“The Aj X is my favorite shoe of all time”- said by no one ever
Why in the world would anyone review the X before the XI? Yea yea it isn’t the prettiest shoe but man I don’t care I love playing in them. Since the Orlando X City Pack is coming soon I figured why not write a review on these?Don’t worry I’ll get my AJ XI up since the XI is coming out.. again
Pros: traction, cushioning, fit, stability, containment
Cons: protro this shoe JB.Cushioning could be updated and traction could be even better. I’ll even allow you to say new and improved.
Best for: Any
Buying Advice: nobody but collectors and Kemba buy retro X’s. Wait for price drops around $125 or less.
Weight
Twenty four years later and shoes weigh on average 15-16 ounces. Way to go technology advancements !
Traction
These look like they would suck and they do. They suck to the ground which is a good thing.
MJ was pretty good his first three in a row. How many back to back to backs have we seen since MJ? One with Shaq and Kobe . MJ has done it twice. ..on the same team. Get this LBJ goat talk out of here
Fantastic when clean, needs some wiping on dusty floors. I thought I’d have to wipe 24/7 based on looks but it works fine with just some occasional wiping.
Overall fantastic when clean, needs wiping to keep tackiness.
Cushioning
Air sole unit.
It sounds so old and antiquated but it works just fine. Hell, the Lebron Witness III is using it (why 🤷🏻♂️). The cushioning does NOT have the springiness of Boost or Zoom but it works in tandem with the foam to give a nice balanced cushioning set up. It still feels livelier than what you find in the UA HOVR Havoc (please get HOVR right UA), Curry 4/5 (EVA), Harden BE2 (Bounce with no Bounce) and some versions of Charged. Keep in mind my pair is five years old and has taken a beating so fresh foam would feel even better.
I don’t mind this set up at all but man, update the X with Zoom and you have a helluva fun shoe!
Fit
Back in the day when one size didn’t fit one. I could/can fit 10.5 and 11 but Jordan’s ran/run bigger than today’s shoes so 10.5 works the best for me.
No weird lacing setup or pull tab eject system just a normal straight system. It works great and just keeps everything locked in right out of the box. No movement at all in 10.5 maybe a touch of space with an 11.
Simple is as simple does
Materials
Flystraps before Nike went Flyeverything.
LEATHER!!
It works but it’s a limited natural resource and more expensive than any man made Primeknit flyknit fly leather forged mesh jacquard whatever. Synthetics were introduced mainly for profit margins not performance. Here is that article again in case you missed it:
I love leather but saving resources is fine by me. Just don’t tell me it’s solely about “performance” when it’s boosting profit margins first and foremost.
Support and Stability
Zero issues here. The ankle collar is not overly stiff at so support isn’t huge and movement isn’t restricted.
I do not believe there is a midfoot shank of any kind but the midsole and air sole unit are stiff enough to limit flexibility somewhat.
Although there is no outrigger stability is excellent with a very flat outsole. You can see they are almost as wide as the Curry 3 (it was close by so I grabbed it to compare).
Overall, I had no issues at all with support and stability. Actually I felt very safe playing in these over the past decade and a half.
Containment
An extra rand of leather wrapping around plus a raised midsole. See I wasn’t imagining things. Good to see everyone else add this to their reviews nowadays.
Conclusion
THE FOUR FIVE
Mj is back..except man he was rusty AF. I remember watching his first games back and they were not MJ like at all.
But then he put up fifty five in MSG and then looked a little rusty again after that and 4-5 was no more after about 20 plus games
But then 45-> 23 MJ became MJ again.
I guess a number change has as much to do with hooping ability as shoes 😂
The reason nobody lauds the X like the XI, XII XIII is because it is a bland looking shoe overall and MJ didn’t really do a bunch of MJ things in the X.. but it’s mostly the plain Jane looks of the X. Sex and looks sell people, simple as that.
But even without the sexy shine of patent leather, the unique texture of elephant print, or Ferrari inspiration of the XIV, the X shines by simply working on the court without making a “what are thoooose” type moment or “what tech specs ya got”. Maybe that’s why I like them so much since it matches up with my personality and style. Just like in the SOLEcial media space, Shoetube etc, I don’t need to be seen on court, I don’t need to put up 20/10, I can be happy being Pippen or PJ just doing my job to help my team win. (Don’t get me wrong I can be MJ at times too when needed).
If you like making winning plays and don’t need the accolades, you’ll love the X. If you want to be seen on the court for your kicks, go buy some orange Pumas or Volt or Cheeah print Kobe’s. In the meantime watch out for the pick I’m about to set.
And appropriately, First Team even versus today’s sneakers.
schwollo.com 
Super thank you Schwollo!! This is a short but sweet article I must say, even without the puns :p
Although I need to ask is this the OG AJX or retro version? I do wanna play in this one (and the AJXI)
Oh yes I’m FIRST 😀
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Whoops forgot . Lol editing now
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There was a Jordan Brand shoe back around 2005-07 (I think it was called the Jordan Olympian or something) that looked like the X and had updated specs. That might be as close as you’ll get to a Jordan Protro.
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I had the Jordan Olympian and it is basically an updated Jordan X with heel and forefoot zoom. Comfy AF!
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Going to have to look into it!
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I was off by a letter. It was the Jordan Olympia. Full length Zoom and a shank plate.
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Yep I found some on eBay . Im not really into Jordan Brand stuff so didn’t even know about these Olympia’s
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Agree 100%. I bought the Stealths about a week or two ago on a Super Discount ($68 before tax). I even went with my original size 11 and they fit great. I wear a 12 in Nikes now lol. I’m old enough to remember Jordan destroying us in MSG (I’m from NY). I was too young and poor to get the 10s at the time though. Oddly enough, other brands were copying the very simple design of the 10s. So I opted for some Reebok Rafter Mids that Sam Cassell wore. Houston won the chip that year too. Sorry for the rant lol. I’m actually a big Jordan 10 but never for performance. I’ll try them on the court now.
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Haha yep I remember clutchcity beating the knicks..dog fight where both teams could barely break 90.
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Any reason why the OG Stealths were the only ones with the toe cap?
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You mean the OG steel? With the extra leather at the toe cap?
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Yeah. I don’t know why the hell I typed “stealth.”
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MJ didn’t like the toe cap so they took it off after the steels.
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Never hooped in the X’s, but I literally wear them 5 out of 7 days a week just because they are so comfortable.
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They are comfy!
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could you go tts ? asap need info 🙂
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Yes
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I can wear anywhere from 11-12 in most Nikes. I wear 11 in Jordan 10s.
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Yep they run a little bigger than modern shoes but tts will work . I’ve had both
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Nice review! I always thought these were super clunky and bulky by the looks of it. I’ve always wanted a pair since I don’t have an X. But now after reading this, I bet all the Schwollo fanboys will be looking for these in droves. lol. I regret missing out the X’s Class of 2006-RW with the mismatch colors. They were on sale for about 90£ (after coupon), so I think it’s quite a steal! I was contemplating get a pair, but when I finally made up my mind, they were sold out. Just my luck..Got a decent pair of 1’s “He got game” for super cheap. I think those are really underrated. Though that might just be me.
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They are smoooth
Buy the shoes you love not the ones you just kinda like ..I’ve learned that over the years
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so that means break in time?
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No, no break in time
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Whoa, I have been wanting a pair and if I’m going to have one it will be the orlando’s! But I’M broke so no bueno.
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Haha Orlando Xs are sitting so no rush!
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Nice review! Just wanted to ask how the cushioning compares to the XI? Thanks man!
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I think it feels a little softer than the Xi even though they are the same (I think) set up. Might be more foam im not sure
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Nice!! Might have to get them then since I love how the XI feel after break-in! Haha
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Haha I think it’s just a smooth shoe overall
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Hey Schwollo, could you please shed some light on the Air Jordan XII
(ie: how they fit, pros and cons)
Happy Holidays!
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It’s a good shoe great full length zoom cushioning, very good traction and fit (I like half size down at 10.5 with these). Leather upper takes some time to break in . OG felt clunkier for some reason but the retros feel better which is rare. Not my favorite to ball in but good shoe all around. Also gets hot bc it’s all leather
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Hi Schwollo! Sorry to jump in this thread this late, but do you mind giving a brief summary on differentiating between AZG and AJX? Particularly on the traction and cushioning. Might as well put comparison on the foam used in AJX in closest resemblance of newer tech. Sorry if I asked too much 😦
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Traction on the x >azg for sure but I’d say azg>x cushioning. Zoom forefoot air sole or max unit just has a little more spring overall. I think the x feels like A smoother less clunky shoe and yep Kemba is still rocking them. Lol
Aj x cushioning is hard to compare to today’s since it isn’t foam and it isn’t zoom or boost . Let me mull it over a bit
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Thanks man! I appreciate the fast reply and it is already a lot of good info for me haha. As long as the x isn’t brick like stiff as aj1-aj10, that’s good enough for me.
Now I kinda look forward to your performance review on aj12 and aj13. Fingers crossed 😀
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Was your question about the X or the XI? I think it said aj X
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Oh it’s about aj x. Sorry i meant to put brick-tier cushion for aj1-aj9. My bad on the typo.
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Lol
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Hey schwollo, do you think the jordan 10’s outsole will last long if I use it outdoors?
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Rubber will wear down bc it is soft
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