Upcoming Reviews and Other Musings
Written by schwollo
Congrats to the Warriors who paired my two favorite players together. I’m really just happy all the 3-1 jokes are done with.
Sorry it’s been awhile since I made a post but to be honest I’ve been super busy and haven’t had time to write..plus nothing new was out. Of course when the KD X finally dropped I sprained the sh*t out of my ankle.
I sprained my good ankle badly almost almost three weeks ago and I’m finally able to walk normally. I had the very rare and very painful inversion (roll to outside) to eversion (roll to inside) double ankle sprain when I landed after a rebound with nobody close to me. ( I swear ZaZa didn’t come out of nowhere). Just a freak injury but I’ll be back asap because I have two leagues going right now.
I could do a half ass review but there would be no way for me to test out containment or traction at all right now because I can’t run at all or cut and stop. All I can do right now is shoot set shots and dribbling drills . I’m lucky I love golf because I can actually practice chipping and putting and some light full swings.
Speaking of golf, I’m working on a review for the Superspeed Golf training system. 99% of quick fix/training tool are pure BS but this one was working for me until I hurt my ankle and had to stop these past few weeks. It does take work and discipline to make the Superspeed system work but I’ll trade fifteen minutes of effort every other day for an additional ten to twenty yards off the tee. If you’re not into golf, just don’t read the review when I finish it.
Nike KD X
Although I haven’t gotten on the court with these yet, I can tell you these fit long again but not as long as the IX. I like that Nike appears to have fixed the Zoom popping issue by keeping the forefoot from over compressing.. but who knows if that’s enough.
I also like the rand wrapping around the ankle. This seems to help give a better fit around the heel but once again I haven’t stepped on a court yet with these. Plus the heel counter is firmer than last year’s model which is a plus in my book.
The Zoom does feel firmer than the IX which I think will translate into better sharper cuts.
As for traction and containment, we will see once I get on the court in a few more weeks. I know there are a ton of reviews already so don’t wait on my opinion.
Nike Lebron Soldier 11
Four straps is better than three just like four all stars is better than three
From a try on standpoint, Nike seems to have addressed almost everything I said was wrong with the Soldier 10.
Containment appears to be better since they raised the midsole and thickened/strengthened the mesh upper. My foot sits about halfway to 2/3 down the midsole.
Nike also added an extra strap which crosses exactly where I like it. The overall fit just feels better than the Soldier 10. Oh and the Zoom feels a lot better just walking around.
Traction might be better but who knows. It doesn’t feel ultra sticky like the Hyperdunk 2016 translucent soles so we will see.
And this has got to be the sorriest paint job. It really looks like a kid was doing paint by numbers or decided to to draw a logo on the sole. It just looks cheesy to me.
Zamst A2-DX
The good news with an injury is I get to test the Zamst A2-DX, aka the Curry Ankle brace. I bought this brace since I sprained both the medial and lateral sides of my ankle and I’ve always been curious about the brace itself. Upon try on it allows full range of motion forward and backward but limits the range laterally due to the big plastic pieces. It definitely takes up more room than my good ol Adidas speed wrap that I occasionally use for my right ankle since the speed wrap only features a small plastic piece on the lateral side.
Under Armour Curry 3
I’ve been picking up Curry 3’s because I get MyFitnessPal $40 off coupons and that makes the Curry 3 a whopping $60. A really nice price for a pretty good performer even if it doesn’t make my rotation. Add in some history plus record breaking and the Curry 3 (and 3Zero) a little more attractive from especially from a collection standpoint.
Shoes I’m excited about
Nike React Hyperdunk 2017
Photo courtesy of Sneakernews/Nike
These looked great on Draymonds feet and I’m really excited to try Nikes new cushioning set up. I think these will play great.
Adidas Crazy Explosive 2017
Photo courtesy of Sneakernews/Adidas
These look like the Hyperdunk 2016 FK and Crazy Explosive 2016 had a love child. I suspect I’ll have the same bottoming out issues in the forefoot but damn these looks good.
Under Armour Curry 4
Photo courtesy of Sneakernews/UA
This is what I think the 3 was trying to achieve but the 3 had too much bulk. I wonder how much UA will benefit from GSW winning again since KD stole the spotlight. It was great to see Steph become Steph again in the latter part of the season and the playoffs. Like I always say, winning sells.
Under Armour Curry One Icon
I already ordered one pair and I keep messing around with different color combos for fun. I like simple and clean so here are two I plan to order. I’m still tinkering with colors though but you get the jist of it.
Personalized custom kicks are fun albeit expensive but it’s cool that a design is your own versus a general release. I find myself wasting a lot of time with Nike ID Mi Adidas and now UA Icon. We will see how the yellow pair turns out in a few weeks! In the meantime enjoy the summer!
schwollo.com 
Great stuff man! Can’t wait! I hope you are on the mend. Still salty the gsw won :p haha
LikeLiked by 1 person
Lol a few more weeks I hope!
LikeLike
For a sec I thought u were wearing a transparent shoe over your foot
LikeLiked by 1 person
Lol
LikeLike
Sorry to hear about your injury. Mina was similar (inversion and aversion) but tore two ligaments totally and three parcially and also had a cracked tibia. It got me 6 weeks into a boot and I started playing by week 8 – Now it’s been 12 weeks and it still hurts, my foot still doesn’t moves smoothly and I need to limit my PT to 30 min every few days. Hopefully yours will heal faster than mine.
I almost bought the Zamst brace but it is a little too expensive to import but it does look sexy. I ended buying the ASO (after import duties it is almost half the price of the Zamst) and hopefully it’s gonna hold my ankle in place. I also have one Aircast A60 and it is OK, despite being a bit unconfortable and not feeling completely secure with it.
LikeLike
That hurt just to read ! Mine isn’t nearly that bad . Zamst brace is pricey but a local store had them on clearance so didn’t break my wallet. ASO and mcdavid make some nice braces as well but I’ve always been intrigued by the Zamst. Hope you get back to 100%!
LikeLike
It didn’t hurt all that much tbh. The first doctor I went said it was just a sprain, so I was walking boot-less for three days, albeit with a huge limp, until the other doctor found the bone crack and the torn ligaments while doing an ultrasound scan. But the swelling was huge, even my shin was swole.
I am very intrigued by the Zamst too, hopefully you can get a review up soon-ish
LikeLike
Damn! Lesson learned is go see the doctor ..or maybe two in your case
LikeLike
Hope you have a speedy recovery Schwollo!
I myself also had a major ankle sprain at the beginning of the year and I was out about 10 weeks
Back to running but still have some pain. I prefer taping my ankles but got sick of the time it took to tape it up so I ended up buying the ASO brace like Ivan
Take care and I look forward to the upcoming reviews
LikeLike
Damn 10 weeks? My worst was a 3rd degree sprain in high school and it was 6 weeks . Then again I was just a kid then lol
LikeLike
Damn, you did a job on that! Hoping you heal up quickly and fully! I’m interested to see how all those shoes perform, but can’t get personally excited about all that material up top at the moment. I’ve really gotten locked into my Kobe 11 EM’s. They’re so low and minimal feeling, and I’ve gotten really comfortable with that. I had the PG1 or the Kobe AD NXT on my mind as my next buy but am seriously considering another pair of Kobe 11’s. I got the Draft Days and the Mango pair(I don’t play in those ones) – I might go for the Lower Merions because those and the Draft Days seem to have slightly different meshes than all the other pairs of EMs. It’s a softer type, almost like an old school football jersey. Also they both got the same, solid white rubber bottoms, which I’m getting just a nasty grip out of. (The black on the mangos doesn’t bite as hard) Might as well stock up while they’re still easy to get.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nice! I’ve learned that if you find a shoe that works for you just stick with it or stock up if it’s cheap. I just buy other stuff out of boredom .
LikeLike
Sorry to read about your ingury and I wish you a super-fast recovery. I can’t wait for your next thorough reviews. Apart from that i have to admit that i am also excited about the Crazy Explosive 2017 and Hyperdunk 2017 that’s why they are at the top of my wishlist! Take care Schwollo!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Greek sneak !
LikeLike
Great read. Hope you heel up soon. I am looking forward for your next review.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks !
LikeLike
Heal*
LikeLike
Yo Schwollo, Hope you get back ballin’ soon. Please make an updated review of the Zamst A2-DX. Not sure if I will get it as its quite expensive.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I found mine at a local store for 32 bucks but yea retail is pricey! I’ve found some on eBay for 45-50 new as well.
LikeLike
Hope your ankle gets better. I actually got a high ankle sprain 3 weeks ago from going off to hard on my right foot on a layup. (I was wearing nike frees and trying to slap backboard with my whole hand). Now my ankle stopped hurting, but is still in a weird shape. Is that normal for an ankle sprain? This is my first ankle sprain so I’m not sure. It feels like there is an extra part in my ankle.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Also when you receive the curry icons can you do a review on them? I’m not sure if the material is anafoam or some like vinyl material
LikeLike
Will do!
LikeLike
First ankle sprain? Wow I can’t even count how many I’ve had at this point lol. The swelling and fluid will eventually disappear just needs to get flushed out over time.
LikeLike
Welcome back Schwollo, sorry to hear about that injury…rest up and heal soon. I suffered a broken pinkie not that long ago that sidelined me for a few weeks and boy it was hard not being able to play ball! Interesting list for your upcoming reviews, I picked up the Soldier 11’s and so far I do enjoy them….great cushioning and fit, traction has been decent but for a guy who likes to make a lot of cuts and sharp movements I guess I just need laces to get that ultimate lock down feeling. Anyhow, looking forward to your reviews..in due time of course!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks grittyman! My pinkie is jacked.. it makes a left turn at the joint lol
LikeLiked by 1 person
You should do more retro reviews on some old school kobes. That’d be sick. I loved reading every single one of them. Keep up the good work man!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks ! I will try and get some up but been too busy to write anything at all. Kobe vi would be next (trying to go in order )
LikeLike
I would love if you did the vi and the rest of the kobes too! Kobe is my favorite player but i was too young to experience anything before the 9. If i am a fast, scrappy shooting guard do you have any reccomendations? I like containment and traction but it has to be a low. Kobe v or vi?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Traction is a weak point of the v . Vi traction is better but not out of this world either. Kobe Kobe 8 sounds like a good fit for you if you don’t mind drop in insoles. I have Kobe 1-5 already reviewed on here fyi
LikeLike
Hey Schwollo! First of all, thanks for taking the time to do such great, highly detailed reviews. I was looking to find a comparable modern basketball shoe to my all time-fave (Zoom BB) when i came across your site. I normally don’t leave comments but i just wanted to offer up some advice regarding your ankle injury as it pertains to using a stiff brace:
One of my league teammates is an ortho doctor and is highly against the use of hinged or stiff ankle braces. According to him, the human ankle is a complex joint that’s mean to be flex in all directions. It’s meant to handle much of the workload in adjusting to irregular foot strikes to spare the knees (a hinged joint) any unnatural movement. By limiting its motion, you’re risking injury to your knees when you try to move as normal with restricted ankles. He cited D-Rose’s (who wore ankle braces like your Adidas speed wrap) multiple knee injuries as the worse case scenario. He always says its better to sprain your ankle than f**k up your knees. However, he did say it’s fine to use braces to support your ankle but only if you retrain your body to move in balance while relying on your hips (a ball joint) instead of your knees. He used Steph Curry and Chris Paul as the prime examples: I always thought that Steph seemed to moved too smoothly without the sudden, explosive changes of direction I’m accustomed to with penetrating guards like young Wade and Iverson. Its because Steph and CP3 stay balanced at all times while dribbling and rely more on changes of pace and tight handles instead of explosive lateral movements nowadays.
So be careful and don’t rely too much on the brace to restrict your ankles while still making the same sharp motions you’re used to. This could potentially do more damage than good…
Anyways, I wish you a speedy and full recovery and look forward to many more amazing performance reviews!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for the advice ! I don’t lean on my braces for long, only when I get injured and need a little extra support so I agree with your doctor lol. I do exercise my ankles so I don’t sprain them often.
LikeLike
Have you tried out the curry 1 icon feature where u can take a picture or logo and put it on the shoe? I saw a picture where nightwing did it with the weartesters logo but havent done it myself yet… very interested to see more examples.
LikeLike
I did not try it but I’ve seen it. Not really my style to stick pics on a shoe but to each their own . Cool idea though
LikeLike
Times like this is when you wish Nike would bring back the monkey paw.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hey Schwollo,
I understand not getting to ball as, with me Ramadan is keeping me from any basketball as the summer days are so long and the nights so short. But it’s almost over and can’t wait to get back to the gym with a new pair of kicks (just got the rare metals). Anyways, Get well soon, and can’t wait to read some new reviews..Peace..
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks fariz ! Hoping only a week or two more to go!
LikeLike
Damn, that ankle hurts just to look at! Hard to imagine that freak outward and inward roll, but I can imagine it’s quite painful indeed. Here’s to a speedy and full recovery.
As for the LJ logo on the Soldier outsole, I had been wondering about that since your NXT review—had just assumed both models had a mixture of solid and translucent rubbers cast in the same outsole mold rather than opaque white painted over translucent rubber. That process could explain the limitation on the manufacturer’s ability to control the edges between solid and translucent… ’cause you’re right: if they were painted, the edges of the designs should be way straighter and sharper. Guess one way to tell would be to wear ’em for a while and see if, once you wore the surface off, you got down to translucent rubber or if it stayed white (or, if you were impatient and a little daring—and, given your history with eyelet modifications, I wouldn’t put it past you—take a utility knife to a relatively inconsequential nub and slice the top layer off).
I feel you on the fun of personalized/customized sneaks. Pretty cool to be able to have your say over what colors (and sometimes even patterns and materials) you want and where, not to mention having a pair of sneakers that nobody else has (kinda). I recently cut loose with the Dame 3s—the suede options and the relatively wide variety of midsole colors (not your normal white and black zzzzzzzzz…) are too good to pass up, plus I like that unorthodox model. Anyway, hope your Currys come out nice and that your ankle heals up well. As always, looking forward to your forthcoming reviews!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Also, after a quick first read, I’d misunderstood and thought you’d rolled your ankle in the KD Xs. After rereading, I realized you didn’t specify what you were wearing when you sustained the injury. Given the context and the thoroughness of your reviews, I found this omission to be conspicuous. That observation leads me to infer that you intentionally made no mention of the shoe because you believe that the freak nature of the injury couldn’t be prevented by any shoe and you didn’t want readers running off half-cocked thinking that whichever shoe you were in leaves one susceptible to hellacious ankle sprains. Is that the case? Or do you think the shoe could’ve played some role?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Didn’t want anyone to think it was the shoes or brand that’s all so I intentionally left it off haha. Although I am not going to play in those for awhile.. or ever again. I will say I’ve never had an eversion ankle sprain before
LikeLike
You’re very observant btw which is awesome
LikeLike
Haha! Thanks. What can I say? You’ve got us hangin’ on your every word!
But yeah, that’s what I figured. I’ve never had an eversion sprain either (knock on wood).
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks my man! A few more weeks and I should be good! Gotta send me a pic of your Dame 3!
LikeLike
Nice! Sure—pics comin’ right up…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hey man,
I am not finding on the site and don’t remember. Do you ever reviewed the Crazy Explosive lows? I just played on a Rose 7 and my injured ankle feel a lot better than on my Hyperrevs, so I am thinking of buying either the CE lows (worried about the durability, but folks at the nike talk forum say it is better than on the high tops) or the Rose 7s (but I still don’t like how much bulk the later has visually) .
LikeLike
I did not try the ce low. I tried them on and they felt pretty good but nothing out of this world to me. I had to go up half a size bc they felt small to me esp length wise. Not sure about heel slip but felt fairly secure in the store
LikeLike
Also rly excited for Curry 4, they’re rumored to release in early October.
LikeLiked by 1 person