*injury update , still limping a little but finally able to play for limited amounts. I’m still not great at cutting like I want to so still waiting to review some shoes. In the mean time here is something I worked on prior to injury.*
Since sneaker season is pretty much over (or restarting however you want to look at it), I decided to see if there really was a difference between Continental rubber and Adidas’s regular rubber compound. I’ve read the marketing jargon (Continental Press Release) but saying is a lot different than doing.
So how did I do this test ? Same way I do most of my traction comparisons. I used my Lillard 2’s one with Continental one without as well as my Crazylight Boosts 2016. I did this on three separate trips to the gym on different days.
Each shoe was wiped and cleaned prior to play and was timed on the same day same floor basically running drills in the same area. I know it’s not precisely scientific but hey cut me some slack.
Crazylight Boost 2016
Not surprising, both the Continental and regular outsoles required some light wiping around the six minute mark the first day at my dusty 24 hour fitness. The following days yielded similar times around seven and eight minutes.
To me the Continental rubber feels firmer but it grabs similarly to the the regular rubber regardless of court condition. I didn’t experience any improved grip with the Continental rubber but the firmness of the rubber should help a little with outdoor and overall durability.
Lillard 2
Very similar results as the CLB16 in terms of how long I had to wait to wipe but traction definitely isn’t as grippy when dirt is around with the Lillard 2.
Both regular and Continental rubber needed wiping around the five minute mark. Although one minute difference isn’t much, wiping was pretty much required to keep up the traction whereas the CLB didn’t really require me to wipe, I just noticed it wasn’t as tacky.
Interestingly enough the regular rubber bit the floor better by a hair as well but not enough to make me pick one over the other.
Summary
A tire company putting their badge on the outsole shouldn’t make you go out of your way to buy a pair of shoes. There is virtually no difference in traction performance (even possibly very slightly worse depending on the traction pattern) between regular Adidas rubber and the rubber with the Continental badge. Maybe the Continental rubber lasts longer I’m not sure but given the amount of turnover sneakerheads have with their shoes, does it really matter? If you’ve ever worn Ultra Boosts, that traction is terrible on dusty or wet floors although the flat pod design probably hurts the traction more than anything else. Where is the Continental input on the design there ?
On the flip side there really isn’t a reason not to get the Continental rubber if the pattern is designed well. If that Continental badge gives you that extra bit of confidence, go for it since it doesn’t cost any more than the regular pair.
What benefit does Continental get out of a relationship with Adidas ? Per the link above
of course there was the matter of being able to present the Continental brand in a new environment, where we could boost brand awareness in different markets and demonstrate our expertise.
Some extra advertising on their shoes? Am I going to go out and buy a pair of their tires because my shoes has their logo on it? At least it puts their name in my mind but me being me, I’d research the actual tire which is a much more sizable investment than a pair of shoes. Maybe when a young kid who is wearing Adidas UltraBoosts will come to that day in his life and say “man I loved those UltraBoosts, I’m going to get those Continental Pro Contacts for my car”. ..maybe
The Continental name and brand is already strong so it really doesn’t help with their tire sales. The science and technology that goes into creating a high performance tire for a two ton car is far more expensive and difficult to manufacturer than what goes on a pair of sneakers, not to mention the consequences of making a bad pair of tires. My guess is Continental said here is some rubber we have laying around and you can stick our label on it. Speculation of course since the press release says otherwise.
Harden Vol 1 Traction
I picked up the Disruptor colorway a few months back and haven’t had any time or desire to actually play in them until now. Traction reviews on the Harden Vol 1 have gone from excellent to decent (me) and I still feel that way about the solid outsole.
I did a similar test with the Hardens as I did above and to my surprise, the translucent outsole outperformed the solid outsole on clean floors and some dusty floors. On dusty floors that had a lot of dust sitting on the surface and not ground into the floor, traction sucked for both pairs no matter what. I literally had to wipe every time down in both pairs.
When moving forward and backward, I didn’t feel like there was a huge difference in traction but when moving laterally, I was slipping a good foot in the solid outsole while the translucent outsole still stopped on a dime. Maybe Adidas did really track Harden’s movements after all 🙂
(if you don’t get that joke, it’s because James Harden is portrayed as a very bad aloof defender who doesn’t play defense or with any effort on the defensive end and therefore doesn’t require good traction moving laterally )
Although I typically don’t give number scores, I’d say the solid outsole is about 7.5 while the I’d give the translucent outsole an to 8 to 8.5 depending on court conditions. If I had to choose one I’d go with the translucent outsole though.
Happy hooping and have a safe fun summer everyone!
schwollo.com 
Thanks for the update Schwollo, praying for a speedy recovery. I am dealing Achilles tendinitis myself so I know the pain and tedious process of healing. I ha e to continue activity to let it heal “correctly”, but also can’t play to my full ability like how you described with cutting and moving.
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Thanks Clinton. I’m almost there but no rush since it isn’t playoff time yet lol. Hope you get better too!
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Wholesome post. At least ur still able to move around and do some stuff. Thanks for the update, can’t wait for more reviews.
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Yep logged league game number four last night . Getting much better laterally just can’t jump off it well yet.
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I think that the continental rubber helps with wet surfaces: i wore pure boosts and then switched to ultra boosts and they were slippy whereas pure boosts weren’t give me confidence. Just a thought but i think its the wet conditions it makes a difference.
All the best man and speedy recovery. I have gone back to playing after February’s incident and can still feel it
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Thanks for the insight. My ultra boosts are slippery even when wet. Luckily I don’t run so I’ll Stick to indoors hoops lol. What happened in feb ?
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Just rolled my ankle (in rare metals )and only got back to playing there like 6 weeks ago. Kd9s are a bitch to put on with a brace on: but gotta admit, cushioning is off the chain
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Haha bummer about the ankle roll but I feel your pain .
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Hi, good to see you back. Don’t tell me that Lillard 2 bottom is from indoor court? That is dirty :D. Have you noticed any differences in the toe cap between Disruptor and the other model you tested? Pinching gone?
Cheers
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Haha I wore the Lillard 2 outside that’s why they look so dirty. I didn’t have pinching issues but the toe cap is softer and stretchier than the other caps. Doesnt make a difference during play to me though
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Yet another stellar example of the rigor and attention to detail you bring to your reviews! This is the kind of stuff that makes you stand head and shoulders above other reviewers. Not only do you think critically about marketing, you also come up with questions, develop hypotheses and ways to text them, then take matters into your own hands and put in the unglamorous work to experiment and find answers. Some other guys do a little subjective comparison (occasionally), but nobody else gets downright scientific and quantitative like this. Thanks for making the effort and dropping more knowledge on us!
Glad your ankle is getting better.
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Haha thanks! If I took everything for face value I’d be the most broke stupid person on the planet. You should see how I am with golf equipment.
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Haha! Uh-oh!
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Will you do a hyperrev 2016 review? Better late than never because they are getting dumb cheap right now so they might be a good option
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I’m still waiting for even cheaper prices . I think it will be solid option though at 50 bucks or less.
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^17 sorry
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Hey Schwollo,
A couple of things I want to add/ask:
1)Please read this – (http://www.continental-tyres.co.uk/car/media-services/newsroom/2015-03-03-adidas-shoes-get-your-grip). It seems Continental have been helping Adidas with designing rubber compound since 2007. It could be in that all the shoes have Conti technology at some capacity but they just failed to mention it. For those who don’t know it, Continental is a German brand like Adidas, I am sure they have a stake in each other’s business as some capacity so it’s not highly abnormal to want to support (advertise) each other since they don’t even compete in the same market. Maybe we can see Nike or UA teaming up with Goodyear in the future?
2) I’ve seen other reviews which praise the translucent outsole for the Hardens. Though it could just be Adidas fanboys and guys paid by Adidas (wink2,nudge2) to say how good these are. Anyways, in your overall Does it suck less or would you say the shoe is about the same for both version?Adidas is having a massive clear out now and I finally think I’ll get a pair of shoes with boost.
3)The Primeknit version of the Harden1 are out. Seems that the bottoms are translucent. Maybe this will be a beast on the court? What do you think?
Great article as always.
Cheers.
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Yep I read about that Continental and adidas partnership . I really don’t think who makes the rubber for a pair of shoes matters at all but adding another premium brand to the mix makes it seem that way. The thought process for consumers is “if it’s good enough for a car tire then it must be great for me”.Who made the rubber for the AJ xiv? XX8 ? Curry 2? Kobe ix? just branding really.
Harden trans is better than the solid outside in my experience (keep scrolling down it seems you may have stopped reading). Better on most dusty floors than the solid outsole and just bites better overall.
Are you talking about the harden LS when you say orimeknit harden? Good to hear from you fariz!
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Hey Schwollo,
I get what you mean about Conti x Adidas. The collab doesn’t seem to correlate performance as it should. So you know, I’ a scientist and science is multidisciplinary. We understand that no one can do work alone to advance knowledge. For instance biologist and physicist working together in collab to make a drug for example. My point is, i think this collab , is trying to push to limits of the shoe industry by making the best traction in terms of performance, and possibly its more complicated than just traction pattern, rubber compound which makes it a great performer. It might not seem to be relevant but I think in the long run, Adidas might be heading in the right direction. I mean look at how the product seem to progress over the years.
I read your review, now when I reread the question it sounds a bit silly to ask. What I meant was, does wearing the shoe overall still suck despite the performance comparison of the traction?The materials are different right?So they must feel slightly different?
Yeah I am talking about the LS version of the Harden Vol 1. Care to comment?
I missed out on the sale for the Hardens. I got the CLB2016 primeknit. They just came in today! I got two pairs, one half size down, the other half size up (true size sold out!). The toe box is quite roomy! The half size down is quite snug, the sides pinch a bit but overall ok just trying them on..though i expect they would hurt my feet when i play. Half size up is ok, I had no pinching on the sizes but the toe box is now too roomy! Does this version of primeknit expand (a little or a lot??what about break in time for this?I dont want to risk the sizing. In the past, I stayed 1/2 size bigger for my curry one lows and they are so roomy now that i need to wear thick socks so I dont slip and slide. So they don’t make my rotation anymore, not even for the gym.
PS: Dunno if you still remember, still waiting on my Kyrie 2 quote..I guess I’ll just have to live without em..lol..
Cheers
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Hahah i forgot about the Kyrie 2!
I like your idea in principle but I don’t think it is worth the money to either company to come up with a better rubber compound that is only marginally better. Spend millions of dollars and only .000000000001 of the consumer cares.
Harden translucent is good enough, about Clutchfits drive level while solid is not as good.
Clb sizing is weird id stay half size down it will stretch a little or you can use thinner socks. Half size up is really almost a full size up lol.
Let me know how it goes. Cool that a scientist reads this site!
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Hey Schwollo,
Cool…I guess I’ll have to bring two shoes so I don’t kill my feet breaking in the CLB16. My Kobe 9 elite low is still my go-to now my curry 1 lows have expanded too much. My wife nags that I don’t wear it since she got that for me on my birthday a couple years back. I think I’ll have to retire it for the court and just wear it for casual use. Anyways, I’ve always wanted to try boost, its about damn time! I still disagree about your point with the Adi x Conti collab. But hey, doesn’t either of us are wrong about the topic. Yeah, I am a scientist, to be honest a scientist in training. I’ll be finishing grad school this summer with a PhD. I’ll get on the shoes and keep you posted. Keep up the good work and thanks as always.
Cheers
PS: The new shoe season is just starting with the new crazy explosive 2017. will be seeing your review soon?
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Haha that’s awesome.. what’s the PhD in? If it’s chemistry you win. 🙂 curry 1 low works well casually no shame in that !
Yep I plan on trying those although I don’t expect much of a diff from the 2016 esp from cushioning and traction . Hd 2017 look great to me but we will see !
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Sadly I am not a chemist and my knowledge in the field of rubber compounds is limited, but I do hail from a country where rubber is one of our export commodity! My PhD is in biochemistry, I work with bacterial proteins and synthetic DNA. Just boring old stuff. I am psyched for the REACT cushion line too. Sounds like a better version of Lunarlon from the video reviews I’ve seen on Youtube.
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Biochem.. that class and organic chemistry made me realize that 1) you can’t fake knowing organic chem and bio chem although I squeaked by somehow 2) I don’t want to be pre med anymore lol I really should have studied physics bc I liked it and was good at it but ran out of time so opted for economics and biz.. the things you learn in college. As of today I officially name you smartest reader
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Lol. That’s flattering, though I wish it was true.. I couldn’t hack med school, which was what my mom wanted me to do. But I was a big fan of Jurassic Park, and I wanted to be a genetic engineer to be honest. So, kept at it and did a Biotech degree. College was an eye-opener and when I realized I won’t be able to make my own dinosaur or clone anything cool (except E.coli), I opted to do the next great thing, work in research. The goal was real general, you always want to do something noble like ‘cure cancer’ (so cheesy I know, right?), or ‘end hunger’ (too ambitious). So here I am. I dedicate my life to science, but basketball will always be my mistress! Lol. Hope the missus doesn’t see this.
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Hi schwollo. Sorry to hear about ur recent injury. Wish u a speedy recovery man. Just wanted to ask, what is your top 5 or what is the best cushion u think in terms of impact protection? For instance if u know that ur going to be playing for a long period of time, what cushion or what cushion set-ups would keep ur legs the freshest by the end? Thanks.
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Although not full length I think the Rose 6 is better than the crazy explosive overall bc the forefoot is thicker than the CE. If you don’t mind a thinner forefoot the CE is good as well. KD IX is excellent as well. AJ XX8, melo M9, m10, Brandblack jc3 or ether also come to mind. AJ xxxi hyperrev 2016 also solid options although somewhat firmer than first few options. Hope that helps !
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Now this is the sort of reviews that people need. Nice one! Now if Only I can get a pair of the clb.
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65 plus shipping to the U.K. Hit me up on IG and we can see if there any around for cheap
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I got the CLB16 with the white outsole, non-continental. Got it for cheap online so I didn’t care much but it looks like the same rubber they used on the D Rose Englewood II with the Cracyquick outsole. That shoe had great traction before the blades wore down. It hasn’t happened yet with the CLB16, probably because the sole isn’t segmented like the Crazyquick outsole. Both shoes started with a portion of the sole wearing away that was painted on. The surface of that white sole on my CLB16 was actually gray rubber that was cheaply painted. Not only did a portion with minimal floor contact chip, the white sole stained very quickly with sporadic (once every two weeks) indoor use only. It hasn’t worn down yet and the traction is still very good, but the staining and chipping makes it look cheap and dingy. Isn’t white supposed to look cleaner? It’s better than translucent by any measure but it’s still disappointing.
I’ll be staying away from the white soles from now on if Continental is an option.
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I personally think white soles only look good on the shelf bc they just pick up dirt and get dingy . The black continental rubber isn’t painted so shouldn’t have that issue and durability appears better
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From the press releases I’ve been reading, the Continental rubber is made for an outdoor shoe, not at a gym on the courts, what would you have to comment about this as you have been reviewing them inside? The CLB is a basketball shoe though right? So I guess on outdoor courts…? I Have one of the first pairs of Adidas shoes made with continental, The Marathon, that’s according to an Adidas representative. I bought them several years ago, have put over 500 Trail miles on them even though they are a road shoe, and they are just starting to wear down to a point where it’s too much. I was also told they are made from used tires, which means they’re more sustainable which I like, but that’s according to the representative at a store which I can’t be 100% sure that’s true. She seemed very knowledgeable as she knew exactly what shoe I showed here and it’s seven years old, I should ask her more questions. Adidas shoes with their “regular rubber have lasted about 250-300 trail miles before they needed to be replaced. The regular rubber soled shoes were actual trail running shoes but performed more poorly than the marathon road shoe in many ways. All miles were logged on rocky Pennsylvania trails, I run many different trails, but all the same different trails with both shoes. My other review of the shoe is that the continental rubber is much harder than the regular rubber, obviously since they last longer, but my legs prefer the hardness as the regular rubber causes joint pain after several consecutive runs, it took me a little while to figure this out, but I’m almost positive it’s a sole hardness issue. Since I’ve stopped wearing their regular rubber I have not suffered from joint pain the same way.
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Yes the Continental rubber feels harder than regular and that’s one benefit of using their rubber. Interesting if they are made out of used tires bc if so then they really didn’t put any research into “developing” a compound for specifically for shoes ..similar to what I said since it doesn’t really benefit Continental expect brand recognition. I don’t run trails or run period so can’t comment on outdoor use so I’ll take your word. I wrote this article bc lots of people think that Continental rubber would be beneficial in terms of performance but it really doesn’t make traction any better although it might be more durable. Thanks for your input !
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I have to disagree with you. That’s speculation that they didn’t put much research into it. There may be different blends they are using, like which used tires? Race car tires, bicycle tires, car tires? What is the process they use to make the tires into soles. There is a lot of research that may go into this. Are there different blends for basketball and running shoes. And isn’t brand recognition what these companies are all about?People see a brand name and they want to buy it. I see this as an excellent partnership as Adidas is a shoe company while Continental is a rubber manufacturer. Who better to ask about rubber and traction than someone doing it for a long time. I have contacted both Adidas and Continental and asked them to content on this post so we can get some real facts. I apologize for not addressing traction in my first post. There is a noticeable difference in the traction of the continental soles, they are much better, with far less slippage, meaning fast times and less fatigue. I’m still surprised the road shoe performs much better than the actual trail shoe.
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You’re right I am speculating but at the same time did my own tests and did’t see any difference in terms of tackiness which was my whole reason for testing the them. Outdoors I do not know since I don’t run. Thanks for contacting them though
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Your cool man, I was worried you might get defensive from my comment. That’s what I’m used to where I live. People can’t have an adult discussion without thinking your attacking them. Let’s wait to see if they’ll comment.
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