mvncnt/blog

Got home today and the UPS guy had left something by the front door. Wasn’t expecting anything so I wandered what this package was. I quickly looked at it and it was a package from Nike. Opened it up and it’s the new Zoom Kobe V  that was recently unveiled three days ago. I think this one will release to the public in January or February. Since I phased out of wearing performance sneakers as a day to day shoe these Kobe V’s had only one place to go, the gym. I haven’t played in over two months so receiving these actually motivated me to hit the gym. I normally don’t wear low top shoes to play ball so I brought an extra pair of Foam 1′s just incase they were a dud. More images and my Zoom Kobe V performance review after the jump.

Updated 12/29/09: Got a chance to play with the Zoom Kobe V’s again with tougher competition and all I can say is that they are now my go to shoe for a while.

First impression. These shoes are extremely light! These feel as light as my Nike Lunarglides that I use for running. They officially weigh in at 10.6 oz. Visually I would take the IV’s over the V. The Zoom Kobe V’s look like they were made to perform and do it by being fast. Looking at the upper its evident that every effort was made to make these shoes very light. First thing noticeable with the upper is its heat bonded and the absence of any stitching.

Putting on the shoe feels like wearing a sock. The inside is one piece. The toe box is a bit stiff though and is not padded like some of the other shoes I use to play. Probably did that to cut weight. Overall the shoe fits real snug and kept my foot from moving around. The heel counter also helps locked my foot down. I have a history of sprained ankles so I laced them up all the way to the top to get every inch of support I can get.

I get to the gym and walk on to the court and the shoes instantly get attention. People start commenting. "What are those?", "They aiight", "I hope you brought ankle braces", and "C’mon son’ Kobe is wack!"

By the way I usually play as a guard and I’m 5’11". And my usual rotation lately for playing is the Hyperize, Hyperdunk, Foamposite One, Air Penny II,  AJ Retro III (took off the insole and put Flightposite insoles in), Air Jordan XIV, and Air Jordan XI. I usually wear a 10.5 when I wear my Jordan’s to play but since these are low tops these are a 10 like all the other low cut sneakers I own. Just some info to better understand my review.

To break the shoe in a bit I started to run laps around the gym. Jogged for a mile and I could literally feel the court. The shoes are extremely low to the ground but the cushioning was just enough to give it a responsive feel. Not the same bouncy feeling you get from the Flightposite though which are also low profile shoes, they absorb the impact and that’s it.

Next I start doing suicide drills up and down the court. After a few trips going back and forth the court I felt how stable the shoes were. The flywire kept my foot in place and there were no morphing at the lateral side of the shoe at all while I made cuts. The combination of being really stable and the lockdown fit made me feel somewhat  faster. The shoe really works like an extension of my foot. I’ve heard other sneaker reviews say that but this shoe is the definition of that term.  That’s the reason why this shoe works as a low top, it works with your foot, locks it down, and is very stable which makes the extra height of a mid or a high unnecessary. I feel that on my other shoes that extra height provides that extra lockdown fit but the ZKV does away with it.

After getting warmed up I started to run a full. Took a game to catch my wind and started to play faster. During game play the shoe does all of the things I mentioned above and noticed that even with a dusty floor the shoe had excellent grip. This is one aspect where the shoes gave me an advantage as I routinely stopped on a dime and pulled up for jumpers as my defender had to gather himself to contest my shot.

I started to gain confidence on the shoe and 3 straight missed jumpers made me start driving in to get a better shot. Since the shoes are so low I could feel my foot planting itself to the floor as I jumped up. Not sure if it added something to my vertical but its a good feeling to have. The shoe also surprisingly provides good cushioning to soften the landing from grabbing boards and landing from shots.

The more I drove in I reminded myself that these are still low tops. And all the features that are making the shoes so great so far wont do anything to help me if I land on someone’s foot. Definitely going to wear an ankle sleeve or something for next time. Let’s not forget Kobe has professionals taping his ankles every game. I suggest lacing them up all the way to the top. Having them laced up all the way up there gives some sort of ankle support. Reminiscent to the Air Jordan 17 Lows which are a great ballin sneaker in my opinion.

Durability wise I think this will be a tough shoe. After playing with them again, the top of the shoe looks brand new after being stepped on and laced and relaced. Only sign of wear is the midsole. But that is expected from a basketball shoe. If your midsole has no sign of abuse then you’re probably not playing hard enough.

Compared to the Zoom Kobe IV’s these are lower in some way. The whole ball of your ankle is exposed in the medial side. The last lace hole are about the same height as the Zoom Kobe IV’s. On the lateral side the front half of the ball of your ankle is partially covered. So it’s somewhat asymmetrical  and when laced all the way up will provide some ankle support. Also visible here is the flywire and vent holes in the heel which kept the shoe well ventilated.

The outriggers sticking out on the side of the shoe did a great job keeping the forefoot of the shoe very stable in sharp cuts, stop and go moves, and worked with every move of my foot instead of against it.

  Not your usual herringbone pattern sole. The designers used Kobe’s heart as inspiration for the sole. If you look closely it looks like the lines of an EKG machine. These do a great job sticking to the hardwood or that plastic stuff. After a few wears they had no visible wear so far.
The tongue of the shoe is well vented as seen form this pic.

In conclusion I think the Zoom Kobe V’s are a great performing shoe. I think these shoes are an improvement from the Zoom Kobe IV’s. Lighter an more responsive. And the biggest improvement is the no use of Lunarlite. For now I’m keeping Lunarlitte tech to my Lunarglide, Lunar Kayoss and Lunar Chukka. Out of 5 stars I give it a 4.75 out of 5. the .25 is from the chances of landing on someone’s foot and there’s really nothing the shoe can do to help with that. I would recommend it to players who play the the point or shooting guard.

The shoes will not turn your game around though. It wont magically help you dunk or get a jumper over night but it will definitely help give a player that extra split second difference to react faster and get to the basket or get off a shot before a defender can react. If I had to make changes to the shoe I would make it have asymmetrical upper like the Air Jordan XIV’s or the 2010′s.