If you haven't heard of 361, it is time to check them out because they are releasing some great hoop shoes!
What is going on everyone?? AirJayP back here again, and today we are checking out Aaron Gordon's signature sneaker which is from brand 361. Several NBA stars are signed with the brand including Spencer Dinwiddie and The MVP Nikola Jokic! Let's go ahead and jump right in and see how these performed for me on court!
Traction: 4
The sneaker features a solid rubber outsole which has a fairly soft compound to the outsole/traction setup. While playing, these offered me no issues and nothing but great results for me. I didn't have any issues laterally or vertically or while cutting on court. I also had no issues with getting to where I wanted to go, stopping on a dime, or getting into pull-up jumpers. These have you covered all around and in all aspects from a traction standpoint. A feature that I liked as well is the outsole runs up the heel and the traction pattern continues as well. These also offered me great traction whether I played on a dusty or clean court. I never noticed myself having to wipe dust very often on these either. I had a great experience in these from a traction standpoint and for me that is always an A+
Fit: 2
The fit was something that was a little off for me, but hopefully, I can lead you in the right direction if you are interested in a pair. I already knew I would more than likely need to go down at least half a size in these which I did, but I should have gone down a whole size for an on-court fit I am looking for. The sneaker fit me really long, but I will say if you like a thumb's length or a tad longer you would be good with going down half. Me, on the other hand, I prefer a little less than a thumbs length, especially with my on-court shoes. With that being said a full size down would have been what I should have gotten or preferred.
Materials: 4
Before we even get into the details, I am going to start by saying these materials so far have seemed to be very tough and durable. I tend to get stepped on quite a bit when playing and without durable materials, I can sometimes ruin basketball sneakers rather quickly. The upper is woven with what is called a carbon-critical yarn material. This was done to help keep the materials on the upper at a lighter standpoint, but also offer that durability I was speaking about initially. The sneaker is also rather breathable and I had no issues there either. The sneaker being more of a high top as is does offer a little more weight than some of these modern-day low tops, but once getting these on court I could tell the weight of the materials brought that down or helped tremendously. The tongue is a little bit thin and is padded but I have had thicker more padded tongues on other sneakers. I think this was probably also thinned down to help cut down on the overall weight of the sneaker. Inside, your foot feels great, especially in the heel with the padded heel/ankle area. The strongest point to me for the materials was their durability. You are going to be able to play in these for a long time to come.
Lockdown: 5
Once you get these on and laced up to your liking, you definitely aren't going anywhere! We will start out with the TPU which basically runs up the whole lateral side of the shoe offering great stability and with them being a high top this really helps and prevents your foot from rolling over. I felt nice, locked in, and safe at all times while playing in these. Nowadays it seems like everything is a low top. This was a great switch-up for me as this was a sneaker that would have been more of my go-to height back in my high school and college days. I always preferred mids/highs over lows and it has taken me some time to get used to lows. This was great to go back to and remember what lockdown difference can be gotten or felt on court in a high top. Lockdown is one of the strongest features on this sneaker and one you definitely will have no worries or issues with.
Cushion: 4
The cushion is something that I once again really liked on this pair. I will say though, I did expect these to be a little softer or offer a more cushioned so to speak feel, but what I got out of these was more court feel. The reason for the high score here? I am usually looking for or wanting more court feel in the first place! I do not want you to think these don't offer any cushion or impact protection as they do, but I found myself noticing the court feel more and I loved it. The sneaker does feature a drop in midsole and has many tech features for the cushion setup which hence the "Soar" name for their tech system. The sneaker features the Soar Plate (carbon fiber plate) mixed with the Qu!kCQTECH midsole. This setup was meant to provide great impact protection as well as quick responsiveness and energy to get off the floor quick, and give a bouncy type feel. That is where once again the court feel comes in. You are getting cushion, but with such responsiveness, you can feel your movements well underneath you. To all my fellas that love low tops only now. Don't let these scare you away as they have such a low to the ground feel with the cushion setup that the on-court feel will be great for you too. I really enjoyed the cushion on the AG4. These were set up to my liking!
Overall: 4
You are getting a solid pair of hoopers on court here in the AG4. I had a ton of fun playing in these and loved the way they felt on court. The lone issue I had was the sizing and I still had a great time playing in these. To me, these have a more classic type of basketball sneaker feel to them. Tech is great, and these have a lot of tech but at the end of the day how does that pair feel and work for you on court? These just take me back to what basketball sneakers used to be and how they felt on court. The strongest points to the shoe for me were almost a three-way tie between the traction, lockdown, and cushion. In that order is usually what I want to be the strongest points of my basketball sneakers. These gave me everything I was looking for and then some. They exceeded my expectations, and I can see myself grabbing these for some fun runs and games with the fellas!
THANK YOU FOR CHECKING OUT THIS REVIEW!
HAVE A GREAT WEEK & AS ALWAYS HAPPY HOOPING!