Hey Zach, I dig this shoe redesign idea. I do the same thing all the time! I'm an athlete and industrial designer with biology and sculpture degrees, and I watch all your videos to learn more about which features and design elements separate the good shoes from the bad. Ive designed dozens and dozens of shoes now just for fun and I can tell its my calling. So I'll be designing shoes for someone eventually, but if on the off chance you read this and need a designer to help sketch concepts and develope incredible, cutting-edge shoes, then I'm your guy. Just a thought.
I hear you Doc!! After playing in these for about 2 weeks and breaking in they feel great and I feel the shank and great ankle lock down compensate for a lot of the cons of the shoe. I’m super flat footed but I was really happy with all the tech and support I got with the shoe. It definitely shines on step backs, turn around jumpers, hard long strides to the basket, and well paced catch and shoots. I also feel the great traction and support when playing defense 🙏not saying there isn’t room for improvement but I’m loving what Adidas did with this show for the price!!
hey i've been a nike fan(20years) since highschool varsity to amateur leagues jordan shoes to lbj.. but this adidas made me switch! your experience is similar to mine as well. so i second your take.
@@ramondelarosa328 TTS. Would have benefited a little bit from going half size down cuz of the wiggle room (wasn’t toooo bad tho) and just for some weight reduction lol it’s a heavy shoe for sure
I'm glad you pointed this out Doc. I had achilles soreness with this shoe and i wanted to love it so much. Everything about the shoe is great but the weight makes it to clunky for gaurds. It feels light on foot but the transition is not up to par. WITH THAT SAID. i am excited for the low top. The lows have potential to be a goated shoe.
I think they made improvements with the upcoming AE1 "lows", a little less on the tpu upper with a cut out in the arch area, the heel outsole area and they went with light boost foam this time
Doc can you please give us a lifestyle insole recommendation video or even all type of insole recommendations. Work in nyc and on my feet often and struggling to find the best combo of shoes and insoles that won’t fatigue my feet
I think the lows addressed some of these issues. A cut open comparison to the ascent low color way that just dropped would be dope to see the differences
The flange is interesting is that biggest factor in determining a basketball shoe which is good for those prone to ankle sprains ? Or other things such as lockdown… interested to what your meaningful metrics would be for determine a shoe good for keeping ankles safe.
Nice analysis there doc 🙏 Speaking of which, IMO the metal grommet could be changed into a plastic ones too for lesser weight. That'd need the implementation of the Don's Lightlock system tho, so I kinda have some pros n cons regarding this due to the added complexity. There’s also the fact that they have too much padding at the side of the inner bootie, which is basically the problem of whether to keep the hugging feel of a bootie liner or making it breathable at the cost of having a cheap feeling at the feet. About the flange, kinda noticed that they're not as wide as Harden 7 for such a heavy shoe, so am in line with your recommendations here. We could also change the forefoot cushioning to Lightstrike Pro a la the Adizero SL but with Jet Boost as the carrier foam, which perhaps wud increase the bounce height and lessening the weight, while keeping price increase at minimum. That being said, it's still my favorite hoop shoe of 2024 disregarding its cons due to my bias of bootie liner feel. But thanks for the recommendations, hopefully Adidas gotta hear em for next gen improvement 🙏
This was really interesting to watch. I think it's important to remember these are still a well made, well designed, elite athlete's signature shoe for $120, which is a very good price compared to many other brands. Obviously the more work that goes into the shoe, the more it's going to cost. Hopefully Adidas is able to make some positive tweeks in his upcoming models while still being able to keep the cost down.
Nice video zach👍🏼, i have an video idea for you. How would ur perfect Basketball shoe be like: which cushioning tec, which materials, outsole etc would be nice to know which brands and already created shoes provide some of the features
Besides New Balance, can you suggest shoes that are a little wider in the forefoot that will allow my toes to splay under force? I currently play in the KD protos but find that pinky toes rub and I feel like I can't generate more power or be more balanced under load. I purchased the NB 2Way including the wider version, but they are too wide.
So since they did a low version. Do they integrate a “pro” version with these ideas and throw a $40 increase or idk what the price would be I think 160 wouldn’t be bad
The AE1s are probably the best performance basketball shoe I have worn since the Kyrie 4s. Only thing is they are very uncomfortable when I first put them on but after a few minutes they are extremely comfortable. My toes need time to spread out to fill the base for some reason. But other than that they are great. And cheap as well. As for the weight issue, I am used to playing in a lot of bulkier shoes because I have had ankle issues, so it doesn't bother me. But if it bothers you they have a low model which has a lot of the same features. Breathability is meh but I am used to it, I have played in foamposites
mainly i would like to see them use the real carbon fiber at the heel and in the shank itself and make holes troughtout the honeycomb like it was intened and this would be crazy good shoe already and also shave down few grams as well maybe open up the caging of mid sole in some spots
Hi, Zach, a quick question. Do you always cut the same side of a pair? Or do you alternate between left and right for different pairs of shoes? Just curious what would you do with those left overs?
Would be fun to see you „create“ a phantasy shoe out of existing parts. Like: -outsole from Lebron 20 - shank plate from Kobe 6 - outrigger like Sabrina 1 - foam from two wxy v4 - ….. Your content is really on point at the moment, doc! 🫶🏼
I completely agree about the take on the AE 1s. I wish li-ning would send you their other models to be tested like the Liren v4 lows. It would be very interesting to see your take on it! Also, the ac 12s are having another version called encore? They look amazing and very breathable! But the boom is fully caged. Im worried about the weight and breathability of the WoW 11s too.
Boom are based on PEBAX, and they're inherently far lighter than E-TPU based foam. U could basically keeping it at sub 450gram for size 11 while keeping it being caged.
Damn I wish they were made like that when I bought them lol. 1000% agree with all of what you said! This shoe is alright on lockdown and support, I would give it a 3/5. All those suggestions would definitely give better lockdown and support and definitely better breath ability. When I play in them they feel like the shoe wants to separate from the foot and not be one with the foot. I hope maybe they see this and translate that to the AE2s. I will say the grip in these shoes is the best I’ve ever played with!!
i have a question, i have 9.5 for harden 7s and it does have a little bit of room for my foot. Should i go the same size as my hardens for ae1? (It feels more comfortable for me if there’s a little bit of room btw)
That's why I am here for! Amazing tech savvy reviews backed with bio mechanics and medicine! Outstanding combination. I can see you starting a new job in a big sports footwear company very, very soon! Amazing review once again! Thank you!
I was really excited for this shoe, but it was super uncomfortable for me. I'm usually a 14 to 15 and I really needed a 13 for length but that then made for other issues. Even at 245 lbs they were still too heavy. Thanks for telling the truth! I do love ANT though and they'll figure it out for him and it is a cool shoe from a look perspective!
Love this breakdown, but I can see Adidas and Nike saying "but cost though"... It's the Chinese brands who aren't afraid to throw their tech at a shoe to build market share who should be seriously looking at vids like this. 👍
Ngl I don't think this shoe has any cons. I came from curry 4s and ran those to the ground, I tried kd 9s 10s zoom soldier 10 and 11s but the cushion, traction and comfort were honestly enough for me. Yeah they're heavy but honestly after like 5 wears I honestly don't even notice it especially when I'm jumping and doing explosive movements
Appreciate your review. I'm not that critical but the only thing I have a complaint about is it's not simple enough to slip into. I must use my shoe horn
@@lyinbobbycottonseed So I'm the wrong person to advise on length because I purchased a size 11 and I am very happy with the comfort but my measured size is between 10 & 1/2 and 11 which is 10 & 3/4.
