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The Air Jordan VII Bordeaux first released back in 1992. The shoe will be officially released again as a retro this Saturday. I remember having these shoes almost two decades ago and its one of the first basketball shoes that I’ve ever played in. So it felt only natural to play with them. I’ve had them for a few months and have already put in a few good runs in them.

Will this two decade old shoe hold up to my current roster of Hyperfuse, Air Jordan 2011, and Kobe VI

When these first came out in 92, These were one of the most hi-tech shoes money can buy. Designed by Tinker Hatfield, the shoes came with forefoot and heel air sole units, and a full length dynamic fit inner bootie like the Huarache line of that time. The shoe was designed to be very minimal with materials so it is still light weight even with today’s standards.

Once you slip them on the inner bootie provide a snug fit as expected. These retro version do run a bit larger than usual. I am usually a 10.5 but surprisingly I fit a 9.5 to play in and a size 10 to chill with. The heel provides a tight fit which I’ve become accustomed from wearing my Kobes, and this is a good thing. However the forefoot did allow some front to back and side to side movement. I would say I have a medium width foot. This can be fixed by wearing thicker socks. The cushioning is what surprised me. They provided a comfortable firm and bouncy feel. As far as ankle support, not so well. Even though the heel provides great fit, its negated by the lose fit of the forefoot. This does not help the ankle support department. The tight fit from forefoot to the heel is what makes the Kobe VI lows and AJ 2011 (I consider the 2011’s lows since the part that covers the ankle seem to be there just for aesthetic purposes and even when lased does not give additional support) work as low tops. Traction is good only if the sole is kept clean.

Overall the shoes are still very comfortable to play with even after two decades and hold its own with todays shoes in that department. Only issue the shoe has is fit. Great heel feel but the lose feeling in the forefoot doesn’t give you a lot of confidence when making quick stop and goes or side to side movement. I would not recommend this to people with narrow feet. Even with these upsides and downsides I might still lace them up a few more times but not make it my main playing shoe since the upper doesn’t look too durable. To sum it up, very comfortable, has fit issues, but if worn with thicker socks might work really well. The AJ VII cant compete with todays top tier shoes like the AJ Legacy line, and other Nike signature shoes but can still outperform Nike’s other price point shoes, Under Armour and Adidas top tier shoes.