.
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Ok i like them a lot but the premium-typer look and the technological goodies that it has can’t justify at all the unreasonably high price that Adidas charges. Adidas should also take seriously into consideration their policy on releasing almost each signature model with diffirent materials in order to provide an “economically friendly” edition.
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Gotta pay the signature athlete somehow. The mesh version is 140 so not bad but not great (130 would have been nice). I guess Harden name is worth 20 bucks when compared to the CLB 120 price.
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Hey man, looking forward to your next reviews 😀 how do you feel about the to-be-released pk rose 7s with solid rubber outsole, and the pk clb? hahahah
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That’s what I was waiting for. But I’m good with my one pair for now. They aren’t selling as usual so just wait for sales around 100 or less
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hahaha budget balling ftw
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You mentioned you could’ve gone 1/2 size even with wide feet..for narrow footers, would you recommend a full size down then?
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Shoe might end up too short if you go a full size down
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Did you find that tightening the shoes was tough with the lacing system and how each eyelet is threaded through the upper twice? I feel like I can’t tighten it as much as I’d like because of the stiff upper and the eyelets. Just can’t get that feeling of being locked in.
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It is tough to lace correctly..I would tighten and then retighten to get it right. The good thing about the two hole set up is they don’t loosen during play ..bad thing is they are hard to tighten and the laces hurt like a mofo when you pull each one!! .
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AZP,
I definitely found that to be the case. I could just pull on the laces and get a cinched in feeling. Also the burrito tongue would bunch up which also seemed to effect locked in feeling. I think it is precisely what you mentioned as the culprit, having two eyelets per side instead of one.
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Yep it bunches up because of the burrito tongue. It seems to fold in only one place but very annoying and ugly to look at lol.
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I meant I could NOT pull on laces and get a cinched in feeling. As in bad, not good. Sorry typo
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Ha my best method is lace as tight as possible .. play some retie again. Clb was much simpler in this regard
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I picked up a pair today and I’m pretty excited to try them out. Picked up the pioneer colorway and honestly the way they wrap around my foot, these feel like a curry 2.5 low in terms of the secured feeling I have.
I wanted to get a rose 7 as those seem to have more of what I want in a shoe but they didn’t have my size in a colorway I liked (for the PK versions at least) and I decided to just get the harden 1 as a result.
I usually wait for your review as well as jarron’s (from weartesters) review because from what I’ve found you guys seem to generally like the pairs that I do, with some few exceptions (like my experience with the kd8) but I have a feeling the harden 1 will deliver and be to my liking.
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Sweet glad you like them. I’m not loving mine so far..it’s an ok shoe but traction is very disappointing so far (maybe it will break in) and my feet get tired in them (hoping they break in some more). Sorry about the KD 8!
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damn, now I’m worried about the traction. I haven’t tried out my pair on court yet.
maybe it’s translucent rubber being bad again? I’ll let you know how I find mine when I can get to play with them. might be that it’s another case of solid rubber being better than translucent
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No I got the pioneers ..didn’t want to wear the imma stars. Lol
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